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Review
. 2021 May;110(5):1433-1438.
doi: 10.1111/apa.15712. Epub 2020 Dec 22.

European Standards of Care for Newborn Health-A project protocol

Verena Lindacher  1 , Philine Altebaeumer  1 , Neil Marlow  1   2 , Valerie Matthaeus  1 , Iris Nikola Straszewski  1 , Nicole Thiele  1 , Johanna M Pfeil  1 , Luc J I Zimmermann  1   3 , Silke Mader  1 ; European Standards of Care for Newborn Health project members
Affiliations
Review

European Standards of Care for Newborn Health-A project protocol

Verena Lindacher et al. Acta Paediatr. 2021 May.

Abstract

Aim: Among children who receive hospital care, preterm infants are Europe's largest group, whose numbers are continually increasing. Currently, no pan-European standards of care for preterm or critically ill infants are available, except for a few specific topics, and practices vary widely in different regions.

Methods: The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) has initiated a transdisciplinary collaboration project to provide agreed standards for high-quality perinatal and neonatal care, whose implementation will ensure fairer and more equitable care across Europe. This will improve care for these vulnerable infants and their families, ameliorate the long-term conditions found in preterm and critically ill infants and enhance the quality of family life of affected families. More than 220 experts-healthcare professionals, patient representatives and other relevant stakeholders-have come together for the first time to develop a broad reference guidance in neonatology and associated fields.

Results: Ninety-six standards on 11 overarching topic areas were developed and endorsed.

Conclusion: This reference framework serves as a basis for the development of binding national standards for high-quality care. A robust translation and implementation strategy is facilitated, with the goal of improved health outcomes following preterm birth all around Europe.

Keywords: European collaboration; neonatal treatment and care; patient representatives; preterm birth; reference standards.

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References

REFERENCES

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