Rapid review of Allied Health Professionals working in neonatal services

Abstract Background This review aimed to quantify the impact of allied health professionals (AHPs) embedded in neonatal services on outcomes by asking the following review questions: Q1. What is the effectiveness of neonatal services with embedded allied health professionals compared to neonatal services without embedded allied health professionals? Q2. What is the effectiveness of early interventions provided by allied health professionals in neonatal units? Research Implications and Evidence Gaps There was very little directly relevant evidence on AHPs embedded in neonatal services. Most of the evidence related to multidisciplinary team working or early interventions provided by AHPs. Few early intervention trials were from the UK, leading to uncertainty about the availability and applicability of interventions in the UK setting. Further UK-based research is needed to better understand the best way to integrate allied health professionals in neonatal services. Economic considerations There is no published evidence on the cost of AHPs working within neonatal units. There is marked variability in the reporting of cost estimates for neonatal care units in the UK, making the evaluation of cost implications of adopting AHP recommendations difficult. Subsequent economic evaluations could explore the Budget Impact to the NHS of increasing AHP presence in neonatal units to align with recommendations from AHP professional bodies and Royal Colleges. Funding statement Health Technology Wales were funded for this work by the Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre, itself funded by Health and Care Research Wales on behalf of Welsh Government. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement Health Technology Wales were funded for this work by the Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre, itself funded by Health and Care Research Wales on behalf of Welsh Government. Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Footnotes Updated with missing author (Margaret Manton) Data Availability All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors