OTOtherAutism : the international journal of research and practice2024

Short report: Do parents use asynchronous materials in a hybrid coaching via telehealth intervention?

Anna Wallisch, Lauren M Little, Winnie Dunn and 1 others

PMID 39104188

WHAT IT FOUND

Parents with lower baseline competence used more online materials than those with higher competence.

Both groups found the telehealth coaching acceptable, but lower competence parents showed greater improvement in competence scores. This suggests self-guided modules may benefit parents who feel less confident.

Key findings

01Parents categorized as having lower baseline competence accessed significantly more asynchronous online materials than those with higher competence.

02There was no significant difference in how acceptable the telehealth intervention was between parents with higher and lower baseline competence.

03Parents with lower baseline competence demonstrated a significantly larger increase in competence scores from pre- to post-intervention compared to those with higher baseline competence.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs

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What it does not show

The sample size was very small (25 families), with only 6 parents in the lower competence group. The study lacked a control group, so it is unclear if the intervention caused the changes in competence or if other factors were responsible. The sample lacked diversity, limiting generalizability. Asynchronous material usage was based on parent recall, which may be biased. The PSOC measure may not be sensitive to change in parents who already have high baseline competence (ceiling effect).

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that asynchronous materials cause improved competence. This was a descriptive analysis of usage patterns in a small, uncontrolled sample. The finding that lower competence parents used more materials and improved more may reflect self-selection or other unmeasured factors rather than a direct effect of the materials.

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