Co-designing solutions to enhance access and engagement in pediatric telerehabilitation.
Meaghan Reitzel, Lori Letts, Cynthia Lennon and 4 others
PMID 38178897WHAT IT FOUND
Families and therapists proposed a pre-session phone call to build rapport and clarify expectations before virtual visits.
They suggested summarizing next steps at the end of sessions and tailoring follow-up information to avoid overwhelming parents with generic resources.
Key findings
01Participants co-designed a solution for clinicians to book an initial appointment with only caregivers present to discuss child preferences, service options, and family goals before starting therapy with the child.
02A proposed solution for during the visit involves clinicians summarizing key points and developing a plan for the next session that aligns with family priorities to ensure consistent communication.
03To address the issue of overwhelming post-session emails, participants recommended clinicians ask caregivers about their preferred format and amount of information for follow-up.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single site (KidsAbility) in Ontario, which may limit transferability to other healthcare systems or cultural contexts. The child and youth voice was not represented; findings rely solely on caregiver, clinician, and manager perspectives. Demographic data collected was limited (e.g., income and education levels were not recorded), which may affect the understanding of barriers related to socioeconomic status. The co-designed solutions were not reviewed by the original participants for validation due to time constraints, though they were checked against theory and expert opinion. This is a qualitative co-design process; it generates proposed solutions but does not test whether these changes actually improve engagement or clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the CHILD-BRIGHT Graduate Fellowship, and the Mitacs Accelerate program. One author (MR) was a clinician at the study site, which was managed through reflexive practices and steering committee oversight.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these co-designed solutions as evidence that they improve clinical outcomes or reduce missed appointments. The study describes what families and therapists proposed to try; it did not test whether these interventions work.