Dataset Information

Improving developmental and educational support for children born preterm: evaluation of an e-learning resource for education professionals.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Children born preterm are at higher risk for special educational needs and poor academic attainment compared with term-born peers, yet education professionals receive limited training and have poor knowledge of preterm birth. We have developed an interactive e-learning resource and evaluated its efficacy in improving teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting the learning of children born preterm.

Setting

Eight primary, infant or junior schools in England.

Participants

61 teachers of children aged 4-11?years, of which 55 (90%) were female.

Intervention

Interactive e-learning resource designed to improve education professionals' knowledge of long-term outcomes following preterm birth and strategies that can be used to support children's learning (www.pretermbirth.info). In a repeated measures design, participants were given up to 30?days access to the e-learning resource, before and after which they completed the Preterm Birth Knowledge Scale (PB-KS; scores 0-33; higher scores indicate greater knowledge) to assess knowledge of outcomes of prematurity. Four Likert scale items were used to assess confidence in supporting children's learning and 10 items were used to evaluate the utility of the resource. PB-KS scores and responses on confidence item were compared pre-resource and post-resource use.

Results

PB-KS scores significantly increased after accessing the e-learning resource (median (95%?CI): pre-resource 13 (11 to 14); post-resource 29 (28 to 30)), equating to a 2.6 SD increase in PB-KS scores. Teachers' confidence in supporting children born preterm was also significantly improved after using the resource. The utility of the resource was evaluated positively by participants with 97% reporting that they would recommend its use to others.

Conclusions

The e-learning resource substantially improved teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting preterm children in the classroom. Use of this resource may represent a key advance in improving educational outcomes for children born preterm.

SUBMITTER: Johnson S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6561404 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Improving developmental and educational support for children born preterm: evaluation of an e-learning resource for education professionals.

Johnson Samantha S Bamber Deborah D Bountziouka Vasiliki V Clayton Sarah S Cragg Lucy L Gilmore Camilla C Griffiths Rose R Marlow Neil N Simms Victoria V Wharrad Heather J HJ

BMJ open 20190605 6

<h4>Objectives</h4>Children born preterm are at higher risk for special educational needs and poor academic attainment compared with term-born peers, yet education professionals receive limited training and have poor knowledge of preterm birth. We have developed an interactive e-learning resource and evaluated its efficacy in improving teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting the learning of children born preterm.<h4>Setting</h4>Eight primary, infant or junior scho ...[more]

PMID: 31171555

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Project description:ImportanceThere are concerns that apparently healthy extremely preterm children face a risk of developing motor impairments, such as developmental coordination disorder.ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence of developmental coordination disorder and associated comorbidities in a national cohort of apparently healthy children born at 22 to 26 gestational weeks, compared alongside term-born peers.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective, population-based cohort study included all children who were consecutively born at 22 to 26 gestational weeks in Sweden from April 1, 2004, through March 31, 2007. At 6.5 years, 441 preterm children were evaluated alongside 371 controls. A total of 275 preterm children (62.4%) and 359 term-born children (96.8%) did not have neurodevelopmental disabilities. Motor assessments were completed for 229 of 275 preterm children (83.3%) and 344 of 359 (95.8%) term-born children, who composed the final study sample.Main outcomes and measuresDevelopmental coordination disorder was defined as a score of the fifth percentile or lower on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition scale, using control group scores. Assessment tools included the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition, the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scales, the Five to Fifteen questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire.ResultsOf the 229 extremely preterm children and 344 term-born controls who underwent motor assessments, 115 (50.2%) and 194 (56.4%) were boys, respectively. Developmental coordination disorder was present in 85 of 229 (37.1%) preterm children and in 19 of 344 controls (5.5%) (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 7.92; 99% CI, 3.69-17.20). When preterm children with developmental coordination disorder were compared with term-born peers, the risk was increased for total behavioral problems, internalizing, externalizing, attentional problems, hyperactivity, perceptual problems, executive dysfunction, and poor social skills, with adjusted ORs varying from 2.66 (99% CI, 1.09-6.48) for time concepts to 9.06 (99% CI, 3.60-22.8) for attentional problems (all P < .01). When preterm children with and without developmental coordination disorder were compared, preterm children with developmental coordination disorder had more behavioral problems; the adjusted OR for total behavioral problems was 2.71 (99% CI, 1.15-6.37); for externalizing problems, 2.80 (99% CI, 1.10-7.12); for inattention, 3.38 (99% CI, 1.39-8.18); and for combined attention/hyperactivity problems, 3.68 (99% CI, 1.47-9.16) (all P < .01). Parents underestimated the children's motor problems and only a few of the children had received psychological care or physiotherapy.Conclusions and relevanceChildren who were born extremely preterm faced a high risk for developmental coordination disorder with associated comorbidities. Our findings support the importance of a structured follow-up of motor function, behavior, and cognition.

Dataset Information

Improving developmental and educational support for children born preterm: evaluation of an e-learning resource for education professionals.

Objectives

Setting

Participants

Intervention

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Improving developmental and educational support for children born preterm: evaluation of an e-learning resource for education professionals.

Similar Datasets

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