Targeted Dissemination of NEC-Zero Resources to Reach Underserved Caregivers of Premature Infants at Risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis (December 2017?April 2018)

The goal of NEC-Zero is to eliminate necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) to ?zero cases' by increasing access to evidence-based information to promote risk awareness and prevention. NEC, a devastating intestinal complication that involves death of tissue that can spread to the entire body, affects mostly pre-term infants. Gaps in implementation of prevention evidence and parent engagement strategies may explain variation in NEC occurrence across Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Working with an interdisciplinary team of academic experts and parent support group agencies, NEC-Zero's primary objective is to disseminate health information related to NEC broadly. Work to accomplish this goal will include: 1) refining the NEC-Zero toolkit by expanding multimedia content, translating materials into Spanish, and ensuring that Section 508 accessibility standards are met; 2) expanding awareness about availabiilty of NEC-Zero tools for librarians, clinicians, and consumers; and 3) improving access to NEC-Zero tools through targeted dissemination and marketing strategies to reach all libraries and NICUs in the Network of National Libraries of Medicine Pacific Southwest region (NNLM PSR). Specifically, the workplan will: 1) expand multimedia content by partnering with University of Arizona theater students to create short video novellas about NEC in both English and Spanish; 2) refine the Spanish translation of parent-focused materials already developed for NEC-Zero and add a brochure targeting women who may deliver a pre-term infant; and 3) offer two webinars about NEC and NEC-Zero materials with continuing education credit made available to librarians (health science and public) and preemie parent organizations/clinicians (physicians, nurses, social workers, dietitians).