PICO in Nursing

Care

April Greene

Introduction and
Purpose

Among neonates in a neonatal intensive care unit

(NICU), does receiving Skin to Skin Care (SSC)
compared to those not receiving SSC improve
outcomes of decreased mortality, infection,
length of hospital stay, days on non-invasive
respiratory support or days on a ventilator?

Search words, engines,

results

Search words: skin-to-skin care, neonatal,

kangaroo care, NICU, newborn, preterm, health
Search engines: CINAHL, PubMed, InfoTrac, Wiley
Online Library
Search results: found 10 relevant articles before
narrowing it down to 2

Research articles

Mori, R., Khanna, R., Pledge, D. & Nakayama, T.

(2010). Meta-analysis of physiological effects of
skin-to-skin contact for newborns and mothers.
Pediatrics International. 52, 161170.
Conde-Agudelo, A., Belizn, J.M., & Diaz-Rossello,
J. (2011). Kangaroo mother care to reduce
morbidity and mortality in low birth weight
infants. Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, 2011(3), 1-116. DOI:
10.1002/14651858.CD002771.pub2

rationale

Meta Analysis of physiological effects of skin-toskin contact for newborns and mothers
o Skin to skin contact
o Newborns
o Meta analysis

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and

mortality in low birth weight infants
o Morbidity and mortality
o Low birth weight infants

Study, design,
methods, findings

Study:
Design:
Methods:
Findings:

Study, design,
methods, findings

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and

mortality in low birth weight infants
o Study
o Design
o Methods
o Findings

Ethical considerations

Ethics approval was not necessary in this article

because the study was conducted using original
articles that had previously been published in the
public domain.

Strength, quality,
credibility

Strength
Quality
Credibility

Strength, quality,
credibility

Strength
Quality
Credibility

Relevance to Practice

Communication
o Meta Analysis of physiological effects of skin-to-skin

contact for newborns and mothers

o Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and
mortality in low birth weight infants

Implications
o Meta Analysis of physiological effects of skin-to-skin

contact for newborns and mothers

o Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and
mortality in low birth weight infants

Relevance to Practice

Barriers
o Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and

mortality in low birth weight infants

Additional PICO questions

o Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and

mortality in low birth weight infants

Conclusion
Skin-to-skin care is effective in some ways and not
effective in others.