Examining the Effect of Occupational Therapy-Based Parent Coaching on Feeding Problems in Children With a Preterm Birth

NCT ID: NCT06266507

Last Updated: 2026-01-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 39 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-07-29
• Study Completion Date: 2025-08-15

Brief Summary

Feeding problems are common in children with a history of premature birth, and these problems continue into early childhood. Feeding problems are affected by many biopsychosocial factors, and the context in which feeding takes place and the attitudes and behaviors of parents can also be effective in the emergence or continuation of these problems. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of occupational therapy-based parent coaching intervention on mothers and their children, who are considered to be primarily responsible for the feeding of children in our country. 46 mothers with premature children will be included in our study and participants will be randomly assigned to intervention/control groups. Mothers will fill out a sociodemographic information form, Canadian Occupational Therapy Measure (COPM), Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale, Sensory Profile Questionnaire - Oral Sensory Processing Subtest, Family Feeding Strategies Scale and Parental Self-Efficacy Scale via Google forms. Mothers in the research group will be given online occupational therapy-based parent coaching training for 10 weeks. Second evaluations will be carried out after the training; Final evaluations will be applied after 1 month of follow-up.

Conditions

Feeding Behavior; Mother-Child Relations; Feeding and Eating Disorders

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Research Group

Mothers who will receive a 10-week occupational therapy-based parent coaching intervention will be included in this group.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Ergotherapy Based Parent Coaching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Occupational Therapy Based Parent Coaching intervention will last 10 sessions and will be carried out on the online platform. Sessions are planned to last between 45-60 minutes. The interviews to be held during the sessions are considered as the basic principles of parent coaching; It will be carried out in line with the principles of joint planning, observation, implementation, reflection and feedback. This intervention aims to educate mothers on proper feeding strategies for their children and to enable them to carry out these practices independently.

Control Group

The control group will not receive an active intervention, but will be provided with an informative brochure on early childhood development. Additionally, once the research is completed, the right to participate in the intervention will be granted.

Group Type: OTHER

Informative Brochure Distribution

Intervention Type: OTHER

No active intervention will be made to the mothers in the target group; an informative brochure about early childhood development will be distributed.

Interventions

Ergotherapy Based Parent Coaching

Occupational Therapy Based Parent Coaching intervention will last 10 sessions and will be carried out on the online platform. Sessions are planned to last between 45-60 minutes. The interviews to be held during the sessions are considered as the basic principles of parent coaching; It will be carried out in line with the principles of joint planning, observation, implementation, reflection and feedback. This intervention aims to educate mothers on proper feeding strategies for their children and to enable them to carry out these practices independently.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Informative Brochure Distribution

No active intervention will be made to the mothers in the target group; an informative brochure about early childhood development will be distributed.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Informative Brochure Distribution

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Prematurity of the child (Birth week <37)
• The child is between 3-6 years old
• The mother must have the competence to use online platforms, technological tools and internet connection.
• The mother must have sufficient education to read, understand and fill out the scales.
• Mothers reporting complaints about feeding problems in their children

Exclusion Criteria

• It may affect the child's feeding; Having a food allergy, disability, neurodevelopmental disease, chromosomal or structural anomalies
• The child is fed non-orally
• Being receiving occupational therapy, oral motor therapy or nutritional therapy at any center
• Not allowing practices such as video sharing, camera/audio sharing, and recording of sessions during the intervention.

• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Ankara Medipol University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Rukiye Begüm KOCA

Lecturer

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Gökçen Akyürek, Ph. D.

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Hacettepe University

Locations

Ankara Medipol University

Ankara, Ankara/ Altındağ, Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

References

Walton K, Daniel AI, Mahood Q, Vaz S, Law N, Unger SL, O'Connor DL. Eating Behaviors, Caregiver Feeding Interactions, and Dietary Patterns of Children Born Preterm: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Adv Nutr. 2022 Jun 1;13(3):875-912. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmac017.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 35157009 (View on PubMed)

Dev DA, Padasas I, Hillburn C, Stage VC, Dzewaltowski DA. Ecological Approach to Family-Style, Multilevel Child Care Intervention: Formative Evaluation Using RE-AIM Framework. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2022 Aug;54(8):728-744. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2022.03.005. Epub 2022 Jun 26.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 35768329 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

169

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id