Clinical Expertise/Expert Opinion

 

Consensus Guidelines

No consensus guidelines were found.

 

 

 

Client/Patient/Caregiver Perspectives

 

Interdisciplinary Craniofacial Teams Compared with Individual Providers: Is Orofacial Cleft Care More Comprehensive and Do Parents Perceive Better Outcomes?  Austin, A. A., Druschel, C. M., et al. (2010).   Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 47(1), 1-8.

 

Description

This study examined the perceived satisfaction of care for 253 mothers of children with orofacial clefts. Differences in outcomes based on type of care (interdisciplinary versus individual) was reported. 

 

Conclusions

• Differences in service delivery (team care versus individual care) did not appear to affect maternal perception of the child's speech.
• No differences were noted for speech therapy based on service delivery. However, those who did not receive team care were more likely to indicate unmet speech therapy needs. A "marginal difference (p = .06) was found for speech therapy" (p. 3) between groups; 18% of children without team care reported unmet speech therapy needs compared to 9% of those who received team care.
• Children who did not receive team care were less likely to receive hearing testing; "however, only four mothers, all in the team care group, reported an unmet need for hearing tests" (p. 5).

» Access the document

 

 

 

Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment of 530 Children Over a Decade in a Single Centre Vlastos, I. M., Koudoumnakis, E., et al. (2009).   International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 73(7), 993-7.

 

Description

This is a retrospective study of 530 children who received multidisciplinary treatment for cleft lip and palate. Satisfaction with multidisciplinary care, which included speech and audiology services, was reported.

 

Conclusions

Seventy percent of the respondents reported very good or excellent results 2-5 years after surgery and multidisciplinary care. However, parents of children with bilateral clefts were significantly less satisfied post treatment.

 

» Access the document

 

 

 

Type of Oral Cleft and Mothers' Perceptions of Care, Health Status, and Outcomes for Preadolescent Children  Damiano, P. C., Tyler, M. C., et al. (2006).   Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 43(6), 715-21.

 

Description

This study examined factors that affect health-related quality of life of children with cleft lip, cleft palate or cleft lip and palate. Mothers of children with different types of clefts completed a survey addressing quality of life and factors of care. 

 

Conclusions

• Eighty to ninety percent of the mothers indicated that services provided by an organized cleft team (surgeon, dental professional and speech-language pathologist) were excellent or very good.
• Children with cleft lip, cleft palate or cleft lip and palate did not differ in terms of satisfaction with care.

» Access the document

 

 

 

---