RECRUITING

Standardized Application of Feeding Evaluations Using SMART Tool

Description

Premature and medically complex infants have delayed development of oral feeding skills, leading to prolonged hospitalization, costs, and family stress. There is no "gold standard" infant feeding skill assessment tool for bedside clinicians. The research team developed a novel feeding skill assessment, the SMART Tool, to monitor infant feeding skill development in the neonatal intensive care unit. This study aims to determine whether this tool improves clinical outcomes, including reduced hospital days and enhanced safety and quality of infant feedings.

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

Premature and medically complex infants have delayed development of oral feeding skills, leading to prolonged hospitalization, costs, and family stress. There is no "gold standard" infant feeding skill assessment tool for bedside clinicians. The research team developed a novel feeding skill assessment, the SMART Tool, to monitor infant feeding skill development in the neonatal intensive care unit. This study aims to determine whether this tool improves clinical outcomes, including reduced hospital days and enhanced safety and quality of infant feedings.

Standardized Application of Feeding Evaluations Using SMART Tool

Standardized Application of Feeding Evaluations Using SMART Tool

Condition
Infant and Young Child Feeding
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Barrington

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington, Illinois, United States, 60010

Chicago

Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60617

Elgin

Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin, Illinois, United States, 60123

Libertyville

Advocate Condell Medical Center, Libertyville, Illinois, United States, 60048

Oak Lawn

Advocate Christ Medical Center (Advocate Children's Hospital - Oak Lawn), Oak Lawn, Illinois, United States, 60453

Park Ridge

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Advocate Children's Hospital - Park Ridge), Park Ridge, Illinois, United States, 60068

Grafton

Aurora Medical Center Grafton, Grafton, Wisconsin, United States, 53024

Green Bay

Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, 54311

Kenosha

Aurora Medical Center Kenosha, Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, 53142

Milwaukee

Aurora Sinai Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53233

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Infants born between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026, AND admitted to NICU
  • * No oral feeding started by July 15, 2026

Ages Eligible for Study

to 1 Year

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

Wake Forest University Health Sciences,

Ravi Mishra, MBBS, MD, STUDY_CHAIR, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Elizabeth Jensen, MPH, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Joseph Chase, MPH, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Advocate Aurora Research Institute

Anne Albi, BS, MS, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Cynthia Lira-Crame, BSN, MSN, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Study Record Dates

2026-07