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Parents' experiences and needs regarding physical and occupational therapy for their young children with cerebral
Anne J A Kruijsen-Terpstra1, Olaf Verschuren1, Marjolijn Ketelaar1
1Brain Center Rudolf Magnus and Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Rembrandtkade 10, 3583 TM Utrecht, The Netherlands; Partner of NetChild, Network for Childhood Disability Research in the Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Insights
Parents of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) need effective information, communication, and partnership in therapy. Service providers must support parents
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Family-Centered Care
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) significantly impacts young children and their families.
- Understanding parental experiences in pediatric therapy is crucial for effective intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the experiences and needs of parents of young children (2-4 years) with CP in physical and occupational therapy.
- To identify key themes influencing parental engagement and satisfaction.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing semi-structured interviews.
- 21 parents of young children with CP participated.
- Data collection continued until informational redundancy.
Main Results:
- Three primary themes emerged: Information, Communication, and Partnership.
- A fourth overarching theme identified was Parent Empowerment.
- Parental needs and experiences varied and evolved over time.
Conclusions:
- Parental experiences in pediatric CP therapy are shaped by information, communication, and partnership.
- Parent empowerment is a dynamic process requiring active involvement from both parents and service providers.
- Service providers should adapt their roles to support parents' evolving needs for better tailored services.
Objective:
To explore the experiences and needs of parents of young children (aged 2-4 years) with cerebral palsy (CP) regarding their child's physical and occupational therapy process in a rehabilitation setting.
Methods:
A qualitative design was used involving semi-structured interviews with 21 parents of young children with CP. Interviews were conducted until informational redundancy was achieved.
Results:
Three major themes were identified: Information, communication and partnership. A fourth, overarching theme emerged: The process of parent empowerment. Experiences and needs differed between parents and changed over time.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that various themes play a key role in the experiences and needs of parents of young children with CP. The identified themes provide important insights into how and why service providers might change their approach.
Practice Implications:
Becoming empowered is a dynamic process for parents, in which both parents and service providers play a role. Service providers should continually adapt their role to parents' needs of information, communication and partnership, and they should support and facilitate parents in becoming empowered. For that, service providers should be educated on the process of parent empowerment, on ways to facilitate this process and on the importance of involving and interacting with parents. This allows families of young children with CP to be provided with services that best suit their needs.
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