Evaluation of the clinical impact of Small Wonders Change Programme
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of the clinical impact of implementation of the Small Wonders Change Programme (SWCP)
IRAS ID
160076
Contact name
Gill Vernon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Crown Street
Research summary
The Small Wonders Change Programme (SWCP) is a complex intervention that has been designed to ensure that all babies in the neonatal unit will receive greater amounts of breast milk, skin-to-skin contact and positive interactions with their parents. SWCP has been introduced into clinical practise in the two neonatal units taking part in this evaluation (Liverpool Womens Hospital and Guys & St Thomas’s Hospital).
The aim of this study led by Liverpool is to evaluate the impact of SWCP on the use of breast milk, skin to skin contact and clinical outcomes.
The core of SWCP is a DVD that has been produced by Best Beginnings (a registered charity) and will be given to all parents. The DVD consists of a series of 12 films dealing with various aspects of preterm care. The aim is to provide support and consistent information to parents of preterm babies. The DVD development has included extensive user consultation and is informed by expert advice from: BLISS, La Leche League, SANDS, United Kingdom Association of Milk Banking, the Fatherhood Institute, Tommy’s, the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, the National Childbirth Trust, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Nursing. In addition, the DVD forms the basis of a training programme delivered via a workshop for all neonatal unit staff to drive changes in practice. At one of the two centres involved in this evaluation (Liverpool Women’s Hospital) a group of “parent champions” were also recruited and trained to support the programme.
Baseline data will be collected from a 12 month period prior to the implementation of SWCP at each unit. A further set of data will be collected following embedding of SWCP into clinical practise and a comparison between the two cohorts will be performed.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1320
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion