Keywords

biological risk, environmental risk, family, intervention, newborn, neonatal intensive care unit, prevention

 

Authors

  1. Laadt, Virginia L. PhD, OTR
  2. Woodward, Barbara J. MPH, OTR
  3. Papile, Lu-Ann MD

Abstract

The identification of the types and intensity of services and community supports needed to promote optimal development in at-risk infants has received little attention. This gap has resulted in children and families that are over-, under-, or mis-served. We describe an innovative process, beginning within the first week of neonatal intensive care unit admission, for determining the types and intensity of developmental and family support services that may be indicated. The approach, referred to as SORT, the System of Risk Triage, juxtaposes an infant's biological-biomedical risk conditions with psychosocial-physical environment circumstances to determine the infant's risk for subsequent developmental delays/disabilities. The determination of each infant's risk profile implies a list of service options that may be shaped according to each infant's needs and each family's interests. Although the SORT has been used in neonatal intensive care units nationwide, the process and framework have potential for broader application.