The Developmental Participation Skills Assessment: Development and Content Validation.

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Developmental pediatrics
• Clinical assessment tools

Background:

• Non-contingent caregiving negatively impacts infant regulation and neurodevelopment.
• Hospitalized infants require sensitive caregiving to minimize stress and trauma.
• A need exists for tools to assess infant readiness and participation in care.

Approach:

• Developed the Developmental Participation Skills Assessment (DPS) based on a literature review and evidence-based criteria.
• Validated the DPS through five phases, including use by NICU professionals, focus groups, and expert feedback.
• Incorporated caregiver completion of the DPS post-interaction to facilitate reflection.

Key Points:

• The DPS is an observational instrument designed for hospitalized infants, from preterm to full-term.
• It assesses infant readiness, participation quality, and stability during and after caregiving.
• The tool was developed and validated by 50 multidisciplinary professionals across multiple NICUs.

Conclusions:

• The DPS provides an easy-to-use method for clinicians to assess infant caregiving interactions.
• It promotes clinician reflection, enhancing mindfulness and contingency in care.
• Utilizing the DPS has the potential to reduce toxic stress and improve infant outcomes.