Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify the gaps in research related to developmentally supportive care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The ultimate goal was to explore directions of further research on developmentally supportive care for premature patients.
Methods
The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review method was used. Articles on developmentally supportive care for preterm infants in the NICU, written in English or Korean, were identified through electronic search engines. A total of 279 papers were identified in the initial search, of which 22 full-text papers were included in this review.
Results
Several nursing studies have been published in the past 5 years. The important elements of developmentally supportive care were family-centered care and management of the NICU environment. The primary developmentally supportive care interventions were training programs to promote the care competency of NICU nurses.
Conclusion
It is necessary to actively develop comprehensive developmental support interventions that consider the various elements of developmentally supportive care for preterm infants. Additional studies should be done to develop programs that provide direct intervention for premature infant and their families.

Citations

• Innovation in nursing led maternal and infant care: emerging trends and impact in Indian clinical setting
  Riya Patel Shukal, Kavita V. Matere, Phanindrareddy Badduri, Mohammed Umar, Pooja Bakshi, Selvi R., Yamunadevi Shanmugam, Dana Baby, Regina P. F., Anne Roslin, Suhashini
  International Journal of Reproduction, Contracepti.2026; 15(2): 695.     CrossRef
• Health Workers' Knowledge and Practice of Developmentally Supportive Care for Premature Infants in Four Ugandan Neonatal Units: A Cross‐Sectional Study
  Zelee Hill, Victoria Nakibuuka, Robert Serunjogi, Robert Ssekitoleko, Ritah Nasiima, Sanyu Nalunga‐Atuhe, James Nyonyintono, Albert Kamugisha
  Health Science Reports.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Content Validity for the NICU Caregiver Behavior Checklist
  Amy Carroll, Cecilia Roan, Catherine Verrier Piersol, Michele Kacmarcik Savin
  Nursing for Women's Health.2025; 29(1): 44.     CrossRef
• Assessing Developmentally Supportive Care in Neonatal Nursing in China
  Qian Sun, Jing Wang, Jiuqiao Xu, Longyan Wu
  AJN, American Journal of Nursing.2025; 125(7): e1.     CrossRef
• Developmental supportive care in preterm and low birth weight neonates
  Rinki H. Shah, Ridhdhi D. Dangar
  International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics.2025; 12(8): 1372.     CrossRef
• Comprehensive Overview of Preterm Developmental Supportive Care: Narrative Review
  Hasan Saud Abdul Hussein, Adraa Hussein Shawq
  International Journal of Child Health and Nutritio.2025; 14(4): 408.     CrossRef
• Rectal Stimulation in Premature and Full-Term Newborns: A Narrative Review
  Silvia Rossi, Simona Calza, Chiara De Rosa, Giulia Ottonello, Nicoletta Dasso, Roberta Da Rin Della Mora, Ilaria Artuso, Giuseppe Minniti Caracciolo, Simona Serveli, Silvia Scelsi
  Children.2025; 12(12): 1656.     CrossRef
• Application and effect of developmental supportive care on growth and neurobehavioral development in preterm infants
  Xiaoqing Niu, Ling Li, Yachao Jing
  Frontiers in Pediatrics.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Competency based performance of mothers on preterm neonatal care through Neonatal Integrative Developmental Care (NIDC) interventions: An interventional pilot project
  Sandra Jyothi Saldanha, Veena Gretta Tauro
  Journal of Neonatal Nursing.2024; 30(2): 130.     CrossRef
• Maternal Participation in Sensory Care of Preemies: A Pilot Study Examining the Effect on Neonatal Outcome in NICU
  Renilda Shanthi Lobo, Theresa Leonilda Mendonca
  Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU.2024; 14(02): 202.     CrossRef
• Effects of white noise on preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: A meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials
  Qing Zhang, Qiugui Huo, Peizhen Chen, Wenying Yao, Zhihong Ni
  Nursing Open.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Exploring Effect of Postdischarge Developmental Support Program on Preterm Infant Neurodevelopment and BDNF Gene DNA Methylation
  Jun Zhang, Mi Cao, Shaoting Yue, Jingmin Yan, Yanyan Shang
  Advances in Neonatal Care.2023; 23(2): E50.     CrossRef
• Effectiveness of Nicu nurses’ competence enhancement program for developmentally supportive care for preterm infants: A quasi-experimental study
  Han Na Lee, Haeryun Cho
  Heliyon.2023; 9(1): e12944.     CrossRef
• Knowledge and perception on developmentally supportive care for preterm babies among staff nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit of Tertiary Care Center in South India
  Lavanya Subhashini, V Saritha, Monappa
  BLDE University Journal of Health Sciences.2023; 8(1): 69.     CrossRef

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify the supportive care needs of parents of preterm children in South Korea using text data from a portal site.
Methods
In total, 628 online newspaper articles and 1,966 social network service posts published between January 1 and December 31, 2019 were analyzed. The procedures in this study were conducted in the following order: keyword selection, data collection, morpheme analysis, keyword analysis, and topic modeling.
Results
The term "yirundung-yi", which is a native Korean word referring to premature infants, was confirmed to be a useful term for parents. The following four topics were identified as the supportive care needs of parents of preterm children: 1) a vague fear of caring for a baby upon imminent neonatal intensive care unit discharge, 2) real-world difficulties encountered while caring for preterm children, 3) concerns about growth and development problems, and 4) anxiety about possible complications.
Conclusion
Supportive care interventions for parents of preterm children should include general parenting methods for babies. A team composed of multidisciplinary experts must support the individual growth and development of preterm children and manage the complications of prematurity using highly accessible media.

Citations

• Mental health in parents of very preterm infants at 12 months: Influential variables and profiles
  María Merced Barbancho‐Morant, Eva M. Padilla‐Muñoz, Susana Sanduvete‐Chaves, Salvador Chacón‐Moscoso, María Dolores Lanzarote‐Fernández
  Family Relations.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Envisioning post pandemic digital social-medical aftercare for very preterm-born infants and severely ill children– Opportunities and challenges
  Bilge Albayrak, Margarete Reimann, Ursula Felderhoff-Müser, Andreas Podeswik, Britta Maria Hüning, Larissa Jane Cordier
  Journal of Neonatal Nursing.2025; 31(3): 101659.     CrossRef
• An evaluation of rehabilitation students’ learning goals in their first year: a text mining approach
  Shin Kitamura, Kotaro Takeda, Shintaro Uehara, Taiki Yoshida, Hirofumi Ota, Shigeo Tanabe, Kazuya Takeda, Soichiro Koyama, Hiroaki Sakurai, Yoshikiyo Kanada
  Frontiers in Medicine.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Changes in parents’ health concerns by post-preterm birth period in South Korea: a cross-sectional study
  Yu Jin Jung, Hun Ha Cho
  Child Health Nursing Research.2024; 30(2): 118.     CrossRef
• An Integrated Review of Transitional Care for Families of Pre-Term Infants
  Jeong Soon Kim, Hae Ran Kim
  Healthcare.2024; 12(22): 2287.     CrossRef
• Perception and Educational Needs of Developmentally Supportive Care At-Home for Parents of Pre-Term Newborns
  Jeong Soon Kim, Hae Ran Kim
  Healthcare.2023; 11(12): 1700.     CrossRef
• Exploring the Online News Trends of the Metaverse in South Korea: A Data-Mining-Driven Semantic Network Analysis
  Eun Joung Kim, Jung Yoon Kim
  Sustainability.2023; 15(23): 16279.     CrossRef
• Development of a mobile application focusing on developmental support care for Korean infants born prematurely: a methodological study
  Ji Hyeon Park, Haeryun Cho
  Child Health Nursing Research.2022; 28(2): 112.     CrossRef
• Research Trends of Follow-Up Care after Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduation for Children Born Preterm: A Scoping Review
  So Ra Kang, Haeryun Cho
  International Journal of Environmental Research an.2021; 18(6): 3268.     CrossRef
• Trends of Nursing Research on Accidental Falls: A Topic Modeling Analysis
  Yeji Seo, Kyunghee Kim, Ji-Su Kim
  International Journal of Environmental Research an.2021; 18(8): 3963.     CrossRef