Stephanie Bourque is a neonatologist at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado. Her research focuses on evaluating and improving neonatal outcomes, specifically as they relate to geographic disparities on infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, better understanding the barriers to parental engagement during a prolonged birth hospitalization and optimizing the transition from NICU to home. 

As a PEDSnet Scholar, her project entitled "The Impact of Geographic Disparities on Parental Experiences, Growth Outcomes and Healthcare Utilization of Very Low Birthweight Infants", will evaluate these factors and seek to improve the health outcomes and parental experiences for these high-risk and medically complex infants. The project aims are to:

1. Investigate the impact of distance from parental residence to the NICU and rural versus urban residence on the receipt of the following post-discharge health care services during the two years following birth hospital discharge: a) re-hospitalization and b) number of outpatient subspecialty visits; 
2. Compare the impact of distance from parental residence to the NICU and rural versus urban residence on growth parameters, including weight, length, weight for length and head circumference, among VLBW infants during the two years following birth hospital discharge; and
3. Evaluate the impact of distance from parental residence to the NICU on socioemotional and financial experiences of caregivers during the initial birth hospitalization.