A Novel Parent Education Program for Early Intervention
Condition: Preterm Infant; Full-term Infant
MeSH terms: Premature Birth
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      One in ten infants born in the USA is born preterm before 37 weeks of gestation and 50% of
      those will have motor and cognitive delays requiring intervention at school age. Because
      existing assessments do not reliably identify motor and cognitive delays early in
      development, many infants born preterm do not receive early intervention until they are older
      and their delays are more pronounced. This project aims to address the need for an effective,
      affordable, novel early intervention model for the first months of life for preterm infants.
    

Detailed description: 
      One in 10 children in the United States is born preterm and at risk for disabilities that can
      impair movement and cognition. Research suggests that targeted early intervention can
      effectively improve ability and function for these children. However, two key obstacles limit
      the provision of early intervention services in the first half-year of life. First, the
      existing diagnostic tools are limited in their ability to identify motor and cognitive delays
      at early ages. Second, in the medical model there is a lack of understanding of developmental
      science and how experiences in the first months of life can impact the development of future
      abilities. In effect, there has been lack of knowledge regarding who should receive early
      intervention services and what activities should be the focus of those services in infancy.

      This project aims to address these challenges by testing the fidelity and short-term efficacy
      of a novel intervention providing education for parents of preterm infants. The intervention
      will educate parents on ways to handle, position, and play with their infants to provide
      infants safe opportunities to explore new ways of moving and controlling their bodies and
      interacting with objects. Intervention provision will be documented and outcomes will be
      compared for 20 infants randomized to receive one of two types of developmental education.
      Pre- and post-assessments will compare motor control in prone, reaching ability, daily
      positioning practices, and parent-child interactions with toys to determine if there are
      differences in the short-term effects of the intervention. Intervention will occur for two
      months with parents logging activity daily. Measures related to dosage and how parents
      perform the intervention activities will be gathered to assess fidelity of the intervention.

      Aim 1: To measure aspects related to fidelity for families participating in the study.

      Aim 2: To determine if there is a difference in developmental outcomes for children who
      receive the intervention.
    

Intervention name(s): Baby Play Intervention; Milestone Education
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Baby Play Intervention involves teaching parents targeted ways they can handle, position, and play with young infants that aim to provide infants enhanced early opportunities to learn to control their bodies and interact with objects. These abilities are associated with future motor, cognitive, and language outcomes. Parents will be asked to perform the intervention activities 20 minutes daily and to log their activity performance weekly.; Parents in the Milestone Education Intervention group will receive information regarding milestones expected based on infants' CA. This information is based on forms from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This will help parents understand the milestones typically observed at the their child's CA and reflects the education parents receive from healthcare providers. Parents will be asked to provide their infants opportunities to perform these milestone behaviors 20 minutes daily and to log their activity performance weekly.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: development; infant; preterm; parent education; play; full-term