Standardized Application of Feeding Evaluations Using SMART Tool

Conditions

• Infant and Young Child Feeding

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

N/A - 1 Year

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• SMART Tool — BEHAVIORAL
  The intervention in this implementation study involves (1) integrating the SMART Tool into electronic health records (EPIC), (2) educating all NICU staff (about 850 nurses, lactation consultants, speech-language pathologists, and physicians), and (3) Quality improvement to reinforce learning.

Study Details

Premature and medically complex infants have delayed development of oral feeding skills, leading to prolonged hospitalization, costs, and family stress. There is no "gold standard" infant feeding skill assessment tool for bedside clinicians. The research team developed a novel feeding skill assessment, the SMART Tool, to monitor infant feeding skill development in the neonatal intensive care unit. This study aims to determine whether this tool improves clinical outcomes, including reduced hospital days and enhanced safety and quality of infant feedings.

Key Dates

Start date

Aug 1, 2025

Status verified

Aug 2025

Primary completion

Jul 31, 2026

Completion

Jul 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

3,500 participants (estimated)

Allocation

NA

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Arms

• Experimental: SMART Tool
  Feeding skill assessment, the SMART Tool to monitor infant feeding skill development in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Primary Outcome Measure

Length of hospital stay [ Time Frame: Month 6 ]

Central Contacts

• Ravi Mishra, MBBS,MD,FAAP
  804.464.7472
  [email protected]
• Cynthia Liracrame, RN
  773.296.7977
  [email protected]

Locations (14)

Find similar trials in Barrington, IL