Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1, Canada.
Nutr Clin Pract. 2012 Feb;27(1):129-35. doi: 10.1177/0884533611430231.
Feeding difficulties are common with an estimated prevalence of 25%-45% in normally developing children. Clinicians and researchers emphasize the need for timely and effective treatment because a proportion of children develop failure to thrive with possible long-term impairments. Interprofessional assessment and treatment has emerged as an optimal approach to reduce parental anxiety and increase children's acceptance of a wider variety of foods.
Participants, including 30 children (mean age of 26 ± 8.2 months) meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria and their families, attended a program consisting of 4 sessions, and a 1-month follow-up. Parents completed the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale pre- and posttreatment and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS).
Paired t tests indicate that the composite scores for frequency of feeding difficulties were on average significantly less posttreatment compared with pretreatment, and composite scores for frequency of parental problems with feeding were also significantly less posttreatment. These results were reflected in the composite scores for both feeding difficulties and parental problems with feeding on child- and parent-related items. The median for the GAS was +2 (range, -2 to +2). Written parental responses in the GAS reflected 2 major themes: satisfaction with the program and a desire for more individualized attention.
These results offer preliminary evidence suggesting that an interprofessionally led parent group, with contributions from clinical nutrition, occupational therapy, psychology, and speech-language pathology professionals, is effective in treating young children with feeding difficulties.
喂养困难在正常发育的儿童中较为常见，估计患病率为 25%-45%。临床医生和研究人员强调需要及时有效的治疗，因为一部分儿童会出现生长发育不良，可能会造成长期的损害。多专业评估和治疗已成为减少父母焦虑和增加儿童接受更多种类食物的最佳方法。
包括 30 名（平均年龄 26 ± 8.2 个月）符合纳入/排除标准的儿童及其家庭在内的参与者参加了一个由 4 个疗程组成的计划，并进行了 1 个月的随访。父母在治疗前后完成了行为儿科学喂养评估量表（Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale）和目标达成量表（Goal Attainment Scaling，GAS）。
配对 t 检验表明，治疗后喂养困难的频率综合评分平均明显低于治疗前，喂养方面父母问题的频率综合评分也明显低于治疗后。这些结果反映在儿童和父母相关项目的喂养困难和父母喂养问题的综合评分上。GAS 的中位数为+2（范围，-2 至+2）。GAS 中的书面父母反馈反映了两个主要主题：对该计划的满意度以及对更多个性化关注的渴望。
这些结果初步表明，由临床营养师、职业治疗师、心理学家和言语病理学家共同参与的多专业家长小组治疗有喂养困难的幼儿是有效的。
