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Participation in physical play and leisure: developing a theory- and evidence-based intervention for children with
Niina Kolehmainen1, Jillian J Francis, Craig R Ramsay
1Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK. n.kolehmainen@abdn.ac.uk
Insights
This project identifies key components for effective interventions to improve physical play and leisure participation for children with motor impairments. It aims to develop a feasible and acceptable intervention protocol to enhance lifelong well-being and societal engagement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Child Development
- Intervention Science
Background:
- Children with motor impairments face significant barriers to physical play and leisure participation.
- Existing interventions often lack clear definitions, theoretical underpinnings, and evidence of effectiveness.
- There is a critical need for well-defined, evidence-based interventions to support these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the essential components ('key ingredients') of an effective intervention.
- To determine how these components can be integrated into a feasible and acceptable intervention.
- To develop a detailed protocol for a new intervention to enhance participation.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework.
- Following UK Medical Research Council guidance for complex intervention development.
- Employing a five-step process including factor identification, model development, strategy selection, operationalization, and single-case modeling.
Main Results:
- The project will yield a detailed protocol for a novel intervention.
- It will identify critical biomedical, personal, and environmental factors influencing participation.
- The study will specify intervention strategies and pathways to achieve desired changes.
Conclusions:
- The developed intervention protocol has the potential to significantly improve participation for children with motor impairments.
- Successful implementation can foster lifelong well-being and societal inclusion.
- This project serves as a model for the systematic development of non-pharmacological interventions for pediatric populations.
Background:
Children with motor impairments (e.g. difficulties with motor control, muscle tone or balance) experience significant difficulties in participating in physical play and leisure. Current interventions are often poorly defined, lack explicit hypotheses about why or how they might work, and have insufficient evidence about effectiveness. This project will identify (i) the 'key ingredients' of an effective intervention to increase participation in physical play and leisure in children with motor impairments; and (ii) how these ingredients can be combined in a feasible and acceptable intervention.
Methods/Design:
The project draws on the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the UK Medical Research Council guidance for developing 'complex interventions'. There will be five steps: 1) identifying biomedical, personal and environmental factors proposed to predict children's participation in physical play and leisure; 2) developing an explicit model of the key predictors; 3) selecting intervention strategies to target the predictors, and specifying the pathways to change; 4) operationalising the strategies in a feasible and acceptable intervention; and 5) modelling the intervention processes and outcomes within single cases.
Discussion:
The primary output from this project will be a detailed protocol for an intervention. The intervention, if subsequently found to be effective, will support children with motor difficulties to attain life-long well-being and participation in society. The project will also be an exemplar of methodology for a systematic development of non-drug interventions for children.
