New Explore Medbridge Pathways

Use of the PEOP Model to Guide OT Intervention in the NICU

Presented by Ashlea D. Cardin

12-Month Subscription

Unlimited access to:

  • Thousands of CE Courses
  • Patient Education
  • Home Exercise Program
  • And more
Subscribe Now

Or

First Chapter Free Buy Course
As members of multidisciplinary healthcare teams in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), occupational therapists are expected to practice in a way that ensures therapeutic interaction is evidence-based, family-centered, and neurodevelopmentally supportive. However, these guidelines are not exclusive to occupational therapists; current best-practice suggests other professional disciplines practice accordingly. So what unique skill set do occupational therapists bring to the care of infants and families in the NICU? This course seeks to answer this relevant question, exploring the evolution of practice and idea of occupation-based practice in the NICU. Serving as frameworks for occupation-based practice, the PEOP Model and PEOP Process are explicated as potential guides to neonatal occupational therapy assessment, intervention, and outcomes measurement.

Meet your instructor

Ashlea D. Cardin

Dr. Ashlea Cardin is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. She is also a practicing neonatal occupational therapist, having over 16 years’ experience in a Level III NICU at Mercy Children's Hospital, Springfield, MO. Dr. Cardin is Board Certified in Pediatrics through…

Read full bio

Chapters & learning objectives

What Makes Occupational Therapy Unique

1. What Makes Occupational Therapy Unique

This chapter will discuss the practice paradigm of occupational therapy, reinforcing occupational engagement as both the agent and goal of therapeutic intervention, regardless of practice setting. Prior to discussing the evolution of neonatal occupational therapy, it is appropriate to fully examine terminology used by the profession before proposing an interpretation of “occupation- based” practice in the NICU context.

The Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model and Process

2. The Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model and Process

In this chapter, you will become familiar with the theoretically-derived Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) Model and the PEOP Process guiding occupational therapy practice. The PEOP Model visually represents how occupational performance can be maximized through gathering of the client narrative and identification of person factors, environment factors, and occupation factors influencing occupational engagement, health, and wellbeing. The PEOP Process represents the Model in action, demonstrating therapeutic movement through initial assessment, treatment, outcomes measurement, and reassessment.

Explication of the PEOP Process for Neonatal Occupational Therapy

3. Explication of the PEOP Process for Neonatal Occupational Therapy

This final chapter builds on previously learned concepts and models, and offers a novel application of the PEOP Process to NICU practice. Case studies are presented, and examples of neonatal therapy intervention guided by the PEOP Process are offered.