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Assessment and diagnosis of Paediatric Feeding Disorder: A scoping review of assessment tools and psychometric
Rachel Wanless1, Mary Claessen2, Daniel F Gucciardi1
1Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Insights
Diagnosing Paediatric Feeding Disorder requires robust feeding assessments covering all four domains. Combining parent and clinician input is crucial for accurate diagnosis and improved child outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Clinical Psychology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) is characterized by age-inappropriate oral intake, impacting medical, nutritional, feeding skills, and psychosocial functioning.
- Current feeding assessments show variable psychometric properties and unclear alignment with PFD criteria.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and analyze paediatric feeding and swallowing assessment tools.
- To map these tools to the established domains of Paediatric Feeding Disorder.
- To narratively evaluate the psychometric properties of identified assessment tools.
Main Methods:
- A systematic scoping review was conducted across Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases.
- Included studies focused on children aged 6 months to 3 years with psychometric data on PFD assessments.
- Data from 137 papers, analyzing 95 distinct feeding assessments, were extracted.
Main Results:
- Ninety-five feeding assessments were identified, predominantly parent-reported questionnaires (66.3%) and clinician assessments (31.6%).
- Most assessments (87%) covered multiple PFD domains.
- Psychometric properties were reported infrequently, with internal consistency being the most cited (13.5%).
Conclusions:
- Accurate PFD diagnosis necessitates feeding assessments with strong psychometric evidence across all four PFD domains.
- Integrating parent-reported and clinician assessments is vital for a holistic diagnostic approach.
- Further research is essential to improve the reliability and validity of PFD assessment tools.
Purpose:
Paediatric Feeding Disorder occurs when oral intake is not age-appropriate and associated with impaired medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction. Psychometric properties of feeding assessments are variable, with unclear mapping to the Paediatric Feeding Disorder criteria. We aimed to explore paediatric feeding and swallowing assessment tools mapped to Paediatric Feeding Disorder domains and narratively analyse the psychometric properties.
Method:
This systematic scoping review utilised three databases (Medline, Embase, Web of Science). Studies written in English regarding children 0;6 months to 3;11 years with psychometrics on assessment of Paediatric Feeding Disorder were included.
Result:
32,322 papers met inclusion criteria, and 137 papers were included in final extraction. Ninety-five feeding assessments were identified; 66.3% parent-reported questionnaires, 31.6% clinician assessments, and 2.1% clinician or caregiver rating scales. Of these, 87% of assessments included a combination of Paediatric Feeding Disorder domains. Psychometric properties were reported on 520 occasions, the highest being internal consistency (13.5%).
Conclusion:
Diagnosis of Paediatric Feeding Disorder requires use of feeding assessments with the strongest psychometric evidence to comprehensively assess all four Paediatric Feeding Disorder domains. Assessments should incorporate parent-reported and clinician assessment to synergise caregiver perspectives with clinical expertise. Further research is needed to enhance reliability and validity testing of paediatric feeding assessments to form a comprehensive Paediatric Feeding Disorder diagnosis.
