Background

Family-centred practice, an approach in which intervention is directed at the whole family, is now considered "state of the art" in paediatric early intervention. Studies have shown that children develop best in a supportive family where the needs of all family members are addressed. The goal of family-centred practice is not only the optimal development of the child, but also the physical and psychological well-being of the whole family. Family-centred practice is an approach implemented by health professionals from different professions, e.g. midwives, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. In order to provide family-centred early intervention/postnatal care in the sense of evidence-based practice, it is essential to capture the parents' perspective. Midwives usually deal with families with healthy newborns, while occupational therapists and physiotherapists deal with infants or toddlers with or at risk of manifest developmental impairment. Studies have shown that high-quality family-centred early intervention/postnatal care leads to parents coping better with their everyday situation, experiencing self-efficacy and self-confidence and an increase in their well-being. These are important prerequisites for the health of the whole family. The experience and perspective of families have not yet been recorded systematically and interdisciplinarily. However, this is important especially with regard to an evidence-based improvement of the quality of family-centred early intervention/postnatal care. The project closes the gap of the missing measurement instrument.

Aims

The main objective of this research project is to improve the quality of family-centred early intervention and postnatal care and thus also the living conditions of the children and the quality of life of the families. To achieve this, it is crucial to consider and include the parents' perspective. In order to achieve this goal, a parent questionnaire that can be used by different professional groups working in the field of family-centred early intervention and care is necessary. The questionnaire should be freely accessible to these professionals (open access).