Infant and family wellbeing after cardiac surgery: life as a pre-schooler

Project status: Active

Research area: Clinical Sciences > Brain and Mind > Infant Mental Health

A longitudinal, prospective cohort study of pre-schoolers with congenital heart disease (CHD)

This project studies how emotional and behavioural regulation develops in children who had cardiac surgery early in life, focusing on the factors that influence this development.

It is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of pre-schoolers with congenital heart disease (CHD) who had cardiac surgery in the first six months of life.

This project studies how emotional and behavioural regulation develops in children who had cardiac surgery early in life, focusing on the factors that influence this development.

It is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of pre-schoolers with...

This project studies how emotional and behavioural regulation develops in children who had cardiac surgery early in life, focusing on the factors that influence this development.

It is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of pre-schoolers with congenital heart disease (CHD) who had cardiac surgery in the first six months of life.

Study details

The study examines the relationship between early infant distress markers and co-regulatory support collected at two key points:

Time 1: Six weeks after discharge from cardiac surgery
Time 2: Emotional and behavioural regulation at pre-school age (3-4 years old)

Data collection

Data includes standardised, clinician-rated observational measures, parent-report measures, and a biomarker of stress regulation. The study also explores how the quality of the parent-child relationship influences emotional and behavioural regulation outcomes, particularly stress, in pre-schoolers.

Goals and impacts

This research aims to provide valuable insights into the early predictors of wellbeing of children and their families after early cardiac surgery to inform the design of effective psychosocial interventions.

Researchers

Tamera Clancy, PhD student
Associate Professor Brigid Jordan
Dr Frank Muscara
Professor Carolina de Weerth (Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands)