The Better Outcomes for the Sickest and Tiniest (BOOST) research program focuses on improving outcomes babies born extremely premature as well as those who require critical life support. These babies often have significant problems with their heart function and face a high risk of death or serious brain injury that requires intensive care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Despite medical advances, many critical decisions in the NICU are based on research that has not included newborns this small and fragile and rarely asks what matters most to families. The BOOST program is dedicated to finding better ways to help these sick and tiny babies by generating high-quality evidence through rigorous clinical trials that focus on the things that matter most to families. We also collaboratively work with national groups in Canada and beyond to generate new evidence from existing health data and develop medical guidelines to improve the care of these extremely vulnerable babies.