Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial
Objective: Determine the adherence to and effectiveness of an 8-week home exercise programme for children with disabilities delivered using Physitrack, an online exercise prescription tool, compared with traditional paper-based methods. Design: Single-blinded, parallel-groups, randomised control...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86505 |
| _version_ | 1848764839862730752 |
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| author | Johnson, Rowan Williams, Sian Gucciardi, Daniel Bear, N. Gibson, Noula |
| author_facet | Johnson, Rowan Williams, Sian Gucciardi, Daniel Bear, N. Gibson, Noula |
| author_sort | Johnson, Rowan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective: Determine the adherence to and effectiveness of an 8-week home exercise programme for children with disabilities delivered using Physitrack, an online exercise prescription tool, compared with traditional paper-based methods.
Design: Single-blinded, parallel-groups, randomised controlled trial (RCT). Setting Intervention took place in participants' homes in Western Australia.
Participants: Children aged 6 to 17 years, with neurodevelopmental disabilities including cerebral palsy (CP), receiving community therapy services.
Intervention: All participants completed an individualised home exercise programme, which was delivered to the intervention group using Physitrack and conventional paper-based methods for the control group.
Primary outcome measures: Adherence to exercise programme, goal achievement and exercise performance. Secondary outcome measures: Enjoyment, confidence and usability of Physitrack.
Results: Fifty-four participants with CP (n=37) or other neurodevelopmental disabilities (n=17) were recruited. Fifty-three were randomised after one early withdrawal. Forty-six completed the 8-week programme, with 24 in the intervention group and 22 in the control group. There was no difference between the two groups for percentage of exercises completed (intervention (n=22): 62.8% (SD 27.7), control (n=22): 55.8% (SD 19.4), between group mean difference-7.0% (95% CI:-21.6 to 7.5, p=0.34)). Both groups showed significant improvement in their self-rated performance of individualised goal activities, however there was no statistically significant difference between groups for goal achievement, quality of exercise performance, enjoyment, confidence or preferred method of delivery. There were no adverse events.
Conclusion: Physitrack provides a therapist with a new means of providing an exercise programme with online tools such as exercise videos, but our preliminary findings indicate that it may be no better than a traditional paper-based method for improving exercise adherence or the other outcomes measured. Exercise programmes remain an intervention supported by evidence, but a larger RCT is required to fully evaluate online delivery methods. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:25:44Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-86505 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:25:44Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-865052021-11-23T02:31:27Z Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial Johnson, Rowan Williams, Sian Gucciardi, Daniel Bear, N. Gibson, Noula Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Medicine, General & Internal General & Internal Medicine developmental neurology & neurodisability paediatric neurology rehabilitation medicine THERAPY PARENTS GAMIFICATION PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MOTOR Objective: Determine the adherence to and effectiveness of an 8-week home exercise programme for children with disabilities delivered using Physitrack, an online exercise prescription tool, compared with traditional paper-based methods. Design: Single-blinded, parallel-groups, randomised controlled trial (RCT). Setting Intervention took place in participants' homes in Western Australia. Participants: Children aged 6 to 17 years, with neurodevelopmental disabilities including cerebral palsy (CP), receiving community therapy services. Intervention: All participants completed an individualised home exercise programme, which was delivered to the intervention group using Physitrack and conventional paper-based methods for the control group. Primary outcome measures: Adherence to exercise programme, goal achievement and exercise performance. Secondary outcome measures: Enjoyment, confidence and usability of Physitrack. Results: Fifty-four participants with CP (n=37) or other neurodevelopmental disabilities (n=17) were recruited. Fifty-three were randomised after one early withdrawal. Forty-six completed the 8-week programme, with 24 in the intervention group and 22 in the control group. There was no difference between the two groups for percentage of exercises completed (intervention (n=22): 62.8% (SD 27.7), control (n=22): 55.8% (SD 19.4), between group mean difference-7.0% (95% CI:-21.6 to 7.5, p=0.34)). Both groups showed significant improvement in their self-rated performance of individualised goal activities, however there was no statistically significant difference between groups for goal achievement, quality of exercise performance, enjoyment, confidence or preferred method of delivery. There were no adverse events. Conclusion: Physitrack provides a therapist with a new means of providing an exercise programme with online tools such as exercise videos, but our preliminary findings indicate that it may be no better than a traditional paper-based method for improving exercise adherence or the other outcomes measured. Exercise programmes remain an intervention supported by evidence, but a larger RCT is required to fully evaluate online delivery methods. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86505 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040108 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Medicine, General & Internal General & Internal Medicine developmental neurology & neurodisability paediatric neurology rehabilitation medicine THERAPY PARENTS GAMIFICATION PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MOTOR Johnson, Rowan Williams, Sian Gucciardi, Daniel Bear, N. Gibson, Noula Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title | Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title_full | Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title_short | Can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? A randomised controlled trial |
| title_sort | can an online exercise prescription tool improve adherence to home exercise programmes in children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities? a randomised controlled trial |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Medicine, General & Internal General & Internal Medicine developmental neurology & neurodisability paediatric neurology rehabilitation medicine THERAPY PARENTS GAMIFICATION PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MOTOR |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86505 |