Description and evidence on the supporting and enhancing neonatal intensive care unit sensory experiences (SENSE) program.

AIM: To describe the supporting and enhancing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sensory experiences (SENSE) program, associated research and opportunities for further study. METHODS: A review of current materials on SENSE program implementation, publications related to SENSE development, and research on program implementation and patient outcomes was conducted to describe the SENSE program and its associated research. RESULTS: The SENSE program combines structured, evidence-based, multisensory interventions with parent engagement in order to optimise outcomes in the complex NICU environment. Through a stepwise and scientific process, the SENSE program was developed to include specific doses and targeted timing (based on the infant's postmenstrual age, PMA) of evidence-based interventions such as massage, auditory exposure, rocking, holding and skin-to-skin care for parents to provide their infants each day of NICU hospitalisation. It is adapted in context of concurrent medical interventions, infant behavioural responses, as well as NICU culture. The program is feasible to implement, acceptable to staff, and related to infants receiving more developmentally appropriate sensory exposures. Adaptations related to NICU culture and parent involvement have been reported. Research has identified relationships of the SENSE program to improved parent confidence, neurobehaviour and feeding at term age as well as improved communication 1 year of age. CONCLUSION: The literature related to the SENSE program is promising, but more research on efficacy and implementation is needed.

Occupational Therapy Outcome Measures in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Scoping Review.

With the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early assessment of preschool children is vital for occupational therapists. This scoping review aimed to provide detailed information about outcome measures used in occupational therapy interventions in preschool children with ASD and map the focus of the outcome measures based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) components. A thorough search from 2000 to 2022 was conducted that employed ICF linking rules to categorize the outcome measures. Seventy-four outcome measures were identified. They predominantly targeted body function and activity/participation, with less emphasis on environmental factors, and none assessed body structure. The most common measures were Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS-2), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). This study offers a diverse array of outcome measures and underscores the potential of the ICF framework in enhancing evaluations, particularly concerning broader environmental components as one of the primary facilitating/hindering factors in the participation of children with ASD.

METHOD: We did a scoping review following steps by Arksey and O'Malley. Scoping reviews help us to find important information. We wanted to see what works in occupational therapy for young children with ASD, using the ICF. We looked at studies from 2000 to 2022 and also checked different sources for studies. We made a summary of what we found. RESULTS: We found 802 articles but only used 46 after checking. Most kids in the studies were 4 years or older. We found 74 different tools to see whether treatments worked. The most common tools were COPM, Vineland-II, and PSI-SF. These tools looked at how children move, do things, and feel. Some ways looked at how children play, talk, and connect with others. Others focused on how parents feel. Two ways, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) and Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS), looked at everything. Some general ways were used too. Over time, people looked more at how the environment affects children with ASD. CONCLUSION: We gathered many ways to see whether treatments work for children with ASD. The most common ones were COPM, Vineland-II, and PSI-SF. Each tool looked at different parts of how children do things. We did not see big changes in how people looked at treatments over time. Children with ASD need better ways to see whether treatments help them. We should look more at how the environment affects children.

Mapping the Available Tools for Occupational Therapy Effectiveness in Young Children With ASD Based on the ICF StructureIntroduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect how people communicate and behave, with about one in 44 children having it. Early help for ASD, such as occupational therapy, is really important. Occupational therapy helps with everyday skills and makes life better. Not many studies use good ways and tools to see whether occupational therapy works for young children with ASD. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a reference that helps to see how well treatments work.

Health-related quality of life variation by socioeconomic status: Evidence from an Iranian population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) values based on the accurate and reliable European Quality of Life Five Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire gives health-state utilities as a helpful data set for studying socio-demographic and socio-economic inequalities in health status in the general population. We aimed to do a population-based study to see how HRQoL varies by socio-demographics and socioeconomic status (SES). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional population-based study in Shiraz, Iran's southwest. Data was gathered utilizing a personal digital assistant (PDA). A trained interviewer administered the EQ-5D questionnaire to a representative sample of 1036 inhabitants. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to create SES indices. Because of the skewed distribution, quantile regression was utilized to model the quartiles of HRQoL values. STATA 12.0 was used to perform all statistical analyses. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In 1036 study respondents, women had a mean HRQoL of 0.67 ± 0.28, whereas men had a mean HRQoL of 0.78 ± 0.25. Gender and age remained significant in all quartiles of HRQoL value. Participants with insurance showed 0.14 and 0.08 higher HRQoL values in the first and second HRQoL quartiles than those without coverage, respectively. Education [95% CI: 0.034, 0.111)], economy [95% CI: 0.013, 0.077], and assets [95% CI: 0.003, 0.069] all had an impact on HRQoL value in the lowest quintile. CONCLUSION: In all quartiles of HRQoL value, women had lower reported HRQoL than men. Insurance programs aimed at more disadvantaged groups with poorer HRQoL may help to minimize inequity. Education, economics, and assets all had an impact on the lower quartiles of HRQoL value, emphasizing the importance of general policies in determining public health status.