The impact of digital physical therapy during COVID-19 lockdown in children with developmental disorders: A qualitative study.
Alicia Portillo-Aceituno, Andrea Calderón-Bernal, Jorge Pérez-Corrales and 3 others
PMID 36179573WHAT IT FOUND
Parents found digital physical therapy useful because it let treatment continue, but they felt untrained, burdened, and missed hands-on contact.
They preferred face-to-face therapy and saw digital sessions as occasional complements.
Key findings
01Digital physical therapy was valued because it let treatment continue and because therapists could guide parents, but parents also felt insecure and sometimes found it complicated or insufficient.
02Barriers included no prior knowledge of digital therapy, lack of physical contact, feeling untrained to deliver therapy, child distraction, and time pressure.
03Facilitators included technology access, earlier face-to-face learning, therapist flexibility, and family help; participants preferred face-to-face therapy and saw digital sessions as occasional complements.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 16 parents from 15 families, mostly mothers, so it captures a small, deliberately selected group rather than all families. All participants came from one early-intervention service and had good internet and technology access, so findings may not apply to families without those resources. The study reports parents' perceptions of children's progress, not measured child outcomes. Because it was qualitative, the findings cannot be extrapolated to all families who used digital physical therapy during lockdown.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that digital physical therapy improves children's development. The study asked parents about their experience, did not measure child outcomes, and parents preferred face-to-face therapy.