Young Children's Participation And Environment Measure Research Articles

Association between environmental factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and functioning of infants with biological risk in the first year of life: Cross-sectional exploratory study

BackgroundChild development can be influenced by family and environmental factors, which changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it is important to explore how these factors are associated with the functioning of infants with biological risk in the first year of life. ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate associations between family factors, home opportunities, caregiver perception of environmental support and barriers at home and environmental factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and gross motor skills and home participation in infants with biological risk in the first year of life. MethodsFifty-six infants aged two to 12 months (M = 5.80 months; ±2.44) and their mothers performed remote assessments of gross motor skills using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS); participation and environment (phone call) by the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM); family factors (income, age and maternal education), home opportunities – The Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development – Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) and environmental factors during the COVID-19 pandemic (social distancing, emotional and financial factors and physiotherapy) (online forms). Regression models were constructed, considering gross motor skills and home participation as outcome variables, with a 5 % significance level. ResultsWe found that older maternal age (p = 0.001), more home opportunities (p = 0.043), and less rigorous social distancing (as opposed to total social distancing [p = 0.045]) were significantly associated with better gross motor skills; and higher maternal education (p = 0.050) was associated with more involvement in home activities. ConclusionFamily factors, home opportunities and social distancing were differently associated with the gross motor skills and home participation of infants with biological risk in the first year of life.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the young children participation and environment measure for its use in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

Concepts such as participation and environment may differ across cultures. Consequently, cultural equivalence must be assured when using a measure like the Young Children Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) in other settings than the original English-speaking contexts. This study aimed to cross-culturally translate and adapt the YC-PEM into German as it is used in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Following international guidelines, two translations were compared, and the research and expert team made the first adaptations. Twelve caregivers of children with and without disabilities from three German-speaking countries participated in two rounds of think-aloud interviews. Data were analyzed by content analysis to look for item, semantic, operational, conceptual, and measurement equivalence to reach a cultural equivalence version in German. Adaptations were needed in all fields but prominently in item, operational, and conceptual equivalence. Operational equivalence resulted in graphical adaptations in the instructions and questions to make the German version of YC-PEM, YC-PEM (G), more user-friendly. This study presents a cross-cultural translation and adaptation process to develop a German version of the YC-PEM suitable for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A culturally adapted YC-PEM (G) is now available for research, practice, and further validation.

Implementing an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome and Decision Support Tool in Early Intervention.

The aim of the study is to identify and prioritize early intervention (EI) stakeholders' perspectives of supports and barriers to implementing the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM), an electronic patient-reported outcome (e-PRO) tool, for scaling its implementation across multiple local and state EI programs. An explanatory sequential (quan > QUAL) mixed-methods study was conducted with EI families (n = 6), service coordinators (n = 9), and program leadership (n = 7). Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to share select quantitative pragmatic trial results (e.g., percentages for perceived helpfulness of implementation strategies) and elicit stakeholder perspectives to contextualize these results. Three study staff deductively coded transcripts to constructs in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Data within CFIR constructs were inductively analyzed to generate themes that were rated by national early childhood advisors for their relevance to longer term implementation. All three stakeholder groups (i.e., families, service coordinators, program leadership) identified thematic supports and barriers across multiple constructs within each of four CFIR domains: (1) Six themes for "intervention characteristics," (2) Six themes for "process," (3) three themes for "inner setting," and (4) four themes for "outer setting." For example, all stakeholder groups described the value of the YC-PEM e-PRO in forging connections and eliciting meaningful information about family priorities for efficient service plan development ("intervention characteristics"). Stakeholders prioritized reaching families with diverse linguistic preferences and user navigation needs, further tailoring its interface with automated data capture and exchange processes ("process"); and fostering a positive implementation climate ("inner setting"). Service coordinators and program leadership further articulated the value of YC-PEM e-PRO results for improving EI access ("outer setting"). Results demonstrate the YC-PEM e-PRO is an evidence-based intervention that is viable for implementation. Optimizations to its interface are needed before undertaking hybrid type-2 and 3 multisite trials to test these implementation strategies across state and local EI programs with electronic data capture capabilities and diverse levels of organizational readiness and resources for implementation.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use in Singapore

ABSTRACTAims: To estimate the psychometric properties of a culturally adapted version of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use among Singaporean families. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study. Caregivers of 151 Singaporean children with (n = 83) and without (n = 68) developmental disabilities, between 0 and 7 years, completed the YC-PEM (Singapore) questionnaire with 3 participation scales (frequency, involvement, and change desired) and 1 environment scale for three settings: home, childcare/preschool, and community. Setting-specific estimates of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were obtained. Results: Internal consistency estimates varied from .59 to .92 for the participation scales and .73 to .79 for the environment scale. Test-retest reliability estimates from the YC-PEM conducted on two occasions, 2–3 weeks apart, varied from .39 to .89 for the participation scales and from .65 to .80 for the environment scale. Moderate to large differences were found in participation and perceived environmental support between children with and without a disability. Conclusions: YC-PEM (Singapore) scales have adequate psychometric properties except for low internal consistency for the childcare/preschool participation frequency scale and low test-retest reliability for home participation frequency scale. The YC-PEM (Singapore) may be used for population-level studies involving young children with and without developmental disabilities.

The effect of child, family and environmental factors on the participation of young children with disabilities

BackgroundWhile participation is essential to a child's health and well-being, little is known about participation patterns of young children with disabilities. ObjectiveThis study described the participation of children with disabilities under age 6, and examined the extent to which the child's factors (i.e., age, complexity of child's condition), family factors (i.e., general family functioning, income) and environmental factors (i.e., environmental helpfulness) affect participation dimensions (frequency, involvement, desire for change) in three different settings: home, daycare/preschool and community. MethodsCross-sectional design was employed. Parents (n = 90) of children aged 1.4–6 years old (mean = 4.15, SD = 1.03) with disabilities completed the French Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) and Family Assessment Device. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions were performed to describe participation patterns and identify the significant explanatory factors in each setting. ResultsParticipation restriction, based on frequency of activities, was primarily observed in the community setting. Environmental helpfulness (resources, supports) consistently explained participation levels for at least one of the dimensions across all settings, whereas contribution of the child's factors was less evident. Family functioning had a significant effect when examining participation involvement in the community and desire for change in the home setting and, in combination with environmental helpfulness, explained 18% and 21% of the variance respectively. ConclusionThis study emphasizes the role of the environment in supporting participation of young children with disabilities. Findings can re-direct practitioners' attention towards modifying the environment as a primary target of intervention aimed at promoting health through participation.

Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure: Swedish Cultural Adaptation

ABSTRACTAim: To culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use by caregivers of Swedish children with and without disabilities, aged 2–5 years. Methods: Thirteen cognitive interviews and two focus groups with caregivers of children with and without disabilities were conducted to evaluate the cultural relevance of YC-PEM content for use in Sweden. Per participant feedback, a revised version of the Swedish YC-PEM was created and pilot tested with caregivers of children with disabilities (n = 11) and children with typical development (n = 22). Results: User feedback informed content revisions to 7% of items. Internal consistency estimates of the Swedish YC-PEM pilot version were acceptable and ranged from .70 to .92 for all but two of the YC-PEM scales. Mean percentage agreement between raters ranged from 47% to 93% across YC-PEM scales for inter-rater, and 44% to 86% for test-retest. One of twelve YC-PEM scales revealed significant group differences between young children with and without disabilities. Conclusions: This study contributes preliminary evidence for the use of some scales within a culturally adapted YC-PEM in Sweden. Further validation with larger samples will allow for parametric testing to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Establishing the Cultural Equivalence of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for Use in Singapore

ABSTRACTAims: Establishing the cultural equivalence of clinical assessments is critical to ensuring culturally competent care. Developed in North America, the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) is a caregiver questionnaire of participation in home, preschool, and community activities and perceptions of environmental impact on participation. The purpose of this study is to establish the cultural equivalence of YC-PEM content for use in Singapore. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten early childhood and healthcare providers and cognitive interviews with ten parents in Singapore to examine the relevance of original YC-PEM content (activities, environmental factors, item wording). Interviews were transcribed, summarized, and categorized according to item, semantic, conceptual, and operational dimensions of the Applied Cultural Framework that served as a decision-making guide to keep, modify, or delete the items. Results: Providers and parents agreed on conceptual, item and semantic changes but less on operational changes. Significant changes were made to improve comprehension of the YC-PEM. Conclusions: Despite using the same language, the majority of the YC-PEM items needed modification to be relevant to the Singapore culture. Cultural adaptation of the YC-PEM is important because there are cultural differences in children's participation and their environments, as well as the way people understand words.

Caregiver Input to Develop a Web-Based Care Planning Guide Focused on Young Children’s Participation

To examine caregiver perspectives of a stepwise process for building on a baseline assessment of their young child's participation, using the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM), for care planning.

Validation of Environmental Content in the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure

ObjectiveTo evaluate the concurrent validity of the environment content in the newly developed Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM). DesignCross-sectional study. SettingData were collected online. ParticipantsConvenience and snowball sampling methods were used to survey caregivers of children (N=381; 85 children with developmental disabilities and delays and 296 children without developmental disabilities and delays) aged 0 and 5 years (mean age, 36.49±20.18mo). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresThe YC-PEM includes an assessment of the effect of environment on children's participation for 3 settings: home, daycare/preschool, and community. Pearson and Spearman correlational analyses were used to examine the concurrent validity of the YC-PEM environmental content according to a criterion measure, the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors–Child and Parent Version (CHIEF-CP). The YC-PEM and the CHIEF-CP items were first mapped to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health–Children and Youth Version to identify items for pairwise comparison. ResultsWe found small to moderate negative associations for 51 of 66 pairwise comparisons involving CHIEF-CP and YC-PEM environment items (r=−.13 to −.39; P<.01). Significant associations were found for items in all 5 International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health–Children and Youth Version environmental domains. ConclusionsResults lend further support for the use of the YC-PEM for valid caregiver assessment of the physical, social, attitudinal, and institutional features of environments in terms of their effect on young children's participation within the home, daycare/preschool, and community settings.

Psychometric Properties of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure

ObjectiveTo evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly developed Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM). DesignCross-sectional study. SettingData were collected online and by telephone. ParticipantsConvenience and snowball sampling methods were used to survey caregivers of children (N=395, comprising children with [n=93] and without [n=302] developmental disabilities and delays) between the ages of 0 and 5 years (mean age ± SD, 35.33±20.29mo) and residing in North America. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresThe YC-PEM includes 3 participation scales and 1 environment scale. Each scale is assessed across 3 settings: home, daycare/preschool, and community. Data were analyzed to derive estimates of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. ResultsInternal consistency ranged from .68 to .96 and .92 to .96 for the participation and environment scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability (2–4wk) ranged from .31 to .93 for participation scales and from .91 to .94 for the environment scale. One of 3 participation scales and the environment scale demonstrated significant group differences by disability status across all 3 settings, and all 4 scales discriminated between disability groups for the daycare/preschool setting. The participation scales exhibited small to moderate positive associations with functional performance scores. ConclusionsResults lend initial support for the use of the YC-PEM in research to assess the participation of young children with disabilities and delays in terms of (1) home, daycare/preschool, and community participation patterns; (2) perceived environmental supports and barriers to participation; and (3) activity-specific parent strategies to promote participation.