Investigation of the effectiveness of family collaborative early intervention approach based on sensory strategies, activity based motor training and environmental enrichment in premature infants: SAFE national early interventıon approach

In this study, it was aimed to develop the SAFE treatment approach, which is a family collaborative early intervention approach based on sensory strategies, activity-based motor training and environmental enrichment, and to examine the effects of this approach on sensory, motor, cognitive and language development in premature infants. Twenty-four premature infants with corrected ages of 9-10 months were included in the study. Infants were randomly divided into 2 groups. Infants in the control group were included in the family training program according to the principles of Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT). Infants in the treatment group were included in the family training program according to the principles of the SAFE treatment approach. Infants in both groups before the treatment and after 10 weeks of treatment were assessed by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley III), Hammersmith Infants Neurological Examination (HINE), Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS). The mental health of the parents was evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale Short Form (DASS-SF). All assessment were applied by blinded raters. Before the treatment, the Bayley III cognitive total score and language total score of the control group were significantly higher than SAFE treatment group (p <0.05). There was no difference between the groups before the treatment in terms of HINE, TSFI, COPM, AHEMD-IS, DASS-SF scores (p> 0.05). After the treatment, a significant difference was observed between the groups in favor of the SAFE treatment group in terms of Bayley III cognitive and language development scores, TSFI results, and AHEMD-IS score (p <0.05). It was observed that the SAFE treatment approach increased cognitive, language and sensory development scores and environmental enrichment significantly in preterm infants with corrected ages of 9-10 months compared to the control group. It was concluded that SAFE, which is a family collaborative early intervention approach based on sensory strategies, activity-based motor training and environmental enrichment, can be used effectively in premature infants.