Healthcare providers' perspectives and needs related to the management of Pediatric Feeding Disorder: A focus group...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Clinical Training
• Multidisciplinary Care

Background:

• Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is a common and significant diagnosis affecting children and their families.
• The heterogeneous nature of PFD necessitates a multidisciplinary team approach for effective management.
• Current evidence indicates that healthcare providers may be underprepared to adequately assess and treat PFD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the training experiences of providers across the four domains of pediatric feeding disorder: medical, nutrition, feeding skill, and psychosocial.
• To identify gaps and opportunities in current provider education and clinical practice for PFD.

Main Methods:

• Conducted seven focus groups with 25 providers involved in pediatric feeding disorder care.
• Utilized thematic analysis to interpret the qualitative data from the focus groups.

Main Results:

• Identified four key themes: variations in academic preparation, challenges with workplace infrastructure and access to resources, the need for comprehensive yet feasible training, and the importance of incorporating the family perspective.
• Highlighted disparities in training and practical preparedness among providers.

Conclusions:

• There is a need to enhance provider training in pediatric feeding disorder through increased academic exposure and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Improving access to mentorship, specialized training, evidence-based resources, and a stronger research-to-practice pipeline focused on family-centered care is crucial.
• Optimizing provider education can lead to improved patient care for pediatric feeding disorder.