Purpose for the program: The National evaluation results of March of Dimes NICU Family Support (R) revealed that NICU parents felt the most comforting activity that they could be offered in the NICU would be to hold or kangaroo their infant.  Staff respondents also reported the benefits of KC include reduced stress, enhanced comfort and increased parent-infant bonding, but only 8% of staff reported routinely offering KC to families.  March of Dimes developed the "Close to Me" intervention to increase the early onset and frequency of Kangaroo Care in NICUs.

Proposed change: The "Close to Me" intervention includes parent education and awareness materials, staff education materials and items of comfort/encouragement for families.  This presentation will share the components of the Close to Me intervention, as well as what was shown to be most effective in the evaluation.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation: "Close to Me" was rolled out in March of Dimes NICU Family Support program sites nationwide.  In 2011, a national evaluation of "Close to Me" was conducted in four NICU sites, using an outside consultant who conducted staff focus groups and surveys pre and post intervention and parent surveys and a special parent journaling technique .  Results will be shared regarding the most effective components of "Close to Me", changes in parent and staff perception from pre to post intervention.  We worked closely with a large team of NICUs on adapting our materials for full-term NICU and full-term, well-baby audiences of professionals and parents.  Key findings from this work will also be discussed.

Implications for nursing practice: KC is a proven benefit to newborns and parents.  Staff resistance to its implementation can be overcome with awareness, education and hands-on instruction.  Parents can learn to ask for and advocate for this activity if they know about it and its benefits early in their baby's hospitalization.  Researching KC using a journaling approach is appealing to parents, who have the opportunity to heal and process as they participate in the study.  KC can be vital to many if not all babies in the NICU, including full-term babies and those in the NICU for a short stay.  The physiological, medical and emotional benefits of KC are worth the additional time required in educating staff and providing comforting space and opportunities for parents to KC their infants. 

Keywords: Kangaroo Care, skin-to-skin, staff resistance, parent awareness