Neonatal Therapist and Parent Perspective of Neonatal Therapy Services During Admission for Therapeutic Hypothermia in Infants with Neonatal Encephalopathy: An Anonymous Survey Brief Report #MMPMID41348623
Arroyo MS; Garcia R; Samuels S
J Allied Health 2025[Win]; 54 (4): e551-e557 PMID41348623show ga
BACKGROUND: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) protects the infant's brain after hypoxic ischemic injury. Ongoing developmental therapies help support the brain recovery process. Currently, there is no standard of care for the involvement of therapists during TH in infants. The parental perspective on how to introduce therapies has not been evaluated. AIMS: The objective of this study was to evaluate current therapy practices across the United States and the parental perspective on therapy involvement for infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). STUDY DESIGN: Participants were recruited from the National Association of Neonatal Therapists and the parent support group, Hope for HIE, to complete anonymous surveys. Participants included US neonatal therapists and parents of infants, aged 6 to 24 months, with HIE. RESULTS: A total of 63 parents participated. Almost 70% of parents reported that therapists first met with them after magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Over 75% said therapists did not attend conferences to discuss imaging and 73% did not think therapists used imaging to design a treatment plan. Most parents would have wanted to meet earlier (63% during TH vs 37% after). A total of 115 therapists participated. The majority (67%) reported that their institution did not have a standardized protocol. Over 60% believe that MRI results could help with treatment planning. Both parents and therapists felt that written and video educational materials would be of most value. CONCLUSION: There is variability in neonatal therapy service for infants undergoing TH according to survey respondents. Therapists who responded feel that standardized guidelines could improve care, as well as developing written and video materials for parent education. Parents who participated would have wanted to meet therapists earlier in treatment. Further research in this space would be beneficial to optimize care practices and parent experience.
J+Allied+Health 2025 ; 54 (4): e551-e557
