Thompson Kelsey L, Romeo Cuyler, Estrem Hayley H, Pederson Jaclyn, Peterson Matthew, Delaney Amy L, Rabaey Paula, Sharp William G
Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1700 MLK Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.
Feeding Matters, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Dysphagia. 2025 Feb;40(1):187-199. doi: 10.1007/s00455-024-10718-x. Epub 2024 May 27.
Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is increasingly common and is often treated by speech language pathologists (SLPs) and occupational therapists (OTs) in the community setting. However, the preparedness of these disciplines to effectively address PFD is relatively unknown.
A national (US), online survey was disseminated to providers who assess and treat PFD. For the present analysis, the responses of SLPs (N = 418) and OTs (N = 195) related to their clinical background, educational background, post-graduate training, and self-rated clinical effectiveness were statistically analyzed and compared across the two disciplines.
Both SLPs and OTs report feeling underprepared to work with PFD clients immediately following their academic training, but time spent in post-graduate training and years of clinical practice both significantly (p < 0.0001) increased feelings of effectiveness in assessing and treating PFD. Most SLPs and OTs pursued self-directed learning activities to increase competence, with the most common activities being article review, podcasts, and peer case review, although SLPs were significantly more likely to use podcasts (p < 0.0001) and peer review (p = 0.0004) than OTs. The most common barriers for providers were financial, time, travel, and institutional support barriers.
While PFD is a key practice area of both SLPs and OTs, both provider groups feel unprepared and under-supported in providing competent care to these patients upon graduation. Future research and policy should support advancements in training for current SLPs and OTs related to PFD and address current barriers to a specialized educational pathway.
小儿喂养障碍（PFD）日益常见，在社区环境中通常由言语语言病理学家（SLP）和职业治疗师（OT）进行治疗。然而，这些学科有效应对PFD的准备情况相对未知。
在美国开展了一项针对评估和治疗PFD的提供者的全国性在线调查。对于本分析，对SLP（N = 418）和OT（N = 195）在临床背景、教育背景、研究生培训以及自我评定的临床效果方面的回复进行了统计分析，并在两个学科之间进行了比较。
SLP和OT都表示在学术培训后立即与PFD患者合作时感到准备不足，但研究生培训时间和临床实践年限均显著（p < 0.0001）增强了评估和治疗PFD的效能感。大多数SLP和OT都进行自主学习活动以提高能力，最常见的活动是文章综述、播客和同行病例评审，不过SLP使用播客（p < 0.0001）和同行评审（p = 0.0004）的可能性显著高于OT。提供者面临的最常见障碍是财务、时间、差旅和机构支持方面的障碍。
虽然PFD是SLP和OT的关键实践领域，但两个提供者群体在毕业后为这些患者提供胜任的护理时都感到准备不足且支持不够。未来的研究和政策应支持当前SLP和OT在PFD相关培训方面的进步，并解决当前通往专业教育途径的障碍。
