Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders
Sensory, eating and mealtime (SEM) challenges are common among young people with neurodevelopmental movement disorders but are rarely assessed during initial clinical consultations. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the impact of routine SEM screening on identifying these challenges...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open Quality |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/3/e002919.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850100764197781504 |
|---|---|
| author | Tamsin Owen Tammy Hedderly Osman Malik Sara Sopena Sandra-Eve Bamigbade Amanda K Ludlow |
| author_facet | Tamsin Owen Tammy Hedderly Osman Malik Sara Sopena Sandra-Eve Bamigbade Amanda K Ludlow |
| author_sort | Tamsin Owen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sensory, eating and mealtime (SEM) challenges are common among young people with neurodevelopmental movement disorders but are rarely assessed during initial clinical consultations. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the impact of routine SEM screening on identifying these challenges and improving documentation and follow-up in a specialist paediatric movement disorder clinic in England. Using the SHIFT-Evidence Framework and a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, the project implemented and evaluated a series of interventions. In the ‘PLAN’ phase, clinicians participated in a workshop to raise awareness of SEM challenges and inform the development of screening questions to support routine SEM assessment. The ‘DO’ phase involved implementing routine SEM screening during a 3 month trial, supported by active measures such as project champions, weekly reminders and team discussions to encourage sustained practice. The ‘STUDY’ phase included analysis of assessment outcome letters from three time points (baseline, trial and outcome retention phases) to evaluate changes in documentation and the sustainability of improvements. In the ‘ACT’ phase, findings were shared with the team, resulting in improved signposting, targeted recommendations and ongoing collaborations with feeding clinics. Findings demonstrated increased documentation of SEM challenges in assessment letters, with mentions rising from 33% at baseline to 71.9% during the trial and 64.3% in the retention phase. However, actionable recommendations and interventions remained limited during the trial but showed improvement in the retention phase, where letters included more tailored guidance and specific advice for SEM challenges. This project highlights the prevalence of SEM challenges among young people with neurodevelopmental movement disorders and underscores the importance of routine SEM screening. Developing standardised assessment tools and protocols could further aid clinicians in identifying and addressing these challenges during initial assessments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7287f3d40df14e3d87f57d385026129f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2399-6641 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open Quality |
| spelling | doaj-art-7287f3d40df14e3d87f57d385026129f2025-08-20T02:40:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412025-07-0114310.1136/bmjoq-2024-002919Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disordersTamsin Owen0Tammy Hedderly1Osman Malik2Sara Sopena3Sandra-Eve Bamigbade4Amanda K Ludlow5Tics and Neurodevelopmental Movements Team (TANDeM), Children’s Neurosciences, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy`s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKTics and Neurodevelopmental Movements Team (TANDeM), Children’s Neurosciences, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy`s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKTics and Neurodevelopmental Movements Team (TANDeM), Children’s Neurosciences, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy`s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKTics and Neurodevelopmental Movements Team (TANDeM), Children’s Neurosciences, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy`s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKUniversity of Hertfordshire Department of Psychology Sport and Geography, Hatfield, UKUniversity of Hertfordshire Department of Psychology Sport and Geography, Hatfield, UKSensory, eating and mealtime (SEM) challenges are common among young people with neurodevelopmental movement disorders but are rarely assessed during initial clinical consultations. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the impact of routine SEM screening on identifying these challenges and improving documentation and follow-up in a specialist paediatric movement disorder clinic in England. Using the SHIFT-Evidence Framework and a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, the project implemented and evaluated a series of interventions. In the ‘PLAN’ phase, clinicians participated in a workshop to raise awareness of SEM challenges and inform the development of screening questions to support routine SEM assessment. The ‘DO’ phase involved implementing routine SEM screening during a 3 month trial, supported by active measures such as project champions, weekly reminders and team discussions to encourage sustained practice. The ‘STUDY’ phase included analysis of assessment outcome letters from three time points (baseline, trial and outcome retention phases) to evaluate changes in documentation and the sustainability of improvements. In the ‘ACT’ phase, findings were shared with the team, resulting in improved signposting, targeted recommendations and ongoing collaborations with feeding clinics. Findings demonstrated increased documentation of SEM challenges in assessment letters, with mentions rising from 33% at baseline to 71.9% during the trial and 64.3% in the retention phase. However, actionable recommendations and interventions remained limited during the trial but showed improvement in the retention phase, where letters included more tailored guidance and specific advice for SEM challenges. This project highlights the prevalence of SEM challenges among young people with neurodevelopmental movement disorders and underscores the importance of routine SEM screening. Developing standardised assessment tools and protocols could further aid clinicians in identifying and addressing these challenges during initial assessments.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/3/e002919.full |
| spellingShingle | Tamsin Owen Tammy Hedderly Osman Malik Sara Sopena Sandra-Eve Bamigbade Amanda K Ludlow Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders BMJ Open Quality |
| title | Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| title_full | Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| title_fullStr | Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| title_short | Quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| title_sort | quality improvement project to routinely identify sensory and eating challenges in childhood neurodevelopmental movement disorders |
| url | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/3/e002919.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tamsinowen qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders AT tammyhedderly qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders AT osmanmalik qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders AT sarasopena qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders AT sandraevebamigbade qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders AT amandakludlow qualityimprovementprojecttoroutinelyidentifysensoryandeatingchallengesinchildhoodneurodevelopmentalmovementdisorders |