The effect of caregiver training in increasing social interaction and contact time with children living in residential care facilities

Abstract

Infants and toddlers living in residential care facilities are at risk of developmental delay. Environmental factors contributing to this risk
are the temporal context (how children spend their time) and social context (how and when caregivers interact with the children). This
study compared time-use patterns of children living in residential care facilities where caregiver training had previously taken place
versus those in facilities where caregiver training had not taken place using a non-experimental, cross sectional static group comparison
study design. Spot observations were used to estimate time-use patterns of infants and toddlers living in residential care facilities in
Johannesburg.
Results show that caregiver training positively changed the quantity of the time that infants spent with their caregivers (temporal
context) and the quality of time toddlers spent with their caregivers (social context). Thus caregiver training has the potential to improve
the environment in residential care facilities and can be used as an intervention strategy by occupational therapists

Key words: Residential care facilities, time-use patterns, caregiver training, quantity of time spent caregiving, quality of time spent caregiving