Quick Summary of OT Role in SCBU:
From my research these are some of the basic things that I think an OT would do in SCBU:
- Deals with positioning and handling of infant
- Prepares Baby and Family for home environment.
- Provides education to parents and family.
- Conducts assessments where appropriate.
- Helps family with Transition from hospital to home.
More in depth explanation of OT Role:
"Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) provide care for preterm, low birth weight infants and for neonates who are sick... occupational therapists have started to establish roles within these units" (Warren, 1992, p 218). Occupational therapists main area of concern is to enable people (this includes infants) to carry out activities of daily living. For an Infant these activities could be things such as feeding or helping the infant to develop the appropriate developmental skills through sensory stimulation.
Warren, (1994) states that the aims of an OT in the SCBU are to monitor the babies needs and adapt the environment accordingly, as well as to facilitate interaction of baby and carer. Warren, (1992) states that OTs will get involved in treatment by using Positioning, Handling, Stimulation, Assessing infants skill, helping with feeding, providing parent support, and finally helping with transition to home ans well as follow-up.
In my Opinion there is definitely reason for OTs to work in the SCBU with infants. I believe OTs have the perfect knowledge and skill base for this area as we are well trained in education approaches and we are used to incorporating family members into our treatment plans. Furthermore OTs are used to their role overlapping with other professions and working collaboratively as part of a team.
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