Banca de DEFESA: NATHALIA DE FIGUEIREDO SILVA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : NATHALIA DE FIGUEIREDO SILVA
DATE: 26/08/2025
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Remoto
TITLE:

A look at our little warriors: barriers and opportunities in conventional care for premature infants in socioeconomic vulnerability

KEY WORDS:

physiotherapy, prematurity, development

PAGES: 114
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional
SUMMARY:

The early years of life play a crucial role in an individual's development, particularly for those who experience childhood under conditions that pose risks to neurodevelopment. Prematurity is a health condition that predisposes individuals to neurodevelopmental alterations, as it combines the infant’s biological risk factors with the potential social risk factors present in their families. Socioeconomic characteristics significantly affect access to and the provision of healthcare services necessary for the care and stimulation of this population’s development. Although obstetric and neonatal care is a priority in the national health policy agenda, early intervention services for those born prematurely appear to fall short of leveraging the neurological window of opportunity in early life to prevent and minimize neurodevelopmental alterations. High-income countries have been developing effective physiotherapeutic interventions to stimulate the development of preterm infants, ranging from neonatal intensive care units to home environments. However, interventions focused on the hospital-to-home transition have not yet been tested in middle- and low-income countries such as Brazil. The objective of this study was to monitor the conventional care provided to preterm infants living in regions with limited access to healthcare services and in socially vulnerable conditions, in order to identify barriers and opportunities for the implementation of an early intervention service for the hospital-to-home transition. To achieve this objective, five studies were proposed: (1) Preterm births and early intervention procedures via SUS – an overview of the Brazilian Northeast; (2) Big Signals, Small Returns: An Ecological Study on Physical Therapy Follow-Up for Preterm Infants in the Third Stage of the Kangaroo Method; (3) Family perceptions of prematurity, neurodevelopment, and early intervention: a qualitative study; (4) Neuromotor and Cognitive Outcomes of Preterm Infants at Three Months of Corrected Age in a Northeastern Region of Brazil: A Pilot Study; and finally (5) Proposal of a hospital-to-home intervention protocol: adaptation of SPEEDI to the Brazilian context. Data analyses indicate that access to early stimulation services by preterm infants in their first year of life results in a ratio of less than one consultation per year. Although mothers report satisfaction with their participation during the initial stages of the Kangaroo Method, more than 90% of the monitored dyads do not return for physiotherapy sessions within the first month after hospital discharge. Furthermore, families of preterm infants demonstrate limited awareness regarding prematurity and the need for developmental interventions, with cognitive and motor outcomes found to be predominantly below average at three months of corrected age. The proposed adaptation of the SPEEDI model for Brazil, as a hospital-to-home transition intervention, may overcome the barriers identified in these studies. The UFRN Research Ethics Committee approved all studies, and all participants signed an informed consent form.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interna - 2179208 - ANA RAQUEL RODRIGUES LINDQUIST
Externa à Instituição - DAYANE MONTEMEZZO - UDESC
Interna - 2966742 - KAROLINNE SOUZA MONTEIRO
Externa à Instituição - NELCI ADRIANA CICUTO FERREIRA ROCHA - UFSCAR
Presidente - 1803907 - SILVANA ALVES PEREIRA