Purpose
This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program on developmental positioning (EPDP) for nurses in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
Methods
The study utilized a non-equivalent control group pretestposttest design. Sixty NICU nurses were recruited from two university hospitals in Daejeon, South Korea. The EPDP consisted of a 7-week program: 3 weeks of education and practice, followed by 4 weeks of encouragement messages using social networking services. Developmental positioning (DP) posters and DP aids were also provided during the intervention period. The intervention group (n=30) received the EPDP, but not the control group. The data were analyzed using the x2 test, the Fisher exact test, the independent t-test, and repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results
Participants' knowledge (t=7.49, p<.001), attitudes (t=1.99, p=.001), self-efficacy (t=2.99, p=.004), performance of DP (t=2.98, p=.004) and Infant Positioning Assessment Tool (IPAT) scores (F=29.50, p<.001) were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group.
Conclusion
The EPDP can be an effective and useful program for improving the performance of DP among NICU nurses by increasing their knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of DP. However, further research involving various NICU settings is needed to gather more empirical evidence.

Citations

• The knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses on the posture management of premature infants: status quo and coping strategies
  Xiaojue Zhong, Shanshan Cai, Huiyun Wang, Longyan Wu, Yanan Sun
  BMC Health Services Research.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Reported use of implementation science theories, models, and frameworks in 151 implementation trials: secondary analysis of a systematic review targeting nursing practice
  Charlene Weight, Rachael Laritz, Simonne E Collins, Meagan Mooney, Billy Vinette, Sonia A Castiglione, Nicola Straiton, Gabrielle Chicoine, Shuang Liang, Justin Presseau, Kristin Konnyu, Marie-Pierre Gagnon, Sonia Semenic, Sandy Middleton, Natalie Taylor,
  Translational Behavioral Medicine.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• The effect of comprehensive developmental positioning program training on nurses’ performance and infant comfort hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit
  Tina Karami, Afsaneh Arzani, Ali Zabihi, Hossein-Ali Nikbakht, Zahra Akbarian rad, Seyedeh Roghayeh Jafarian amiri
  BMC Medical Education.2025;[Epub]     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
• Developmental care education in Australian surgical neonatal intensive care units: A cross-sectional study of nurses’ perceptions
  Nadine Griffiths, Sharon Laing, Kaye Spence, Maralyn Foureur, Himanshu Popat, Leah Hickey, Lynn Sinclair
  Heliyon.2024; 10(10): e30572.     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
• Effects of a Noncontact Visit Program in the NICU for the Prevention of COVID-19
  Hye Young Ahn, Hee Jee Jo, Hyun Jeong Ko
  Healthcare.2023; 11(15): 2152.     CrossRef

Purpose
This study was conducted to identify factors related to developmental care performance among neonatal intensive care units (NICU) nurses.
Methods
The participants were 139 nurses who had provided care to premature infants for more than 6 months and were recruited from the NICU of 8 hospitals. Data were collected from September 1 to December 1, 2017 through questionnaires that encompassed developmental care performance, developmental care perceptions, and the nursing work environment.
Results
More than half (51.8%) of the participants responded that they had never received developmental care education, and for 89.6% of those who had received developmental care education, it was a one-time event. The average developmental care performance of NICU nurses was 0.81, with a range of 0.5~1 point. Multiple regression analysis, demonstrated that the nursing work environment (β=.27, p=.001) and developmental care perceptions (β=.23, p=.004) influenced developmental care performance, with a total explanatory power of 14%.
Conclusion
Based on these results, developmental care education for the NICU nurses must be provided systematically. In addition, strategies to improve nurses' perceptions of developmental care and to provide appropriate support for the nursing work environment can promote developmental care performance.

Citations

• “Effectiveness of a Multimodal Teaching Program on Nurses” Knowledge Acquisition, Practice, and Perception of Neurodevelopmental Supportive Care in NICU: A Non-randomized Controlled Trial
  Raghu V A, Manju Vatsa, Neeraj Gupta, Latha, Thuileiphy T
  Journal of Neonatology.2025; 39(4): 341.     CrossRef
• Nurses’ perspectives on implementing sleep protection for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study
  Yujing Gu, Yunfei Tang, Yan Xue, Juan Wu, Jun Xie
  BMC Health Services Research.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• A Cross‐Sectional Study on Nurse‐Parent Partnership in the Pediatric Intensive Care Units
  Premalatha Paulsamy, Shadia Hamoud Alshahrani, Krishnaraju Venkatesan, Kousalya Prabahar, Manjula Gopinathan Bhagavathy, Mathar Mohideen Nagoor Thangam, Vinoth Prabhu Veeramani, Samya Mohamed Hegazy, Rehab Ahmed, Vigneshwaran Easwaran, Haseena T. A., Hala
  International Journal of Clinical Practice.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Korean nurses’ knowledge, opinions and current practice of trauma-informed pediatric nursing care in South Korea: a descriptive study
  Kyung-Sook Bang, Sun Woo Hong, Hwal Lan Bang, Ji-Hye Choe, Sinyoung Choi
  Child Health Nursing Research.2024; 30(4): 309.     CrossRef
• Factors influencing neonatal intensive care unit nurses' parent partnership development
  Eun Kyoung Kim, In Young Cho, Ji Yeong Yun, Bobae Park
  Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2023; 68: e27.     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
• Developmentally Supportive Care Among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses in South Korea
  Han Na Lee, Ji Hyeon Park, Haeryun Cho
  Advances in Neonatal Care.2023; 23(3): E60.     CrossRef
• Preterm Infant Care Practice among Nurses in Neonatal Care Units of Selected Hospitals of Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study
  Tumla Shrestha, Archana Pandey Bista, Sarala Shrestha, Radhika Regmi, Foroozan Atashzadeh-Shoorideh
  Nursing Forum.2023; 2023: 1.     CrossRef
• Effects of a Neonatal Supportive Positioning Training Video Program for Preterm Infants on the Knowledge and Performance of Nurses in Neonatal Intensive Care Units
  Hyun Jin Moon, Kyung Sook Cho, Mi Young An, Dong Woo Son
  Asian Nursing Research.2022; 16(1): 25.     CrossRef
• Analysis of research on developmentally supportive care for prematurity in neonatal intensive care unit: a scoping review
  Hanna Lee, Ji Hyeon Park, Haeryun Cho
  Child Health Nursing Research.2022; 28(1): 9.     CrossRef
• Missed nursing care and its influencing factors among neonatal intensive care unit nurses in South Korea: a descriptive study
  Soohyun Kim, Sun-Mi Chae
  Child Health Nursing Research.2022; 28(2): 142.     CrossRef
• Simulation Training Needs of Nurses for Nursing High-Risk Premature Infants: A Cross-Sectional Study
  Sun-Yi Yang
  Healthcare.2022; 10(11): 2197.     CrossRef
• Analysis of the educational needs of nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit for developmental supportive care
  Da-Ae Shin, Kyung-Sook Bang
  The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing .2021; 27(3): 261.     CrossRef