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Parent goals as outcome measures for children receiving treadmill training: a series of case reports
Tanja A Mayson1, Valerie J Ward, Susan R Harris
1Therapy Department & Shriners Gait Lab, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Insights
Parents reported high satisfaction with treadmill training for children with cerebral palsy. All children met their individualized goals, demonstrating the effectiveness of this therapeutic approach.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical therapy
- Neurological rehabilitation
Background:
- Assessing the effectiveness of treadmill training for children with cerebral palsy.
- Evaluating parent-reported outcomes and satisfaction with therapy goals.
Observation:
- Four children with cerebral palsy underwent 5-8 weeks of body weight-supported harness treadmill training.
- Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) measured progress towards individualized family goals.
- Parent satisfaction was assessed using a Likert scale.
Findings:
- All participants achieved a GAS score of 0 or higher, indicating goal attainment.
- Parents reported being 'very satisfied' with their children's goal attainment.
- Treadmill training demonstrated positive outcomes aligned with family-centered objectives.
Implications:
- This study highlights the value of incorporating family-centered goals in pediatric physical therapy research.
- Treadmill training shows promise as an intervention for improving functional outcomes in children with cerebral palsy.
- Future research should prioritize child- and family-reported outcome measures for treadmill training interventions.
Background:
This series of case reports examined attainment of parents' goals for children receiving treadmill training and parents' satisfaction with goal attainment.
Methods:
Four children with cerebral palsy completed 5-8 weeks of standardized training while wearing a body weight support harness. Outcome measures were family goals using goal attainment scaling (GAS): a score of 0 equaled goal attainment, scores of -2 and -1 represented lower-than-expected performance and +1 and +2 exceeded expected performance. Parent satisfaction with goal attainment was assessed on a Likert scale from 1 (very satisfied) to 5 (very unsatisfied).
Results:
All participants achieved GAS levels of ≥0, indicating all goals were met. All parents rated their satisfaction with goal attainment as 'very satisfied'.
Conclusion:
This is the first report using family goals as outcome measures to assess effects of treadmill training. Future studies of treadmill training should include family- and child-centred goals as potential outcomes.
