Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Individualized telehealth home programme for children with cerebral palsy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Rachel H. S. Oliveira

orcid.org/0000-0001-5066-8672

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Marisa C. Mancini,

Marisa C. Mancini

orcid.org/0000-0002-7415-5043

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Priscilla R. P. Figueiredo,

Priscilla R. P. Figueiredo

orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-8887

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Associação Mineira de Reabilitação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Leonardo C. Abrahão,

Leonardo C. Abrahão

Associação Mineira de Reabilitação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Edna A. Reis,

Edna A. Reis

Departamento de Estatística-LabEst/CECiDa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Andrew M. Gordon,

Andrew M. Gordon

orcid.org/0000-0003-1041-0479

Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

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Marina B. Brandão,

Corresponding Author

Marina B. Brandão

[email protected]

orcid.org/0000-0001-5192-0868

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Correspondence

Marina de Brito Brandão, Escola de Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.

Email: [email protected]

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Rachel H. S. Oliveira,

Rachel H. S. Oliveira

orcid.org/0000-0001-5066-8672

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Marisa C. Mancini,

Marisa C. Mancini

orcid.org/0000-0002-7415-5043

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Priscilla R. P. Figueiredo,

Priscilla R. P. Figueiredo

orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-8887

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Associação Mineira de Reabilitação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Leonardo C. Abrahão,

Leonardo C. Abrahão

Associação Mineira de Reabilitação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Edna A. Reis,

Edna A. Reis

Departamento de Estatística-LabEst/CECiDa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Andrew M. Gordon,

Andrew M. Gordon

orcid.org/0000-0003-1041-0479

Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

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Marina B. Brandão,

Corresponding Author

Marina B. Brandão

[email protected]

orcid.org/0000-0001-5192-0868

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Correspondence

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 06 September 2024

https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.16072

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Abstract

Aim

To analyse the effects of an individualized telehealth home programme on the performance of functional goals of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A prospective single-group intervention study with children/adolescents with CP (n = 144; median age = 92 months [Q₁ = 44.0, Q₃ = 148.8]; 74 males, 70 females), representing all Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels participated in a 4-month home programme in Brazil. An interdisciplinary team encouraged families to choose a functional goal to be trained. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used at pre-intervention (T₁), post-intervention (T₂), and 3-month follow-up (T₃). The differences in COPM scores at T₁, T₂, and T₃ were evaluated using Friedman's test. The effect size was calculated using Cohen's d. Univariate analysis was included.

Results

Significant improvements were observed after the intervention, with maintenance of scores after 3 months (p < 0.001, d_performance = 1.33; d_satisfaction = 1.31). None of the tested variables (child's abilities, age, caregiver's educational level, perception of family-centredness, and type of goal) were significantly related to the change scores.

Interpretation

The individualized remote telehealth home programme can be a potential intervention, especially for children with CP classified in GMFCS levels IV and V. Also, this intervention provided a possible solution to help some children and their families in performing prioritized functional goals during the pandemic period.

Graphical Abstract

Portuguese translation of this Original Article is available in the online issue.

Open Research

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data available on request due to privacy/ethical restrictions.

Supporting Information

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Volume67, Issue3

March 2025

Pages 382-391

Filename	Description
dmcn16072-sup-0001-FigureS1.pdfPDF document, 117.6 KB	Figure S1: Timeline of the individualized remote telehealth home program intervention.
dmcn16072-sup-0002-FigureS2.pdfPDF document, 120 KB	Figure S2: Participants’ flow in the study.
dmcn16072-sup-0003-TableS1.docxWord 2007 document , 17 KB	Table S1: Adapted Home Program Model.
dmcn16072-sup-0004-TableS2.docxWord 2007 document , 18.7 KB	Table S2: Descriptive analysis and comparison of characteristics between participants who completed the 4-month individualized remote home program and dropouts.
dmcn16072-sup-0005-TableS3.docxWord 2007 document , 14.6 KB	Table S3: Descriptive analysis of 109 additional functional goals of the participants who completed the 4-month individualized remote home program.