Intervention of the Occupational Therapist in the Changes of the Occupational Performance of Newborn Pre-Term in Intensive Neonatal Therapy Unit

Poster apresentado no Annual Meeting 2020, Escola de Saúde de Coimbra.A newborn born less than 37 weeks gestational is considered a preterm newborn. In this sense, the occupational therapist who exhibits a holistic view about it, intends to enhance their occupational performance and improve their quality of life. To describe the performance of Occupational Therapy (OT) with the preterm newborn in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), responding to the scarcity of information on the subject at the national level, and the need for occupational therapists in this context.The study uses as a method of data collection a semi-structured interview conducted to an occupational therapist that participates in a NICU in mainland Portugal and as a method of data analysis WebQDA software. It has a qualitative approach, it is a descriptive and exploratory study, taking into account the general objective, and it is assumed as a case study, by the technical procedures used. When identifying and analyzing the information related to the research question, we can affirm that during the interview the occupational therapist emphasized the intervention of OT in Sensory Modulation and Guidance to Caregivers of the Preterm Newborn.In order to optimize the whole intervention, and as a main conclusion, the importance of the caregivers participation in the OT intervention process is emphasized, which is done under the guidance of the therapist, making the approach of this professional indirect.