Improving neonatal caregiving through a developmentally supportive care training program

This study was performed to explore the effects of a training program in developmentally supportive care (DSC) on nurse caregiving and preterm infant behavior during bathing in a neonatal unit. The study applied a single-group pretest and posttest design to analyze behaviors. Twenty preterm infants were bathed 120 times by 13 nurses. Indirect observation was adopted to collect all behavioral data. Results showed that infants felt less stress and nurses were more supportive during posttraining baths. Caregivers should receive training in DSC, and its applications could be expanded to other nursing caregiving activities.