Skin care practices for very low birthweight neonates

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify skin care practices implemented by nurses in maintenance of skin integrity in very premature infants, to identify if these practices were supported with written protocols and to identify those practices that varied with gestational and postnatal age. The sample consisted of 97 nurses from 39 states who had recent experience in newborn intensive care units with very low birthweight infants. Data were collected with a questionnaire which identified neonatal skin care practices, written protocols and sample characteristics. Data analysis revealed 71% if respondents had written protocols for one or more skin care practice areas, 8% had protocols for all 11 practice areas and 28% had no written protocols. Implementation of specific practices within the areas identified ranged from 1% to 100%. Although six reported practice areas varied with gestational age, none varied significantly with postnatal age and four were practiced without regard to gestational or postnatal age. Respondents indicated that skin integrity of the extremely premature neonate was influenced by both gestational and postnatal age.