Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Programs: A Survey of Academic Programs

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sanjeet Panda, Texas Tech University; Rashmi Somu, Texas Tech University; Nathalie Maitre, Emory University; Garrett Levin, Texas Tech University; Ajay Pratap Singh, Texas Tech University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-10-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 by the authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children8100889
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CHILDREN-BASEL
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 10
• Grant/Funding Information: No external funding for this manuscript.
• Keywords: Pediatrics; telemedicine; High Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Clinic; early childhood development; CARE; Covid-19; neonates; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; preterm neonates; coronavirus
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Objective: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning and services of academic high-risk infant follow-up (HRIF) clinics throughout North America. Study Design: Prospective 25-question questionnaire survey through REDCAP links that was sent over 10 weeks, to 105 US and 10 Canadian programs. Finally, 59 of 105 US programs and 5 of 10 Canadian responses were analyzed using SAS version 9.4. Results: In the US, 67% of programs reported closures between 1–5 months, whereas in Canada 80% of programs closed for 1–3 months. In the US 86% of programs provided telemedicine visits and only 42.5% provided multidisciplinary HRIF telemedicine visits. We enumerated innovative approaches specifically for the conduct of Telemedicine visits, the need for the standardization of various tests and services in a telemedicine setting, and to emphasize the urgent need for more government funding to improve follow-up and developmental services to this fragile group of newborns.