No objective measures for bottle feeding readiness or progression to full feeding for the preterm infant exist. Preterm infants are often encouraged to bottle feed before they are ready. Consequently, they are subjected to a trial-and-error approach that may actually increase stress and detract from success. Decision-making during this process is most often intuitive and seldom takes into account other physiologic and behavioral variables. To date, maturation and severity of illness have been studied independently but little is known about the inter-relationships between these and other physiologic and behavioral variables and feeding readiness in preterm infants. The development of a reliable and valid measure sensitive to both bottle feeding readiness and progression will provide a basis for design and evaluation of interventions. The Feeding Readiness and Progression in Preterms Scale (FRAPPS) (McGrath, 2001) is a 10 item pen-and- paper instrument that has been designed to quickly assess a variety of physiologic and behavioral parameters that appear to influence bottle feeding readiness/progression in the preterm infant. Content and face validity have been established. Pilot work evaluating construct validity has also been completed. This research with 50 preterm infants will examine other parameters of construct validity as well as establish the clinical utility of the tool. Thus, the specific aims of this project are to: (1) Examine the reliability, and validity of the FRAPPS and the FRAPPS using the BioPack system integrated with the Medoff-Cooper Sucking Apparatus to collect physiologic and sucking measures of stability as correlates for feeding success and, (2) Examine the FRAPPS variables and their relationships to provide objective measures of bottle feeding readiness and progression (improvement made towards full bottle feeding) in preterm infants. Data analysis will be correlational in design and will be directed toward establishing reliability and validity of the tool. Measures of construct validity will include correlations with other measures and logistic regression. ? ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Type
Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15)
Project #
7R15NR009235-02
Application #
7281534
Study Section
Nursing Science: Children and Families Study Section (NSCF)
Program Officer
Bryan, Yvonne E
Project Start
2006-03-03
Project End
2009-02-28
Budget Start
2006-09-01
Budget End
2009-02-28
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$218,202
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Commonwealth University
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
105300446
City
Richmond
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
23298
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Briere, Carrie-Ellen; McGrath, Jacqueline; Cong, Xiaomei et al. (2014) State of the science: a contemporary review of feeding readiness in the preterm infant. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 28:51-8; quiz E3-4
Pickier, Rita H; McGrath, Jacqueline M; Reyna, Barbara A et al. (2013) A model of neurodevelopmental risk and protection for preterm infants. Adv Neonatal Care 13 Suppl 5:S11-20
Pickler, Rita H; McGrath, Jacqueline M; Reyna, Barbara A et al. (2013) Effects of the neonatal intensive care unit environment on preterm infant oral feeding. Res Rep Neonatol 2013:15-20
Pickler, Rita H; McGrath, Jacqueline M; Reyna, Barbara A et al. (2010) A model of neurodevelopmental risk and protection for preterm infants. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 24:356-65