Differences between the family-centered "COPCA" program and traditional infant physical therapy based on

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Tineke Dirks1, Cornill H Blauw-Hospers, Lily J Hulshof

  • 1Department of Pediatrics-Developmental Neurology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Physical Therapy
|July 2, 2011
PubMed

Insights

The family-centered Coping With and Caring for Infants With Special Needs (COPCA) program involves more family coaching and education than traditional infant physical therapy (TIP). Further studies are needed to confirm COPCA

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Physical Therapy
  • Developmental Motor Disorders
  • Infant Intervention Programs

Background:

  • Limited evidence exists for the effectiveness of pediatric physical therapy in infants at high risk for developmental motor disorders.
  • The Coping With and Caring for Infants With Special Needs (COPCA) program is a family-centered early intervention approach.
  • COPCA integrates family involvement, educational parenting, and neuromotor principles based on neuronal group selection theory, utilizing a coaching model.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate differences in session content between the home-based, early intervention COPCA program and traditional infant physical therapy (TIP).
  • To compare the application of physical therapy actions in COPCA versus TIP for infants at high risk for developmental motor disorders.

Main Methods:

  • A quantitative video analysis of therapy sessions was performed on infants in a 2-arm randomized trial.
  • Forty-six infants (3-6 months corrected age) were randomized to COPCA (n=21) or TIP (n=25).
  • Intervention sessions were videotaped and analyzed using a standardized protocol to classify physical therapy actions and measure time spent on each.

Main Results:

  • COPCA and TIP sessions differed significantly in content.
  • TIP sessions allocated more time to facilitation techniques (29%) compared to COPCA (3%).
  • COPCA sessions focused more on family coaching and education (16%) than TIP (4%).

Conclusions:

  • The COPCA program demonstrates a broad difference in approach compared to traditional infant physical therapy as practiced in the Netherlands.
  • Further research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the COPCA program.
  • Findings are limited to the Netherlands and may not be generalizable to other countries.
Abstract

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