Kyara Crowley

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Breann Lamborn

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this product was to collaborate with the occupational therapy (OT) staff in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to further knowledge and enhance role competence to provide better quality of care to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposed infant population. Mental health conditions are becoming more prevalent among women, therefore, more women are taking SSRIs throughout pregnancy to counteract the effects of those conditions (Cleveland Clinic, 2024). However, the effects of in-utero SSRI exposure are not fully understood. Researchers have found evidence of some short-term and long-term effects caused by the SSRI exposure as well as beneficial interventions to treat the adverse effects. Combining existing findings into an educational product will assist the OT staff to provide those infants with better quality of care through the understanding and implementation of these interventions.

Method: A needs assessment and literature review were completed to find the effects and adverse outcomes from in-utero SSRI exposure as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions used within the NICU. Each SSRI was researched, the effects analyzed, population compared, and effective interventions to be utilized were identified. The ecological model of human performance (EHP) by Dunn (2017) and the neonatal integrative developmental care model (NIDC) by Altimier and Phillips (2016) were used to guide the literature review and develop the product. The final product was created while an advanced clinical skills placement was completed in a level IV NICU.

Results: The final product is an educational resource that outlines each of the types of SSRIs, each of their effects, long-term outcomes, the pharmacological treatments used, and the non-pharmacological intervention options available. The resource can be used by the NICU OT staff to help identify the possible exposure effects an infant is experiencing and provide interventions that may be provided or utilized to enhance quality of care.

Conclusion: This educational resource was created to provide evidence-based knowledge to the OT staff in the NICU so that they are able to increase their role competency and provide the best quality of care to the affected infants. Future research should be completed for each type of SSRI to further determine the effects on infants as well as what interventions would be most beneficial to counter those effects.

Download

Share

COinS