Sociodemographic factors and family use of remote infant viewing in neonatal intensive care

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether the use of remote infant viewing (RIV) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) differed based on maternal sociodemographic factors. METHODS: The number of RIV camera views and view duration were obtained for NICU patients between 10/01/2019 and 3/31/2021 and standardized relative to patient days. Maternal sociodemographic and neonatal characteristics were obtained from institutional databases. RESULTS: Families in which mothers were unmarried (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.03–1.95), did not require an interpreter (aOR 2.86, 95% CI 1.54–5.32), were multiparous (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.16–2.10), delivered prior to 37 weeks’ gestation (aOR 1.57, 95% CI 1.17–2.12), or resided ≥50 miles from the NICU (aOR 1.38, 95% CI 1.02–1.87) were significantly more likely to use RIV. CONCLUSION: Family use of RIV in the NICU varied by multiple sociodemographic factors. Further investigation to understand and to address potential equity gaps revealed or created by RIV are warranted.