Multisensory intervention improves physical growth and illness rates in Korean orphaned newborn infants

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multisensory intervention on the physical growth and health of Korean orphaned infants. Fifty‐eight full‐term infants were randomly assigned to a control (n = 28) or an experimental (n = 30) group within 14 days postbirth. In addition to receiving the routine orphanage care, infants in the experimental group received 15 min of auditory (female voice), tactile (massage), and visual (eye‐to‐eye contact) stimulation twice a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. Compared to the control group, the experimental group had gained significantly more weight and had larger increases in length and head circumference after the 4‐week intervention period and at 6 months of age. In addition, the experimental group had significantly fewer illnesses and clinic visits. These data demonstrate that multisensory intervention in conjunction with human/social contact may be effective in facilitating growth for newborn infants placed in orphanages. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Res Nurs Health 26:424–433, 2003