The development of a post-discharge intervention program in Sweden for extremely preterm infants and their caregivers, through home visits during their first year of life

• Sweden has a proactive neonatal intensive care, saving children born from gestation week 22, with a 90% survival rate in the extremely preterm (EPT) group. With increased survival rates, the long-term outcome of the EPT children has gained much research interest. Recent studies indicate that 1/3 of the EPT-children in Sweden show moderate to severe neurodevelopmental deficits when beginning school. An interdisciplinary research team has designed an intervention for EPT infants and their caregivers in their home-environment after hospital discharge and throughout the first year of life. The aim of the ongoing randomized controlled trial is to study intervention effects on the children’s cognitive, motor and psychosocial function, the parental mental health and the infant-parent interaction. This paper present the intervention’s theory of change, the validity considerations, and an overview of the syllabus of the training given to the interdisciplinary team of six clinicians who serve as interventionists. 

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

child cognitive development

child motor development

early intervention

extreme prematurity

parent-child interaction

parental mental health

self-regulation

specialpedagogik

Special Education

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)