Pediatric feeding and swallowing problems: an interdisciplinary team approach

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Occupational Therapy
• Dietetics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Feeding and swallowing difficulties in children present a significant clinical challenge.
• Oshawa General Hospital established an interdisciplinary feeding and swallowing clinic in 1995 to address these issues.
• The clinic team comprises a pediatrician, speech-language pathologist (S-LP), occupational therapist (OT), and registered dietitian (RD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively evaluate the performance and success rates of an interdisciplinary feeding and swallowing clinic.
• To assess goal attainment in pediatric patients with feeding problems.
• To analyze clinic outcomes based on patient age and the contributing healthcare professional.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 104 pediatric subjects treated at the clinic over four years.
• Individualized goals related to growth and/or feeding abilities were set at initial and follow-up visits.
• Success rates were measured by the percentage of initial goals attained by the first follow-up visit and analyzed by patient age group and professional discipline.

Main Results:

• Overall, 75.9% of initial goals were achieved by the first follow-up visit.
• No significant differences in success rates were observed across patient age groups (infant, toddler, child) (p=0.07).
• Success rates were also not significantly different among the involved healthcare professionals (S-LP, OT, RD) (p=0.92).

Conclusions:

• The interdisciplinary team approach is a successful model for treating pediatric feeding and swallowing problems.
• The clinic demonstrated effectiveness in helping patients achieve individualized feeding and growth-related goals.
• The collaborative model shows consistent outcomes regardless of patient age or the specific discipline primarily involved.