The Effect of a Telehealth Intervention on Mother–Child’s Feeding Interactions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose This study evaluated the outcomes of a telehealth intervention aimed at enhancing exchanges in mother–child dyads who showed an impoverishment of the quality of their feeding interactions and a worsening of their psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods N=334 mothers and their three-year-old children were recruited to assess their feeding interactions through an observational tool administered via a web platform, and maternal and offspring psychopathological symptoms were measured through the SCL/90-R and the CBCL 1.5–5. This study constitutes the third wave (T3) of a longitudinal research. Results Our results showed that the intervention significantly improved the quality of mother–child feeding interactions. Moreover, mothers’ psychopathological symptoms reduced after the intervention, especially in the interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive-compulsive subscales; offspring emotional/behavioral functioning and dysregulation symptoms also decreased, particularly in the subscales of withdrawn anxious/depressed attention problems and aggressive behavior. Conclusion This study adds knowledge to the literature on COVID-19 pandemic effects on psychological health of parents and young children, proposing a method of intervention that had been effectively adopted previously but whose effectiveness had not been investigated during the pandemic.

Benefits and Challenges of a Telehealth Eating and Mealtime Intervention for Autistic Children: Occupational Therapy Practitioners’ Perspectives

“…Practitioners felt families that might not have enrolled in the intervention were able to participate through telehealth, but insight as to why has yet to be fully explored in the literature. Prior telehealth research focuses on feasibility, effectiveness, satisfaction of interventions for autistic children and their families (Cimino & Cerniglia, 2022; Fleet et al, 2022) and has often missed the opportunity to explore how virtual delivery may address systemic barriers to accessing services. In a systematic review, Harkey and colleagues (2020) found support for patient satisfaction for the use of telehealth rehabilitation services, including OT, in rural populations, highlighting a trend toward acceptance of using virtual sessions as part of practice.…”

“…Our study suggests that a telehealth caregiver-mediated intervention can increase caregiver engagement in implementation. Limited research has explored the effectiveness of caregiver-mediated interventions through telehealth for caregivers of autistic children (Srinivasan et al, 2021), even less in the area of eating and mealtime (Cimino & Cerniglia, 2022; Fleet et al, 2022). In our interviews, OTPs described how during EEP-Telehealth sessions the caregivers took on an active role, out of necessity, by being physically with the child while the OTP facilitated through the screen.…”

Observational Tools Using Video Recordings of Parent-Child Feeding Interactions: A Narrative Review

“…Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it began to be administered online, through the use of digital tools, and the results were positive overall. In the study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 51 ], the authors describe that parents and children experienced remote administration of SVIA and the rate of family participation was high. The longitudinal study shows that allowing the family to have direct (albeit remote) contact with clinicians improved the quality of dyadic interactions during feeding.…”

“…However, few studies use observation scales of remote feeding interactions, with a video recording of the observation made by digital platforms or digital tools. The few available pieces of evidence present overall positive results [ 51 ].…”