THE EFFECTIVENESS OF APPLICATION OF KANGAROO MOTHER CARE ON PRETERM INFANTS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNITS AT KHARTOUM STATE HOSPITALS – SUDAN

Background: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is an effective, affordable, and acceptable intervention for preterm infants. Therefore, KMC can be actual in reducing potential complications in preterm infants. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the application of kangaroo mother care on preterm infants in intensive care units at Khartoum state hospitals – Sudan. Subjects and Methods design : the quasi-experiment. Setting It was completed in 6 hospitals, for 5 months period. Subjects: the whole of the preterm infants in this research was medically stable divided up into two groups (intervention and control). Tools Data was gathered using a structured questionnaire, weighting scale, pulse oximeter, hand clock, and logbook. Preterm infant weight, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate were evaluated among the two groups. Results: Over the constitutive 5 days, weight gained significantly in the intervention group (1332.36±87.27 versus 1361.60±91.22) gained about 29 gram, while control group(1332.36±87.27 vs 1338.82±86.57) gained about 7 gram, the mean difference in weight gain was significant. Oxygen saturation increased significantly in the intervention group (92.28±1.81 versus 97.39±1.57) increased 5, while control group (95.13±2.11 versus 96.42±1.69) increased by 1. Conclusion: According to the outcomes of this study, a premature newborn who received kangaroo mother care improved significantly in weight, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Recommendations: KMC may be the most effective neonatal nursing intervention in ICU, therefore, to develop KMC implementation in Sudan will require a larger and better equipped KMC hospital ward, as well as consistent KMC training for nursing staff