The Coping with and Caring for Infants with Special Needs intervention was associated with improved motor development in preterm infants

Abstract

Aim We compared the impact of standard infant physiotherapy and the family‐centred programme, Coping with and Caring for Infants with Special Needs (COPCA), in infants born before 32 weeks without significant brain lesions. Methods This randomised controlled trial was carried out in patients' homes and outpatient settings in Switzerland between January 2016 and October 2019. We used data from the national SwissNeoNet register and an assessment battery that included infant and family outcomes and video analyses of therapy sessions. The Infant Motor Profile was the primary outcome instrument. Results The COPCA group comprised six boys and two girls with a median gestational age of 27 weeks (range 25‐30), and the standard care group comprised seven boys and one girl with a median gestational age of 29.5 weeks (range 26‐31). COPCA participants improved significantly more between baseline and 18 months in the IMP variation (9.0 percentage points, 95% confidence interval: 0.3‐17.5) and performance (12.0 percentage points, 95% confidence interval: 4.1‐20.6) domains than standard care participants. COPCA coaching was positively associated with IMP scores at 18 months, but some standard care actions were negatively associated. Conclusion COPCA was associated with better motor outcome in infants born before 32 weeks than standard infant physiotherapy.

Early Diagnostics and Early Intervention in Neurodevelopmental Disorders—Age-Dependent Challenges and Opportunities

“…Note that these test also are used for discrimination and monitoring. In addition, the IMP is a responsive instrument to evaluate the effect of early intervention [94][95][96][97]. The three predictive tests are partially (TIMP) or totally (GMA and IMP) based on the observation of the quality of self-generated movements.…”

Motor development in infants with complex congenital heart disease: A longitudinal study

“… 13 , 18 In addition, the IMP has predictive validity for cerebral palsy, lower IQs, and less optimal behavior at school age, 14 , 15 , 19 and an excellent responsiveness to change over time. 20 , 21 …”

“…13,18 In addition, the IMP has predictive validity for cerebral palsy, lower IQs, and less optimal behavior at school age, 14,15,19 and an excellent responsiveness to change over time. 20,21 The videos were independently assessed by a trained assessor (DH) and two medical master students (MP and LtB) who were supervised by an expert assessor (MHA). The latter three persons were masked to the infants' history.…”

The potential of COPCA's coaching for families with infants with special needs in low- and middle-income countries

“…The effectiveness of COPCA's coaching strategies in infants at high biological risk of neurodevelopmental disorders has been demonstrated in three randomized controlled trials performed in high-income countries (HICs). Coaching of family members was not only associated with improved cognition and better mobility of the infant in daily life, but also with better family empowerment and well-being ( 11 – 14 , 21 ). Interestingly, the positive effect of COPCA intervention continued after the end of the intervention (measured about one year after the randomized interventions had stopped), suggesting that families had learned the principles of COPCA on how to stimulate their child's development during daily life activities ( 11 , 14 ).…”

“…Examples of coaching approaches designed for this field, with growing evidence for the effectiveness of coaching are “Coping with and caring for infants with special needs” (COPCA) ( 7 , 8 ), Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) ( 9 ), and Solution-Focused Coaching in Pediatric Rehabilitation (SFC-peds) ( 10 ). In COPCA positive associations between coaching of family members and (a) infant mobility and (b) empowerment and quality of life of the family have been demonstrated ( 11 – 14 ). OPC has been associated with positive effects on parents' self-efficacy and self-competences and on participation and occupational performance of children with neurodisability ( 15 ).…”