Health Equity in the NICU

The Health Equity Tip Sheet includes ten suggestions on how NICUs can improve family-centered care for diverse families. Rather than being seen as a definitive list of "must-dos," these suggestions are intended to generate conversation within and among NICUs on how to recognize and address disparate care. Tips are grouped into six categories: acculturation of the unit; staff communication; counseling; organizational resources; family leadership; and education.  

The tip sheet was developed in response to a qualitative study by researchers at CPQCC and the Stanford University School of Medicine, published in the Journal of Perinatology, which examines narrative accounts of how racially diverse families receive unequal treatment in the NICU.