Collaborative Telehealth Intervention for Performance of Activities During Daily Routines by Children and Adolescents with Physical Disabilities: A Feasibility Study

To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a collaborative telehealth intervention on engaging families in the intervention process, achievement of individualized goals, time spent practicing goal activities, and participant experiences.
Twenty-one children/adolescents with physical disabilities (mean age 10.6 ± 4.1 years) and their parents collaborated with a physical therapist on an eight-week individualized intervention to achieve three goals for performance of activities during daily routines using WhatsApp.
Mean ratings for Performance and Satisfaction with performance on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and mean Goal Attainment Scale T-scores increased between baseline, post-intervention, and 12-week follow-up (p < 0.001). Participants reported the intervention was more practical than usual care, they practiced their goals during the intervention, continued to practice in the 12 wk until follow-up, and the intervention empowered them to plan new personal goals in the future and ask for help when needed. An average of 9.2 ± 4.5 h was spent practicing the activities for the three goals.
The collaborative process facilitated family engagement in the intervention and may have potential to build family capacity and children’s self-determination. Further research is needed to determine whether the findings are replicable when the intervention is incorporated into students’ education programs.
Registered July 2024 at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06514287)