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Aim: To determine if consumers and clinicians believe intelligence or health outcomes are more important long‐term outcomes for babies born preterm. Methods: Prospective, online survey of six outcomes ranked using a hierarchy ladder, Likert scale and a hypothetical scenario: education (complete secondary school); longevity (70 years of age or more); money (sufficient for rent and food); normal weight; good health and intelligence. Participants were clinicians taking care of preterm babies, parents of preterm babies, ex‐preterm adults and adult controls. Results: The survey was completed by 145 participants (35 controls, 36 clinicians, 39 parents and 35 ex‐preterm adults). Health was the most frequently top‐ranked variable on the hierarchy ladder (health; 99/145 (68.3%), money; 17/145 (11.7%), longevity; 10/145 (6.9%), education; 8/145 (5.5%), normal weight; 6/145 (4.1%), intelligence; 5/145 (3.4%), P < 0.0001), with no statistical difference between the groups. On a 5‐point Likert scale, participants were most likely to agree that sufficient money, health and finishing secondary school were important for preterm babies to have a good life (mean (SD): money 4.43 (0.81); health 4.39 (0.72); education 4.37 (0.81); normal weight 4.10 (0.81); intelligence 4.03 (0.94); longevity 4.01 (1.07), P < 0.0001). In the scenario, the option of an ex‐preterm adult having a healthy life with low socio‐economic status (SES), was preferred over high SES with an unhealthy life (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Health was perceived as the most important long‐term outcome for preterm babies. Future research should prioritise good health outcomes for babies born preterm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: It has been increasingly recognised that family-centred care (FCC) is associated with enhanced well-being for both parents and infants in paediatric settings, including the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Over the past 4 years, our NICU has increasingly adopted a collaborative philosophy of care. The purpose of the study was to examine parental experiences of FCC during both the admission and discharge time points in order to examine differences in parents' experiences and identify areas for improvement.Methods: We conducted interviews at two time points (admission and discharge) with 83 parents (mothers and fathers) of premature and medically fragile infants and analysed the data using thematic analysis.Results: Three key themes (and sub-themes) were identified: disempowerment, hierarchy between parents and staff and the father's peripheral role. The themes were equally prevalent across admission and discharge.Conclusions: The challenges relating to FCC reported by parents at both admission and discharge represent some of the key barriers that parents still face in terms of being truly involved in the care of their infant in the NICU. Similar themes at both time points suggest that parents need equal amounts of support during their stay in NICU, irrespective of the level of care the infant is receiving and whether they are approaching discharge. Implications for improving FCC more generally are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]