Very Low Birth Weight Infants: Participation in leisure activity and its influence on developmental outcome

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants are at risk of developmental and behavioural problems. Most of them receive numerous therapies (physical, occupational, speech therapy, early intervention programs) during infancy but there is no evidence that former VLBW infants benefit from such high intensity therapy. No data are available whether specific therapies or participation in common leisure activities or a combination of both are more efficient. Participation in leisure activities may be seen both as an outcome of development and as a determinant of psychomotor development and/or behaviour. The long term outcome of VLBW children is influenced by numerous variables. To detect the impact of an activity or therapy requires large datasets and controlling for multiple confounding variables is essential. At the Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing of the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick I am offered the opportunity to learn the appropriate methods to analyse large datasets of former VLBW infants within the HORIZON 2020: RECAP project. I will review the items about leisure activity that have been used by VLBW cohorts throughout Europe and subsequently develop a questionnaire that will help to analyse the impact of leisure activity on development and / or behaviour of VLBW children in German and English speaking countries. For this project, close cooperation and the sharing of data sets among the disciplines of neonatology, neuro-paediatrics/ developmental psychology and health care science is essential and has been established between the German Neonatal Network (PI Prof. Dr. W. Göpel, Lübeck) and the HORIZON 2020: RECAP project (PI Prof. Dr. D. Wolke, Warwick).