ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05251051Updated Dec 13, 2024

Project Initiate: Transition to Community Therapy Services After NICU Discharge

An interventional study of pediatric physical therapy and Care Coordination in Motor Delay, sponsored by Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Completed at 4 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 1 Day to 1 Month. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-12-13.

Sponsored by Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
63
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
1 Day to 1 Month
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Project Initiate is a pilot study of early neuromotor outcomes in high risk newborn infants who are referred to Early Intervention services after NICU discharge. The investigators hypothesize that infants with Medicaid insurance who have prompt access to weekly post-discharge therapy services will have better early neuromotor function at 3 months corrected age and better parent satisfaction than infants who receive only care coordination to help with Early Intervention enrollment and locating outpatient transitional services as indicated.

Read the detailed description

Infants hospitalized in an neonatal intensive care unit with high risk illnesses typically receive physical therapy during the hospital stay to improve neuromotor function and promote optimal development. At discharge, infants residing in Illinois with high risk conditions are eligible for therapy services in the home through Illinois Early Intervention. The initiation of these services is typically delayed for several months or more after discharge and families with private insurance will often obtain transitional services. For children with Medicaid insurance, initiation of services is typically delayed or never occurs and there is concern that gaps in services may worsen outcomes and cause stress to parents.

The investigators hypothesize that infants with Medicaid insurance who have prompt access to weekly post-discharge therapy services will have better early neuromotor function at 3 months corrected age and better parent satisfaction than infants who receive only care coordination to help with Early Intervention enrollment and locating outpatient transitional services as indicated.

The aims of Project Initiate are:

Specific Aim 1: To pilot a NICU to home service delivery model for infants at high-risk for neuromotor complications with Medicaid Insurance.

Specific Aim 2: To test the feasibility of at NICU to home service delivery model for infants at high-risk for neuromotor complications.

Specific Aim 3: To compare motor and parental quality of life outcomes at 3-4 months corrected age in study participants and those who received standard discharge services.

Families of infants with high risk medical conditions qualifying for Early Intervention services will be recruited at NICU discharge and assigned to the intervention or control group based on the parents' city of residence (based on the availability of home therapists by location).

For the intervention group, therapy will be provided weekly within two weeks of discharge. Infants will be enrolled in Early Intervention, infants will receive care coordination to assist in engagement with the Early Intervention program and home services will be provided through the study until the Early intervention services are fully engaged or for 14 weeks, whichever comes first.

For the control group, infants will be enrolled in Early Intervention and infants will receive care coordination to assist in engagement with the Early Intervention program. If transitional services are recommended at discharge, the therapy care coordinator will assist families with these referrals until Early intervention is fully engaged r for 14 weeks, whichever comes first.

At discharge, neuromotor outcomes will be assessed. At 3 months corrected age, all infants will be evaluated in the Early Childhood clinic and their neuromotor outcome will be assessed. Parents will also complete quality of life surveys at discharge and at 3 months corrected age.

02

Conditions studied

  • Motor Delay

Browse trials for

03

In context

Psychomotor Disorders

24 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychomotor Disorders; 7 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 63 is above the median of 49 across 17 interventional studies indexed under Psychomotor Disorders.

Browse Psychomotor Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is the lead sponsor of 180 studies on the registry; 30 are open to participants now.

Of its 10 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (50%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Day to 1 Month
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

At-risk for developmental impairments (enrolled in Early Childhood Clinic and are automatically eligible for Illinois Early Intervention services)

Less that 45 weeks post-menstrual age (PMA) at discharge

English-speaking

Able to be identified and enrolled before discharge from the NICU

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Children in DCFS custody or children of parents who decline therapy services through the State of Illinois Early Intervention Program.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
63 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Intervention Group

    At NICU discharge, infants will be referred to Illinois Early Intervention. A coordinator (the navigator) will assist families in engaging with Early Intervention and completing all enrollment requirements. At NICU discharge, infants will be provided with standard home pediatric therapy services weekly for up to 14 weeks. These will be initiated within 2 weeks of discharge.

    Behavioral: pediatric physical therapy · Other: Care Coordination

  • Other
    Control Group

    At NICU discharge, infants will be referred to Illinois Early Intervention. A coordinator (the navigator) will assist families in engaging with Early Intervention and completing all enrollment requirements. If transitional services were recommended by the NICU providers, the navigator will help families identify these services and obtain the necessary referrals.

    Other: Care Coordination

Interventions

  • Behavioralpediatric physical therapy

    Pediatric physical therapists will provide weekly home therapy using standard of care/best evidence procedures

  • OtherCare Coordination

    A navigator will be assigned who will assist families in obtaining Early Intervention services and other therapy services if needed

    Also known as: Navigation

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Test of Infant Motor Performance Score (TIMP)

    The TIMP is a motor evaluation conducted by a physical therapist. The test is scored and the scores are converted to standard deviations based on the child's age. Changes in the infant's TIMP standard deviation score from discharge to 3 months of age, corrected for prematurity, assessed by an physical therapist blinded to the intervention group.

    Time frame: 2-3 months (discharge to first developmental clinic visit)

  2. Time to initiation of Early Intervention therapy services

    The time from discharge to the first Early Intervention home therapy service will be assessed

    Time frame: Discharge to EI initiation (1-6 months)

  3. Parent quality of life questionnaire assessed using the Peds QL Family Impact Module

    Parent quality of life will be assessed at the beginning and end of the study. This test asks parents to rate their quality of life in 6 categories. Each item is scored on a Likert Scale from 0-4 and then reverse transformed to a score from 0-100. The investigators will use an overall score averaged from the 6 categories as an outcome, as well as scores for the individual categories. Higher scores indicated better parent reported quality of life.

    Time frame: 2-3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. General movements assessment-

    Motor optimality scores will be obtained from observation of standard videos and rated by blinded trained observers. Motor optimality scores can range from 5-28 with higher scores indicating better motor optimality.

    Time frame: At 3 months corrected age

  2. Hammersmith Infant Neurologic examination

    A neurologic examination performed by blinded observers who have been trained (physical therapists or physicians). Each item (n=26) is scored from 0-3 points. Higher scores indicate better neurologic function with a maximum score of 78.

    Time frame: At 3 months corrected age

07

Study locations

4 sites
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
    Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
  • Lurie Children's Hospital
    Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
  • Prentice Women's Hospital
    Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
  • University of Chicago
    Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 13, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05251051
Responsible party
Raye Ann deRegnier (Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 22, 2022
Start date
Feb 23, 2022
Primary completion
Jun 27, 2024
Completion
Sep 30, 2024
Last update
Dec 13, 2024

Study contacts

Raye-Ann deRegnier, MD
principal investigator · Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion