Participação em casa, na escola e na comunidade de crianças nascidas prematuras

Abstract

Premature newborns have high perinatal morbidity and are more likely to develop neurological deficits, delays in motor, cognitive, language and behavior development. These alterations can be barriers to the performance of occupational activities characteristic of the child, and consequently influence their social participation. So far, the results of studies have focused on the impact of prematurity on body structures and functions, and on skill components, without considering children's participation in different contexts. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of prematurity on the participation of children between 5 and 7 years old. Specifically: (a) describe the participation of premature children aged 5 to 7 years in home, school and community contexts; (b) compare participation between preterm and typically developing children aged 5 to 7 years. The study is characterized by a quantitative, observational cross-sectional nature. Sample composed of mothers of children born in 2014-2017 at Hospital Sofia Feldman in Belo Horizonte/MG, divided into two groups, 30 mothers of prematurely born children with gestational age less than or equal to 32 weeks and weighing less than or equal to 1,500 grams and 30 mothers of full-term infants, with gestational age greater than or equal to 37 weeks and weighing more than 2,500 grams. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the survey took place online. The data collection instruments were the participant's characterization form, Economic Classification Criteria, PEM-CY. Descriptive analyzes were used to characterize the sample in terms of variables. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the percentages in each context evaluated by the PEM-CY. The significance level adopted for all analyzes will be α=0.05. Children who were born at term were more likely to participate in activities at home compared to preterm children. Regarding the level of involvement in the community context, full-term children showed a higher level of involvement in activities when compared to premature ones. Desire for parents to change, in the school context, for premature children was also significant when compared to full-term children. In order for children to participate in activities at home, at school and in the community, parents need to be integrated with the demands of that context and should enable their children to have more experiences in a repertoire of activities. When necessary, parents should enlist trained professionals to assist with their child's participation in activities with the purpose of helping them achieve desired outcomes that support health and their participation to positively affect their well-being and life satisfaction.