Date Presented 03/27/20
A randomized controlled feasibility trial was conducted to explore the feasibility of using a web platform to support parents of children with developmental coordination disorder. The web platform included informational resources, a forum, and a private forum or videoconference with an OT. Parents mainly used the resources and forum sections. To enhance participation, parents suggested adding scheduled meetings. Using web platforms to support parents is feasible yet challenging.
Primary Author and Speaker: Gabrielle Pratte
Contributing Authors: Mélanie Couture, Chantal Camden
PURPOSE: Best practices in occupational therapy for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) suggest offering support to parents to maximise children’s occupational performance (Blank, Smits-Engelsman, Polatajko, & Wilson, 2012; Pentland et al., 2016). However, lack of support and unmet informational needs remain important for parents of children with DCD (Jasmin, Tetreault, Lariviere, & Joly, 2018). Occupational therapists could play a central role in supporting those parents. In other paediatric rehabilitation contexts, web platforms are used to assist parents (Camden et al., 2019), yet their usability and efficacy have to be assessed in the DCD population. Aims of this study are: 1- Explore the feasibility of using a web platform in occupational therapy to support parents of children with DCD. 2- Describe its impact on parent’s knowledge and skills.
DESIGN: A randomized controlled feasibility trial was conducted. Parents of children aged 5 to 12 years-old with suspected or diagnosed DCD were recruited. The intervention group (n=15) had 3-month access to a web platform with evidence-based informational resources, forum between parents moderated by an occupational therapist, and virtual interaction with an occupational therapist via a private forum or videoconferencing. The control group (n=13) had access to the informational resources only.
METHOD: Feasibility was documented via recruitment rate and parents’ use of the web platform. Data collected included web system statistics, pre-post Parental knowledge and skills questionnaire (PKSQ), and qualitative interviews. U-Mann Whitney and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed on PKSQ results and thematic analysis was performed on qualitative results.
RESULTS: Seven participants per month were recruited. Parents used the platform mainly to access the resources or to read information on the forum (median consultation time: 60 min). Three interactions occurred on the private forum with the occupational therapist. To enhance participation and better respond to their needs, parents suggested scheduling an initial meeting with the occupational therapist to ensure a complete understanding of all platform features (including how to access virtual interaction and email notifications) and regular meetings foster their implication. No group (p=0.190) or time (p=0.859) effects were found for parental knowledge and skills.
CONCLUSION: Using web platforms to support parents in occupational therapy is feasible. However, recruitment was challenging and use of the web platform was lower than expected. Future online support interventions should learn from this pilot study and include greater synchronous support to families, including an initial session about the web platform features and regular, pre-scheduled meetings. Further investigations are needed to compare the added benefits of virtual interventions in occupational therapy compared to informational online resources.
References
Blank, R., Smits-Engelsman, B., Polatajko, H., & Wilson, P. (2012). European Academy for Childhood Disability (EACD): Recommendations on the definition, diagnosis and intervention of developmental coordination disorder (long version)*. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(1), 54–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.04171.x
Camden, C., Pratte, G., Fallon, F., Couture, M., Berbari, J., & Tousignant, M. (2019). Diversity of practices in telerehabilitation for children with disabilities and effective intervention characteristics: results from a systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 0(0), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1595750
Jasmin, E., Tetreault, S., Lariviere, N., & Joly, J. (2018). Participation and needs of children with developmental coordination disorder at home and in the community: Perceptions of children and parents. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 73, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2017.12.011
Pentland, J., Maciver, D., Owen, C., Forsyth, K., Irvine, L., Walsh, M., & Crowe, M. (2016). Services for children with developmental co-ordination disorder: an evaluation against best practice principles. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(3), 299–306. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2015.1037464
