History of Neonatology
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Oral History Interviews.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Oral History. Basic parameters: No limits · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
This study traces the history of neonatology in the United States from the 1960s to the present with particular attention to the ways in which neonatologists developed criteria to make treatment decisions. The investigator will be using oral history interviews as one source for a book that will document developments in the history of neonatology. The investigator will identify potential research subjects through their publications in the field of neonatology and through word of mouth. The investigator will locate them via the contact information provided in their publications or through an internet search.
Detailed description
The investigator will interview individuals who have worked in NICUs \[neonatologists, nurses, social workers\] to understand how technological changes and changing scientific understanding influenced decision making pertaining to the treatment of infants. The interviews will supplement extensive research of the medical literature and other pertinent publications.
Between the 1960s and the present, we have seen the emergence of medical therapies and technologies developed to treat neonates. Over this time period, there has also been a changing and growing understanding of the long-term impact that medical interventions have on the infants treated as well as on their families. Finally, the demographic characteristics of neonates have also changed as public health crises as well as the development of modern reproductive technologies led to new patient populations and new expectations of what NICUs should or should not achieve. The investigator is interested in the ways in which these changes have led to evolving treatment criteria for neonates and ways in which neonatologists decided when to treat and when treatment was considered futile. The investigator will interview medical professionals who are working or have worked at NICUs about the changes they experienced in their place of work over the course of their careers, the impact that medical technologies and changing patient populations had on considerations about treatment options, and the discussions they had with colleagues and the parents of patients.
There is to date no sustained historical analysis of neonatology. There are anthropological studies of the development of fetal surgery \[Casper 1998\] as well as Assisted Reproductive Technologies \[Spar, 2006; Thompson, 2005\]. There are analyses of the social history of particular medical interventions \[abortion, birth control, etc.\] \[Schoen, 1995; Schoen 2005\] and the treatment of the fetus \[Withycombe, 2019\]. And scholars have discussed the value of reproduction and the fetus as it pertains to emerging technologies of genetic testing and the history of disability \[Davis, 2019; Herzog, 2018; Lowy, 2018; Maienschein, 2003; Maienschein, 2014; Rapp, 2000; Reagan, 2010.\] This study will contribute to our understanding of the ways in which medical professionals have made decisions about life, death, and the quality of life of those being treated.
Interventions
- Other Oral History Interviews
I will ask interview subjects about their educational and career path, their research interests and clinical work in the field of neonatology. I will also ask them about their personal and professional motivations and thoughts about their work. And we will discuss how their interactions with colleagues and patients/caregivers shaped their work experience and decision making.
Primary outcome measures
- Information about the history of neonatology [Time frame: 2 hours]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
\- individuals who worked or are working in Neonatal Intensive Care Units as neonatologists, pediatricians, nurses, social workers or other pertinent professionals in the medical or counseling field.
Exclusion criteria
- N/A
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Rutgers University — New Brunswick
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06176950 · Pro2021000877