Oral literal and inferential narrative comprehension in young typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder

Abstract

Purpose: The Squirrel Story Narrative Comprehension Assessment (NCA) was used to investigate the literal and inferential comprehension skills of young typically developing (TD) children aged between 4 and 6 years and to compare the performance of 5-year-old TD children and those with developmental language disorder (DLD).

Method: A total of 132 typically developing children across three age groups between 4 to 6 years (4;0–4;11, 5;0–5;11, 6;0–6;11, years;months), and 94 children with DLD aged 5 years, were assessed using the NCA.

Result: There was a significant increase in both literal and inferential scores for TD children from 4 to 6 years. The TD children aged 4;0 to 4;11 scored significantly lower than the two older age groups for both literal and inferential comprehension, while there was no significant difference between the 5;0 to 5;11 and 6;0 to 6;11 TD groups. The 5;0 to 5;11 TD group scored significantly higher than the age-matched DLD group for literal and inferential comprehension.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that the Squirrel Story NCA is a clinically useful task which is sensitive to developmental improvement in literal and inferential comprehension in young typically developing children and confirm previous research findings of poor narrative comprehension in children with DLD.     

鼓励家庭开展极低出生体重儿的发展性照顾

通过对极低出生体重儿(VLBWI)的家庭社会背景特征的分析以及家庭和VLBWI相互影响的研究,提出了护理的发展性照顾理念,阐明了护士鼓励家庭对VLBWI实施发展性照顾的重要性及具体措施。     

Effects of respite care for children with developmental disabilities: evaluation of an intervention for at risk families

Respite child care programs that provide temporary child care, support, and referral services to families of children with developmental disabilities are thought to be a critical component of formal social support interventions deemed necessary to promote healthy family functioning and prevent child maltreatment. This study describes sociodemographic characteristics, parenting stress levels, foster care placement, and founded child maltreatment rates in families of children with developmental disabilities who were using respite care services in a rural Midwestern state. Comparison of matched pre- and post-test Parenting Stress Index scores indicated significant decreases in Total Stress scores (t=3.27, df=86, p=0.0016), Parent Domain scores (t=3.55, df=86, p=0.0006), and Child Domain scores (t=2.2, df=86, p=0.02) following provision of respite care. Through logistic regression, it was determined that life stress, social support, and service level were significantly related to the occurrence of child maltreatment during enrollment ( p < 0.05). The investigator suggests that public health nurses can enhance their case management strategies when working with the parents of children with developmental disabilities by monitoring for caregiver burnout in addition to ensuring that the child is receiving care appropriate for his or her level of need.     

A family empowerment program for families having children with thalassemia,Thailand

The purpose of this quasi‐experimental design study was to examine the effectiveness of a family empowerment program (FEP) on family functioning and empowerment among 56 families having children with thalassemia. The 26 families in the experimental group received the FEP and usual care, while 30 families in the control group received usual care. Data collection occurred through family functioning and empowerment questionnaires. Between‐group differences were tested with t‐tests and analysis of variance. The result revealed that family caregivers who participated in the FEP had significantly increased family functioning and empowerment scores over time. The FEP can be used as a powerful intervention for assisting families and children with thalassemia and the education of health professionals.     

Analysis of behavioural characteristics of children with developmental language disorders

Abstract

Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is common in early childhood and there may be an increased risk of co-occurring social, emotional, and behavioural problems related to the language problems of children. The aim of this study was to determine whether children with DLD experience more emotional and/or behavioural problems as compared to their typically developing peers.

Method: A prospective case-control study design was used to perform a comparison between children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Thirty-eight Turkish children with DLD (mean age 38.21 months, standard deviation 8.15 months) and 30 Turkish children with typical language development (mean age 37.03 months, standard deviation 9.01 months) participated in the study.

Result: The results of the analysis indicate that children with DLD have significantly higher scores for emotional reactivity, anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, withdrawnness, sleep problems, attention problems, and aggressive behaviours as compared with their typically developing peers.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence to support children with DLD being at risk of other emotional and/or behavioural problems. An in-depth analysis of the behavioural characteristics of these children may be required to prevent and/or reduce the co-occurrence of other problems.     

以家庭为中心的护理及延续性护理在非重症哮喘患儿中的应用

[目的]观察以家庭为中心的护理及延续性护理在非重症哮喘患儿中的应用效果。[方法]将110例非重症哮喘患儿分为对照组和观察组各55例,对照组采用儿科常规护理,观察组采用“以家庭为中心”的护理及延续性护理照护,比较两组哮喘患儿住院时间、住院费用、治疗效果、家长焦虑自评、生命质量等。[结果]两组患儿在住院时间、住院费用、家长焦虑自评、生命质量方面比较,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。[结论]实施“以家庭为中心”的护理及延续性护理,可以缩短住院时间、减少住院费用、缓解家长焦虑心理、提高患儿生命质量。     

发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者照顾负担的影响因素

[目的]探讨发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者的照顾负担水平及其影响因素。[方法]使用一般资料调查表、Zarit照顾者负担量表(ZBI)、一般自我效能量表(GSES)、简易应对方式问卷、社会支持评定量表(SSRS)对122例发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者进行横断面调查,根据压力-评估-应对理论分析发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者照顾负担的影响因素。[结果]发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者的照顾负担得分为(32.20±15.57)分,主要家庭照顾者的照顾负担处于轻度负担水平,其中轻度负担水平占50.8%,中度负担水平占27.0%,重度负担水平占4.9%。进行逐步线性回归分析,得出照顾者年龄、消极应对、每日照顾时间、治疗方式和自付费用占家庭总收入的百分比对发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者的照顾负担总分有正向作用;对有无其他疾病、客观支持、自我效能总得分和第几次治疗对患儿主要家庭照顾者的照顾负担总得分有负向作用。通过逐步线性回归分析能够解释照顾负担变异的43.7%。[结论]发育性髋关节发育不良患儿主要家庭照顾者照顾负担处于轻度负担水平;患儿主要家庭照顾者的年龄、每日照顾时间、患儿本次为第几次治疗、有无其他疾病、治疗方式及自付费用占家庭总收入的百分比对主要家庭照顾者照顾负担总分有直接影响。     

The perceptions of Taiwanese families who have children with learning disability

Aims and objectives. To explore the perceptions of families in Taiwan of living with a child who have learning disability and the parents perspectives on the cultural influences on their spiritual experiences. Background. Traditionally, the family is the most important unit of society, family functioning is a key field of interest among helping professionals who provide family interventions. Design. This study adopted qualitative research with semi‐structured interviews. The study analysis used content analysis which was a process of identifying, coding and categorizing the themes in the data. Methods. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 117 parents in their homes and were interpreted by using content analysis to extract key conceptual themes from the transcribed interview texts. Results. The findings revealed that the perceptions of families with learning disability children were wide‐ranging. The stressors did not occur in a fixed order, they were different in degree and importance from one family to another. Conclusions. The results showed that the experience of analysing qualitative data was extremely valuable for parents in that it aided their own understanding of the real‐life experiences of the parents and in coming to know the parents in a richer, more meaningful way. In doing so, nurses need to be aware of their own thoughts and environment without letting it influence others. Relevance to clinical practice. The nurse should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the family's culture and be able to show respect for cultural difference to assess and identify culturally acceptable health‐care interventions.     

Experience of neonatal intensive care unit nurses in providing developmentally‐supportive care: A qualitative study

Many challenges have been noted in the implementation of developmentally‐supportive care principles in neonatal intensive care units, despite evidence that adhering to such care principles achieves positive results for the neonate. The aim of this study was to explore and describe compliance in adhering to developmentally‐supportive care principles implemented in one neonatal intensive care unit in South Africa. An exploratory design was used in this qualitative study with purposive sampling to select eligible neonatal intensive care registered nurses (n = 14) as participants. Participants all worked in a 10 bed neonatal intensive care unit at a large tertiary care public hospital. Six audio‐recorded interviews were conducted, with recordings subsequently transcribed and analyzed. Three main themes were identified: value of developmentally‐supportive care, nature of developmentally‐supportive care, and barriers to developmentally‐supportive care. One of the main themes had subthemes, which substantiated the findings, and included parent involvement, nurse engagement, and holistic care. Study outcomes offer insight into the development or revision of policies and practices, which are crucial when implementing developmentally‐supportive care, particularly in resource‐poor settings where challenges are magnified.     

Parents’ experiences of neonatal transfer. A meta‐study of qualitative research 2000–2017

Transfers of critically ill neonates are frequent phenomena. Even though parents’ participation is regarded as crucial in neonatal care, a transfer often means that parents and neonates are separated. A systematic review of the parents’ experiences of neonatal transfer is lacking. This paper describes a meta‐study addressing qualitative research about parents’ experiences of neonatal transfer. Through deconstruction and reflections of theories, methods, and empirical data, the aim was to achieve a deeper understanding of theoretical, empirical, contextual, historical, and methodological issues of qualitative studies concerning parents’ experiences of neonatal transfer over the course of this meta‐study (2000–2017). Meta‐theory and meta‐method analyses showed that caring, transition, and family‐centered care were main theoretical frames applied and that interviewing with a small number of participants was the preferred data collection method. The meta‐data‐analysis showed that transfer was a scary, unfamiliar, and threatening experience for the parents; they were losing familiar context, were separated from their neonate, and could feel their parenthood disrupted. We identified ‘wavering and wandering’ as a metaphoric representation of the parents’ experiences. The findings add knowledge about meta‐study as an approach for comprehensive qualitative research and point at the value of meta‐theory and meta‐method analyses.     

对回肠造口患者主要照顾者实施家庭赋权的效果观察

目的 探讨家庭赋权在回肠造口患者主要照顾者中的应用效果。方法 选取2019年8月—2020年8月实施回肠造口手术患者的主要照顾者74例为研究对象,按随机数字表法分为观察组和对照组,每组各37例。对照组接受常规健康教育,观察组实施基于家庭赋权的健康教育。观察比较2组患者主要照顾者的照顾准备度、照顾负担及照顾能力情况。结果 经干预后,2组患者主要照顾者的照顾准备度评分较同组干预前上升,照顾负担和照顾能力评分较同组干预前均下降,且观察组的照顾准备度评分高于对照组,照顾负担及照顾能力评分低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论 家庭赋权护理应用于术后健康指导中,可有效帮助回肠造口患者主要照顾者提高照顾准备度、照顾能力及积极感受,减轻负担水平。