Purpose: To characterize the environment in both ground and aerial ambulances in an effort to identify and quantify the risk factors associated with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in preterm infants, with the goal of developing a device to mitigate this problem. Methods: A small, stand-alone battery operated device was developed to characterize the environment inside neonatal transports. This device included an array of sensors to measure acceleration forces, sound levels, temperature, pressure, and light intensities. Two of the data acquisition devices were used to collect data inside and outside the transport incubator simultaneously for a period of thirty minutes during a test flight in a transport helicopter. Real-time digital signal processing was performed for the sound signals to reduce data. Furthermore batch digital signal processing was performed on an external computer to calculate the vibration spectrograms, occurrence of impulsive forces, and variations in ambient temperature, pressure and luminance. The results were compared between the two devices to determine whether the current transport incubator design is reducing or increasing the suspected risk factors. Results: The vibration levels registered in the transport incubator during flight were five times greater than in the crew cabin in the vertical direction. High vibration levels were registered in the horizontal direction in the transport incubator, which were not registered in the crew cabin. In contrast, vibration in lateral direction was nearly half of that registered in the crew cabin. Sound levels were on average 70 dBA in the transport incubator. Luminance levels reached values up to 6920 Lux. No major changes in temperature and pressure were registered. Conclusions: IVH is a serious consequence of transporting preterm infants from one health care facility to another and occurs in roughly one out of three infants. To address this problem, a transport monitoring device can help characterize the environment in these transports in an effort to design a new state of the art transport incubator to mitigate this problem. / Master of Science

Abstrakt Bakgrund: Sverige är idag världsledande gällande överlevnaden hos extremt underburna barn. Den högspecialiserade vården i Sverige är centraliserad till regionsjukhus vilket leder till att flertalet av dessa barn behöver transporteras från hemsjukhus till regionsjukhus för fortsatt vård. Motiv: Föräldrars känslor i samband med att deras barn behöver neonatal intensivvård är väl studerat i tidigare forskning både internationellt och nationellt. Då det finns begränsat med kunskap angående dessa föräldrars behov av stöd i samband med flytt av deras extremt underburna barn till annat sjukhus finns det möjligheter till förbättring inom området. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa vilket stöd föräldrar till extremt underburna barn önskade när deras barn behövde flyttas till en annan neonatalavdelning på ett annat sjukhus.Metod: Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ enkätstudie med öppna frågor med empirisk design. Enkäterna analyserades via en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats av Elo & Kyngnäs. Föräldrarna (n=63) rekryterades via ett strategiskt urval från hela Sverige. Resultat: Resultatet delas in i två huvudkategorier; ”Föräldrars behov av förberedelser inför flytt till annat sjukhus” samt ”Föräldrars behov av emotionellt och personligt stöd”. Resultatet visar att det finns ett stort behov av stöd hos föräldrarna för att minimera de negativa upplevelser som kan uppstå då deras extremt underburna barn behöver flyttas till en annan neonatalavdelning. Föräldrarna beskriver att de önskar få information om avdelningen de flyttar till avseende rutiner och faciliteter samt när flytt förväntas ske och att denna information idag är bristfällig. Föräldrarna beskriver även att deras känslor och upplevelser behöver bli bekräftade av personalen och att behovet av en kontaktperson är stort. Konklusion: Resultatet belyser vilket stöd föräldrar efterfrågar i samband med flytt av sitt extremt underburna barn vilket skapar möjligheter för en framtida utveckling av neonatalvården. Implementering av stödjande vårdrutiner samt förbättrat samarbete mellan sjukhusen skulle öka möjligheterna för en förbättrad föräldraupplevelse och därmed minskad psykisk ohälsa. / AbstractBackground: Sweden is world-leading when it comes to survival rates among extremely preterm infants. Highly specialized care units are centralized to regional hospitals, resulting in that many extremely preterm infants need to be moved from their home hospital to a regional hospital for additional care. Motive: Parents' emotions when their extremely preterm infant requires neonatal intensive care is a well-studied area in both national and international studies. The authors therefore believe that there is a reason for further research regarding parents’ need for support in connection to the relocation of their extremely preterm infant to another hospital. Since there is limited research regarding the needs of these parents, there are opportunities for improvement in the area.Aim: The purpose of this study was to illustrate what support parents of extremely preterm infants need when their infant needs to be moved to another neonatal unit at another hospital. Methods: The study was conducted as a qualitative questionnaire study with open questions with empirical design. The questionnaires were analysed using a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach by Elo & Kyngnäs. The parents (n=63) were recruited via a strategic selection from all over Sweden.Result: The result is divided into two main categories; “Parents’ need for preparation when moving to another hospital” and “Parents’ need for emotional and personal support”. The result shows that there is a great need for support among parents to minimize the negative experiences that can occur when their extremely preterm infant needs to be moved to another neonatal unit. The parents describe that they wish to receive more information about routines and facilities at the unit they are moving to, and then the move is expected to take place. The parents also describe that their feelings and experiences could be further confirmed by the staff and that they have a need for establishing a relation with a contact person. Conclusion: The result highlights what support parents request in relation to transportation of their extremely preterm infant, creating opportunities for further improvements in neonatal care. Implementation of supportive care routines and improved collaboration between hospitals could increase the opportunities for an improved parental experience and by that reduced mental illness.