Development of a golden hour guideline for a level 2+ NICU

Background and Purpose: The golden hour (GH) is used to describe the time during which stabilization efforts of critically ill patients should be completed for the best possible patient outcomes. The purpose of this practicum was to develop a GH guideline and supplementary resources for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, PE. The need for the GH guideline was identified following a recent reduction in the accepted gestational age to 29+0/7 weeks, with plans to reduce it further to 28+0/7 weeks. GH practices can improve neonatal health care by enhancing thermoregulation, glycemic control, and cardiorespiratory stability. These are accomplished through pre-birth preparation, Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines, and NICU admission practices. A GH guideline can help direct and organize the NICU healthcare team to ensure consistent, evidence-based care, leading to higherquality care and improved patient outcomes. Methods and Results: I completed a literature review, an environmental scan of GH resources available across Canada, and consultations with multidisciplinary local NICU team members. These methods helped identify the potential impact of a GH guideline, the resources required to support families, and the educational needs of NICU team members for its implementation. These methods also assisted in gathering, organizing, and refining the GH guideline content based on the literature and existing NICU practices. Using the gathered data, I created a GH guideline and a parent handout. I also created a presentation and simulation to disseminate the GH guideline.