title: Teaching self-administration of suctioning to children with tracheostomies.
abstract: We examined the effectiveness of using dolls to teach young children with tracheostomies to self-administer a suctioning procedure. Four children between the ages of 5 and 8 years, who had had tracheostomies for 6 months or longer, participated. After skills were taught via doll-centered simulations, in vivo skills were evaluated. All of the training and probe sessions were conducted in the participants' classrooms or homes. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects and skill components indicated that the performance of all children improved as a function of training. Skill maintenance was demonstrated by all participants during follow-up assessments conducted 2 to 6 weeks posttraining. Results of a questionnaire completed by caregivers and interviews with the children revealed high levels of satisfaction with the training procedures and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Derrickson
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Neef
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Parrish
mesh_terms: D001524:Behavioral Medicine; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012648:Self Care; D013396:Suction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014139:Tracheostomy