You can read something that is delightful to you: a scoping review of reading interventions in neonatal and paediatric critical care settings

OBJECTIVES: This scoping review evaluates the physiological, neurodevelopmental, and psychosocial effects of reading interventions on critically ill infants and young children.

INTRODUCTION: Critically ill children, including premature infants and those with critical CHDs, are at elevated risk for neurodevelopmental complications that may be exacerbated by noxious stimuli in hospital settings. Given the increased awareness of the significance of developmental care in the critical care environment and the well-established role of reading and literacy interventions in healthy children, a potential method to improve developmental outcomes for critically ill children is early promotion of literacy. We reviewed reading-based interventions in critical care settings using a scoping review framework.

METHODS: Searches were performed in clinical literature databases for articles evaluating outcomes consequent to or co-occurring with any neonatal or paediatric intensive care setting intervention involving reading to a child. Data and textual content extracted included measures of child physiological status, length of stay, acuity, stress/pain, health status, quality of life, neurodevelopment, as well as parent psychosocial and emotional functioning.

RESULTS: This review identified multiple potential benefits of reading to critically ill children at the bedside, including improved physiological and early literacy outcomes for paediatric patients as well as heightened senses of self-efficacy and psychological well-being for parents. Due to the observed positive impact and lack of negative effects, current literature about reading interventions in critical care settings indicates that such programmes are likely to be a scalable, inexpensive option for facilitating neurodevelopment and bonding for children and their families.