Sports Stars: a practitioner-led, peer-group sports intervention for ambulant, school-aged children with cerebral palsy : parent and physiotherapist perspectives

Georgina L. Clutterbuck, Megan L. Auld, Leanne M. Johnston

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Sports participation is an important goal for children with cerebral palsy classified at GMFCS Level I or II, however there are no studies of parent or physiotherapist perspectives on effectiveness or overall acceptability of transition-to-sports interventions. Methods: Parent and physiotherapist perspectives of Sports Stars: a novel, practitioner-led, peer-group sports intervention (Trial registration: ACTRN12617000313336) were collected from Sports Stars Session Reports (39 children, 6–12 years, GMFCS I ¼ 11, II ¼ 28, Female ¼ 12), Fidelity Evaluations (28 children), and Perspectives Surveys (Parents ¼ 29, female ¼ 26; Physiotherapists ¼ 8, female ¼ 5). Outcomes were perceived impact on: (1) sports Participation (Attendance, Involvement), (2) sports Activity Competence across Physical, Social, Cognitive and Psychological Physical Literacy domains and (3) overall acceptability. Results: Over 84% of children Attended most sessions. Physiotherapists rated session Involvement as high (median ¼ 3/4). In Session Reports, physiotherapists recorded quantitative improvements in Physical and Cognitive performance and described improvements across all domains. Parents reported improvements across all domains, with comments focusing on Social and Psychological performance. All physiotherapists (8/8) and most parents (26/29) reported a community-based peer-group was the intervention design of choice for sports-focused goals. Conclusions: Parents and physiotherapists perceived Sports Stars, a practitioner-led, peer-group sports intervention, as effective and acceptable for children with cerebral palsy with sports-focussed goals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)957-966
Number of pages10
JournalDisability and Rehabilitation
Volume44
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • cerebral palsy
  • children
  • disabilities
  • physical therapists

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