OBJECTIVE: To identify the strategies used to implement continuity of care for premature infants who were discharged from Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). METHODS: An integrative literature review with search in the databases of: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Literature of Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences, Scientific Electronic Library Online, and Web of Science, for the period of 2001 to 2011. Of the 22 articles selected for reading, nine were explored, considering the proposed objective. RESULTS: The need for further research on continuity of care for those discharged from the NICU is evident in the articles analyzed and confirmed by the level of scientific evidence of the studies included in this review. CONCLUSION: Intersectionality, technoscientific knowledge of professionals to care for those discharged from the NICU, public policy, multicenter research, as well as building ties between health care professionals and families, are important strategies for the construction of assistance for preterm infants and their families, after hospital discharge.
Infant, premature; Child care; Patient discharge
