425 Participants Needed

Parental Medication Education for Preventing Medication Errors After NICU Discharge

HS
JV
JV
Overseen ByJessica Velazquez-Perez
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Trial Phase: Academic
Sponsor: NYU Langone Health
No Placebo GroupAll trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

This is a randomized controlled study of parents of children to be discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit at Bellevue and Elmhurst hospitals. A total of 425 subjects will be recruited across two sites over preparatory phases and two primary study phases.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment HELPix, HELPix+Tech for preventing medication errors after NICU discharge?

Research shows that educational interventions in NICUs can reduce medication errors, suggesting that HELPix, which likely includes educational components, might help parents prevent errors after discharge.12345

Is the Parental Medication Education program safe for humans?

The research articles focus on reducing medication errors in NICUs through educational strategies, but they do not provide specific safety data for the Parental Medication Education program or its variants like HELPix or HELPix+Tech.12345

How does the treatment HELPix, HELPix+Tech differ from other treatments for preventing medication errors after NICU discharge?

HELPix, HELPix+Tech is unique because it combines parental education with technology to prevent medication errors after NICU discharge. This approach focuses on improving parents' understanding and skills in medication management, which is not typically addressed by standard treatments.24678

Research Team

HS

Hsiang Sharon Yin

Principal Investigator

NYU Langone

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for parents over 18, who speak English or Spanish, and are the primary caregivers administering at least one daily liquid medication to their child after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. Participants must have internet access, a mobile phone that can receive texts, and be able to return for follow-up visits.

Inclusion Criteria

Primary person who will administers child's medications
I speak English or Spanish.
My child was sent home with a prescription for daily liquid medication.
See 3 more

Exclusion Criteria

Visual acuity worse than 20/50 according to the Rosenbaum Pocket Screener
Uncorrectable hearing impairment
Does not have access to internet (via computer/smartphone)
See 3 more

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Preparatory Phase

Preparatory activities for the study, including recruitment and initial setup

4 weeks

Intervention Phase

Parents receive usual care, HELPix, and/or HELPix+Tech interventions to support safe medication use

4 weeks
3 visits (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after intervention

4 weeks

Treatment Details

Interventions

  • HELPix
  • HELPix+Tech
Trial OverviewThe study compares two methods of helping parents safely give medications: HELPix+Tech (a technology-based aid) versus HELPix alone. It's designed to see which method reduces medication errors after infants leave the hospital.
Participant Groups
3Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: HELPix+TechExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
After parent receives usual care and HELPix (as above), trained staff will walk parent through the app on-boarding process to overcome initial barriers to use. Steps: 1) Parent texted link to personalized on-line instructions. 2) Parent clicks link to app
Group II: HELPixExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
HELPix parents will receive usual care as above, after which trained staff will generate HELPix patient-/regimen-specific medication instruction sheets and review them with the parent.
Group III: Usual CareActive Control1 Intervention
Current usual care includes standard discharge counseling by a nurse, with or without additional MD counseling.

Find a Clinic Near You

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

NYU Langone Health

Lead Sponsor

Trials
1,431
Recruited
838,000+

Findings from Research

Implementing a feedback system for prescribers in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) led to an 83% improvement in the frequency of narcotic prescribing errors, increasing the number of days between such errors from 3.94 to 22.63 days.
However, the intervention did not significantly impact the frequency of antibiotic prescribing errors, indicating that while feedback can be effective for certain medications, additional strategies may be needed for others.
Personalised performance feedback reduces narcotic prescription errors in a NICU.Sullivan, KM., Suh, S., Monk, H., et al.[2022]
A comprehensive educational strategy significantly reduced the medication error rate in a regional neonatal intensive care unit from 20.7% to 3% after implementation, based on a review of 4182 drug orders.
The intervention also improved the correct identification of prescribing physicians from 1.3% to 78.2%, indicating enhanced accountability and safety in the prescription process.
Educational strategy to reduce medication errors in a neonatal intensive care unit.Campino, A., Lopez-Herrera, MC., Lopez-de-Heredia, I., et al.[2022]
A survey of 164 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) revealed that while over 85% of them use electronic health records and computerized physician order entry, many still do not implement critical safety practices like barcoding and formal safety training.
The study highlights a significant variation in medication safety practices across NICUs, indicating a need for improvement to prevent adverse drug events (ADEs) and enhance infant health outcomes.
National Survey of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Medication Safety Practices.Greenberg, RG., Smith, PB., Bose, C., et al.[2022]

References

Personalised performance feedback reduces narcotic prescription errors in a NICU. [2022]
Educational strategy to reduce medication errors in a neonatal intensive care unit. [2022]
National Survey of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Medication Safety Practices. [2022]
The effect of a multifaceted educational intervention on medication preparation and administration errors in neonatal intensive care. [2022]
NICU medication errors: identifying a risk profile for medication errors in the neonatal intensive care unit. [2022]
Parents can dose liquid medication accurately. [2022]
Impact of Parent-Targeted eHealth on Parent and Infant Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review. [2019]
[Role of the nurse and midwife in educating parents of neonates treated at intensive care units]. [2011]