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Octopus Watch Fosters Family Resilience by Enhancing Occupational Engagement for Children with Spina Bifida and/or

Mark Jennings1, Aoife Guilfoyle1, James Green2

  • 1Discipline Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|November 13, 2020
PubMed

Insights

The Octopus watch may help children with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus (SB&/H) improve daily activities. This smartwatch intervention showed increased activity and better performance in daily routines for young participants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Rehabilitation
  • Assistive Technology
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Children with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus (SB&/H) often face challenges in daily living due to executive functioning deficits, leading to sedentary lifestyles.
  • The HeyJoy Octopus watch, a child-friendly, icon-based smartwatch, offers potential as an enabler for promoting goal-oriented activities of daily living (ADLs).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of the Octopus watch in enhancing purposeful ADLs for children under 8 years old with SB&/H.
  • To explore the impact of the smartwatch on executive functioning and overall occupational performance in young children with SB&/H.

Main Methods:

  • A mixed-methods approach involved parents and children across four phases, including questionnaires, interviews, executive functioning inventories (CHEXI), and the Canadian occupational performance measure (COPM).
  • Participants used the Octopus watch for 16 days to measure activity levels, with baseline movement recorded for four days prior to active use.
  • Photovoice data collection and focus groups were utilized to gather qualitative insights alongside quantitative movement and performance data.

Main Results:

  • Three out of four participants demonstrated a mean increase in activity of 36% while using the Octopus watch.
  • N-of-1 analyses indicated significant improvement for one participant (p = 0.021). Mean inhibition decreased by 16.4%, with notable improvements in COPM performance (2.1) and satisfaction (2.4) scores.
  • Qualitative findings from photovoice narratives corroborated the quantitative results, suggesting improved daily routines and engagement.

Conclusions:

  • The Octopus watch represents an innovative early intervention strategy for promoting purposeful ADLs in children with SB&/H.
  • This technology can foster family resilience by enhancing occupational engagement, though further research is warranted to confirm its broader efficacy.
Abstract

Keywords:
family resilienceoccupational engagementspina bifida and/or hydrocephalussustainable assistive technology

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