Intervención basada en rutinas como apoyo a la participación familiar para el desarrollo del lenguaje en bebés prematuros

Abstract

Prematurity is associated with health and neurodevelopmental risks, aggravated by fears and lack of parental knowledge of their baby's needs. Therefore, early care programmes that focus on the family and natural environments, not available in Ecuador, are required. This paper presents the impact that a Routine Based Intervention (RBI) can have on family involvement in the development of their premature babies’ language. Three international universities and a non-governmental organisation that provides specialist services collaborated in this case study, which implemented the IBR for 16 weeks with families of premature babies living in popular sectors and users of the NGO. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected pre- and post-implementation. The ASQ-3 was used to assess the babies and enhance the families’ knowledge on child development. In a final interview, the mothers’ perceptions of the impact of family involvement on their babies’ language development were analysed. The results provide quantitative evidence of the babies’ progress. It is noteworthy that the baby's developmental conditions were mediated by multiple hospitalisations and the parents’ lack of knowledge about prematurity. At the end of the intervention, the families expressed their satisfaction with the process and recognised their babies’ language development as a result of increased family interaction through the RBI.