Translational Research for Occupational Therapy: Using SPRE in Hippotherapy for Children with Developmental Disabilities.
Deborah Weissman-Miller, Rosalie J Miller, Mary P Shotwell
PMID 29097962WHAT IT FOUND
In children receiving hippotherapy, HEAT scores changed in three of four domains, except static posture.
A single-subject method flagged two of five children with negative static-posture predictions. Total scores can hide domain-specific problems.
Key findings
01In 12 children who completed the first and last sessions, HEAT pre-post scores were statistically significant in three of four domains, except static posture (p = 0.071).
02In the SPRE analysis of 5 children, total HEAT predictions were positive for four children and negative for one child.
03For the static posture domain, SPRE predictions were negative for two of the 5 children, including one child whose total HEAT prediction was positive.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was quasi-experimental, with no random assignment and no comparison group, so change over time could have come from other factors. The SPRE analysis used 5 children selected for dataset completeness, not the full sample of 21, so it is a small demonstration. The pre-post analysis included 12 children who completed the first and last sessions, not all recruited participants. Four participants in the SPRE subset had missing data, and the analysis imputed it, which can affect model fit if error estimates are not small. The HEAT measure was newly developed, and this paper was part of exploring its validity, so it is not an established outcome measure.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that hippotherapy improves outcomes. The study had no random assignment and no comparison group. The SPRE analysis used only 5 children selected for complete data. It shows how a single-subject statistical method can inspect HEAT scores, not that the treatment worked.