Improving Golden Hour Care Coordination: Using Defined Roles to Improve Nurse Confidence and Care Coordination of Neonates Following Admission

Abstract

Study aim: To investigate whether use of admission lanyards improves nurse confidence, care coordination, and infant health outcomes during neonatal emergency admissions.

Methods: Admission lanyards that defined team roles, tasks, and responsibilities were evaluated in a mixed-methods, historically controlled, and nonrandomized intervention study. Methods included (i) 81 pre- and postintervention surveys to explore nurse confidence, (ii) 8 postintervention semistructured interviews to elicit nurse perceptions of care coordination and nurse confidence, and (iii) a quantitative comparison of infant care coordination and health outcomes for 71 infant admissions before and 72 during the intervention.

Results: Nurse participants reported that using lanyards during neonatal admissions improved clarity of roles and responsibilities, communication, and task delegation, contributing to better admission flow, team leadership, accountability, and improved nurse confidence. Care coordination outcomes showed significantly improved time to stabilization for intervention infants. Radiographies for line placement were performed 14.4 minutes faster, and infants commenced intravenous nutrition 27.7 minutes faster from time of admission. Infant health outcomes remained similar between groups.

Conclusion: Admission lanyards were associated with improved nurse confidence and care coordination during neonatal emergency admissions, significantly reducing time to stabilization for infants, shifting outcomes closer to the Golden Hour.