Feasibility and Acceptability of a Self-Report Activity Diary in Families of Children With and Without Special Needs.
Bethany Forseth, Paula E Papanek, Linda Bandini and 6 others
PMID 31199888WHAT IT FOUND
Parents and older children with special needs successfully completed activity diaries, but found the format burdensome and unacceptable.
Two-thirds of parents suggested changes, such as adding categories for grooming or switching to an online format.
Key findings
01Diaries were feasible: 34 of 36 parents submitted diaries and 30 met completion criteria; all 10 eligible children submitted diaries and 8 met criteria.
02Acceptability was low: 12 of 36 parents commented on specific ways to improve the diaries or raised concerns, primarily regarding layout and missing activity categories.
03Parents of children with Down syndrome expressed concern about their child's ability to complete the diary, leading to exclusion of two eligible children from the task.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Small sample size (36 dyads). The post-study interview did not include questions specifically about the diary; feedback was obtained incidentally from open-ended questions about the larger study. No validated physical activity measures exist for children with special needs, so the accuracy of the diary data cannot be confirmed. Parents of two children with Down syndrome prevented their children from attempting the diary, potentially biasing the child completion rates.
Declared interests
All authors have no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high completion rate as evidence that the diary is a good tool. The study found the diary was feasible to complete but unacceptable in its current format, with many parents finding it burdensome and missing relevant activity categories.