HEP Tele-Rehabilitation for Preterm Infants at Developmental Risk: A Feasibility Study

Overview

Several early intervention approaches based on sensory and motor environmental enrichment have demonstrated neurobehavioral benefits and improvements in motor and cognitive skills in infants. Tele-rehabilitation has also been shown to positively impact the motor and cognitive development of at-risk infants. However, limited research has examined the effects of environmental enrichment-based early interventions delivered via tele-rehabilitation on sensory, motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional skills, adaptive behaviors, parental goals, and parental anxiety in preterm infants at developmental risk, as well as the feasibility of delivering such interventions online. The proposed study aims to evaluate the effects of the environmental enrichment-based HEP® approach delivered through tele-rehabilitation on these developmental outcomes in preterm infants, thereby contributing to the existing literature.

In our study, 16 infants meeting the inclusion criteria received a tele-rehabilitation intervention based on the environmental enrichment-oriented HEP® approach. This was a single-group feasibility study, with no separate control group. The infants were re-evaluated using the same assessment methods before and after the intervention. The initial and final assessments took place entirely online, and the assessor was different from the person delivering the intervention. The intervention lasted 12 weeks and was conducted entirely online, with 45-minute sessions delivered according to environmental enrichment principles. Parent training was also provided to support the implementation of the intervention at home. Infants' demographic, perinatal, natal, and postnatal information was collected via a "Demographic Information Form" prepared by the researcher. Motor capacities were evaluated using the Infant Motor Profile (IMP) and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). Parents' depression, anxiety, and stress levels were measured with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Additionally, parents completed the Ages \& Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) to assess their child's gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, communication, and personal-social development; the Ages \& Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE®) to evaluate socio-emotional and behavioral difficulties; and the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) to evaluate their child's participation in various activities. Individualized goals for each infant were established at the beginning of the intervention using the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS). At the end of the intervention, parents also completed the Social Validity Form developed by the researcher. All assessments and the intervention were conducted online.