Date Presented 04/03/2025
Aquatic therapy (AT) is used in a pediatric hospital; however, providers are often not fully using AT. A quality improvement initiative identified barriers and facilitators and described providers’ perceived effectiveness and confidence in AT.
Primary Author and Speaker: Emily Chau
Additional Authors and Speakers: Anne Borema
Contributing Authors: Erin Price, Bridget Trivinia
PURPOSE: The aquatic therapy (AT) program in a pediatric hospital is being used by providers but it is not fully understood how providers are using the pool. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) initiative is to understand its current use and to generate mechanisms for enhancing use for providers.
DESIGN: This QI initiative conducted a needs assessment with occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) and physical therapists. A convenience sample was used to engage providers from all service lines within a pediatric hospital.
METHOD: This QI process is part of an OTD capstone project. A literature review was completed, and data were gathered from providers via informal interviews and an emailed survey.
RESULTS: Four providers completed informal interviews. The following themes emerged: long wait times for outpatient services, difficult sign-in processes, documentation inefficiencies, lack of outcome measures, and lack of a clinical practice guideline for OTPs. Thirty-three providers completed the survey. Availability of therapy aide (16) worked best in the program. Education and learning (13), mentorship opportunities (12), and timeliness of patients to appointments (11) required the most improvement. These results support themes found during interviews which included need for education and increasing access to AT appointments.
CONCLUSION: This QI initiative found many barriers to the use of AT, with need for additional education being the most significant. The survey reflected themes found in the initial interview. The use of a survey was an effective way to reach multiple service lines and to understand additional barriers/ facilitators to using AT.
IMPACT STATEMENT: This QI project contributes to the expansion of OT practice via focusing on the growth of AT, an emerging area of practice, via working to increase providers’ perceived knowledge, effectiveness, and confidence.
References
Vodakova, E., Chatziioannou, D., Jesina, O., & Kudlacek, M. (2022). The Effect of Halliwick Method on Aquatic Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316250
Rohn, S., Novak Pavlic, M., & Rosenbaum, P. (2021). Exploring the use of Halliwick aquatic therapy in the rehabilitation of children with disabilities: A scoping review. Child: Care, Health and Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12887
