A PhD student from the University of Hertfordshire is looking for parents of children who have Down’s syndrome to take part in virtual interviews about their experiences of NG tube feeding for their child.
This is an exploratory qualitative interview study aiming to collect initial data on the use of NG tubes in infants with Down syndrome, and parental experiences regarding this.
In particular, this study aims to explore decision making processes around the use of NG tubes, support received, speech and language development, psycho-social impact and current feeding.
UK based parents/caregivers of children with Down syndrome who were fed via an NG tube at some point between birth and 5 years old are eligible to take part in the study. The child may currently be fed via NG tube, or the tube use may have occurred within the last 5 years. Interviews are expected to last around one hour and will be conducted via Zoom.
The full participant information can be accessed here.
If you are interested in taking part in this study, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Laura Hielscher at l.k.hielscher@herts.ac.uk or call Dr Silvana Mengoni on 01707 284 494.
About the researcher
Laura Hielscher
Laura is a current Psychology PhD student at the University of Hertfordshire. Throughout her PhD she will be investigating feeding in infants with Down syndrome. Laura has recently completed a study exploring the lived experiences of new mothers accessing feeding support for infants with Down syndrome throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.