The goal of this study was to look at the opinions of carers of children with feeding problems. The researchers sought to understand their child’s feeding impairment through the eyes of caregivers, including the impact that impairments had on daily life and social participation, what outcomes mattered most to caregivers, contextual determinants that affect achieving desired outcomes, and how treatment approaches can best support families. They questioned caregivers of children aged 2 to 5 years who received treatment at the Center for Feeding and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, MA. All of the youngsters were diagnosed with a feeding issue, which is described as a problem with oral intake. Using immersion-crystallization techniques, they examined interview transcripts. After interviewing 30 caregivers, they reached theme saturation. 66.7 percent of the children were white, 13.3 percent Asian, 10.0 percent black, and 10.0 percent mixed race. They identified four themes: feeding impairments have an impact on children’s daily lives and social participation; improving their child’s health and quality of life is most important to caregivers; child, caregiver, and community factors are facilitators of achieving desired outcomes; time, financial, access, and knowledge factors are barriers; and caregivers prefer treatment approaches that are integrative.
In light of the fact that paediatric feeding problems have a significant influence on a child’s daily life and social engagement, therapy should be family-centered, focus on functional and meaningful outcomes, and address modifiable socio contextual factors.
