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Objective: To explore the ramifications of childhood motor difficulties, providing insights into their impact and consequences over time.

Design: A qualitative study using semistructured individual interviews. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation.

Setting: Neonatal intensive care recipients born at Uppsala University Children's Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden, between 1986 and 1989, were enrolled in a longitudinal follow-up study and subsequently interviewed in 2019-2020.

Participants: 13 individuals in their early 30s, who met the criteria for developmental coordination disorder or performed below the 5th percentile on motor tests at 6.5 years of age, were interviewed. Those with co-occurring deficits in attention or social behavioural at age 6.5 were excluded.

Results: Two themes emerged: (1) lifelong challenges and (2) navigating the journey of motor difficulties: support, awareness and confidence. Five participants reported persistent motor difficulties. They adapted and integrated these challenges into their daily lives without feeling constrained. Parental support was crucial to their success, whereas support from schools was limited.

Conclusion: Adults who faced motor difficulties in childhood developed effective coping strategies, overcame challenges and now lead fulfilling lives. The findings stress the importance of parental support and understanding, addressing contextual factors and fostering positive attitudes and supportive environments to enhance well-being and participation.

Objectives Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is related to poorer educational outcomes among children and adolescents. Evidence on this association into adulthood is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether probable DCD (pDCD) in childhood affected educational outcomes among adults, and whether this was affected by sex or a co-occurring attention deficit in childhood.

Design Register-based longitudinal cohort study.

Setting Neonatal intensive care (NIC) recipients born at Uppsala University Children’s Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden, from 1986 to 1989 until they reached the age of 28.

Participants 185 NIC recipients.

Primary and secondary outcome measures At the age of 6.5, 46 (24.6%) of the NIC recipients were diagnosed with pDCD. Using register-based longitudinal data, we compared participants with and without pDCD in terms of: (1) age at Upper Secondary School (USS) graduation, and (2) highest level of education achieved by age 28.

Results The median age at USS graduation was 19 years, with similar graduation ages and ranges between those with or without pDCD. However, a higher proportion of participants without pDCD had graduated from USS at ages 19 and 24. By age 29, most participants had completed USS. At age 28, 33% of participants had attained a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Although there was no significant difference between the groups, the proportion that had attained a degree was higher among those without pDCD and women without pDCD had achieved the highest level of education. Educational outcomes remained similar for those with pDCD, regardless of childhood attention deficit.

Conclusions pDCD during childhood may have a lasting impact on educational outcomes, particularly among women. Raising awareness of DCD among parents, health and educational professionals is vital for early identification and the provision of appropriate support and interventions in schools, mitigating the potential negative consequences associated with DCD and promoting positive educational outcomes.

Objective

To investigate whether mild neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) in term born infants is associated with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation and death up to 6 years of age.

Design

Population-based cohort study.

Setting

Sweden, 2009–2015.

Population

Live term born infants without congenital malformations or chromosomal abnormalities (n = 505 075).

Methods

Birth and health data were retrieved from Swedish national health and quality registers. Mild HIE was identified by diagnosis in either the Swedish Medical Birth Register or the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main outcome measures

A composite of the outcomes cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation and death up to 6 years of age.

Results

Median follow-up time was 3.3 years after birth. Of 414 infants diagnosed with mild HIE, 17 were classified according to the composite outcome and incidence rates were 12.6 and 2.9 per 1000 child-years in infants with and without HIE respectively. Infants with mild HIE was four times as likely to be diagnosed with the composite outcome (HR 4.42, 95% CI 2.75–7.12) compared with infants without HIE. When analysed separately, associations were found with cerebral palsy (HR 21.50, 95% CI 9.59–48.19) and death (HR 19.10, 95% CI 7.90–46.21). HRs remained essentially unchanged after adjustment for covariates.

Conclusions

Mild neonatal HIE was associated with neurological morbidity and mortality in childhood. Challenges include identifying infants who may develop morbidity and how to prevent adverse outcomes.

Background: Inclusive learning environments are considered as crucial for children’s engagement with learning and participation in school. Partnering for change (P4C) is a collaborative school-based service delivery model where services are provided at three levels of intensity based on children’s needs (class, group-, individual interventions). Interventions in P4C are provided universally to support all children with learning, not only children with special education needs (SEN), and as such are expected to be health-promoting.

Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of P4C as well as school staff members’ and children’s experiences after P4C.

Methods: In a parallel, non-randomised controlled intervention design, 400 children, aged 6–12 years, and their teachers, will be recruited to either intervention classes, working according to the P4C, or to control classes (allocation ratio 1:1). Data will be collected at baseline, post-intervention (4 months), and 11 months follow-up post baseline. The primary outcome is children’s engagement with learning in school. Secondary outcomes include for example children’s health-related quality of life and wellbeing, occupational performance in school, attendance, and special educational needs. The difference-in-differences method using regression modelling will be applied to evaluate any potential changes following P4C. Focus group interviews focusing on children, and professionals’ experiences will be performed after P4C. A health economic evaluation of P4C will be performed, both in the short term (post intervention) and the long term (11-month follow-up). This study will provide knowledge about the effectiveness of P4C on children’s engagement with learning, mental health, and wellbeing, when creating inclusive learning environments using a combination of class-, group- and individual-level interventions.

Background: Physical therapy (PT) is increasingly provided at schools to help students participate in educationalactivities. Recent rehabilitation models emphasized the benefits of using collaborative tiered services for serviceprovision, yet no model is available to guide how these services should be delivered. Therefore, this study aims to determine the core attributes and PT interventions of a collaborative tiered school-based PT model that could guide how PT services are delivered in schools worldwide.Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to identify the core attributes and the PT interventions that would be part of the model. An introductory webinar followed by three Delphi rounds with 24 international experts was conducted. Similar ideas generated in Round 1 were combined into statements; the statements reaching the predetermined consensus level in Rounds 2 or 3 were retained. Categories were created to present core attributes and Tiered interventions that were retained.Results: 41 core attributes were identified and grouped under seven categories. Tiered interventions were grouped under 15 categories which included 37 interventions for Tier 1, 24 interventions for Tier 2, and 60 interventions for Tier 3.Conclusion: The recommended core attributes and interventions will support the development of an international framework for school-based PT services, fostering health promotion for all children, and supporting those with disabilities.

Aims

The purpose of this Phase II study is to identify the perceived strengths and weaknesses of a collaborative tiered school-based physiotherapy (PT) service delivery model, considering its core attributes and tiered interventions identified in the first phase of the study (Phase I), and explore the potential facilitators and barriers to implementing the model internationally.

Methods

Three focus group discussions were conducted with international experts (n = 16) Discussions focused on the core attributes and tiered interventions of the model in Phase I. Data were analyzed using a framework approach and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

Results

Themes surrounding the perceived characteristics of the model included comprehensiveness, guiding document, collaborative approach, and inclusiveness. Additional themes were related to the implementation that included governance, professional roles, workload, implementation in different countries, advocacy, and available opportunities. A framework table was tabulated to present the strengths and weaknesses of the service delivery model and available opportunities, and potential barriers to implementation.

Conclusions

This study revealed international perspectives regarding a proposed collaborative tiered school-based PT service delivery model and presented a framework to guide clinicians, researchers, and policymakers for the implementation of tiered approaches.

Introduction: Multiple neurodevelopmental problems affect 7-8% of children and require evaluation by more than one profession, posing a challenge to care systems.

Description: The local problem comprised distressed parents, diagnostic processes averaging 36 months and 28 visits with 42% of children >4 years at referral to adequate services, and no routines for patient involvement. The co-design project was developed through a series of workshops using standard quality improvement methodology, where representatives of all services, as well as parents participated. The resulting integrated care model comprises a team of professionals who evaluate the child during an average of 5.4 appointments (N = 95), taking 4.8 weeks. Parents were satisfied with the holistic service model and 70% of children were under 4 at referral (p < 0.05). While 75% of children were referred, 25% required further follow-up by the team.

Discussion: The Optimus model has elements of vertical, clinical and service integration. Reasons for success included leadership support, buy-in from the different organisations, careful process management, a team co-ordinator, and insistent user involvement.

Conclusion: Evaluating multiple neurodevelopmental problems in children requires an integrated care approach. The Optimus care model is a relevant showcase for how people-initiated integrated care reforms can make it into usual care.

Aim

This study aimed to investigate whether children with cerebral palsy (CP) had equal access to timely physiotherapy. Additionally, to learn more about clinical characteristics of infants with CP, we explored differences in neonatal clinical history and CP profile between children referred by a neonatologist or enrolled in neonatal follow-up and those referred by other healthcare professionals as well as those referred before and after 5 months corrected age.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review study including children born in Uppsala County, Sweden, from 2010 to 2016, who had received a CP diagnosis by July 2019. Entries by doctors and physiotherapists working at Uppsala University Children’s Hospital were reviewed.

Results

Thirty-eight children were included (21 girls, 55.3%) in the study. Twenty-two (57.9%) were born at term. Twenty-five children (66%) had their first visit to a physiotherapist before 5 months corrected age, and this included all children (n = 22, 57.9%) referred by a neonatologist or enrolled in neonatal follow-up. The latter group had significantly earlier access to physiotherapy compared to children referred by other healthcare professionals, with a median of 1.9 (min-max: -1-4) and 7.6 (min-max: 1–24) months, respectively (p < 0.0001). Referral source explained unique variance in predicting time of referral to physiotherapist (R² 0.550, B 4.213, p < 0.0001) when controlling for both number of risk factors and severity of motor impairment. However, number of risk factor was vital for early access to physiotherapy for children referred by other health care professionals.

Children referred by a neonatologist or enrolled in neonatal follow-up or referred before 5 months corrected age differed on all measured variables concerning neonatal clinical history and CP profile, compared to children referred by other healthcare professionals or after 5 months corrected age. The latter groups had milder forms of CP. In total, twenty-eight children (73.7%) were ambulatory at 2 years of age. Bilateral spastic CP was most common among those referred by a neonatologist or enrolled in neonatal follow-up or referred before 5 months corrected age, while unilateral spastic CP was most common among those referred by other healthcare professionals or after 5 months corrected age.

Conclusion

Infants with CP have unequal access to timely physiotherapy, and children considered at low risk for CP receive therapy later. Neonatal follow-up of infants considered at high risk for CP that involves an assessment of motor performance using an evidence-based method during the first months of life corrected age seems to be effective in identifying CP early. Conversely, measuring milestone attainment seems to be a less reliable method for early identification. To provide safe and equal care, all professionals performing developmental surveillance should receive proper training and use evidence-based assessment methods. Physiotherapy should be available prior to formal medical diagnosis.

Aim Parents' experiences and expectations are key to developing evidence-based approaches that respond to family needs. However, little is known about how parents regard the motor assessments in well-child surveillance and what they need to support their child's motor development. This study explored their experiences. Methods We conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with Swedish-speaking parents whose children had been referred to a physiotherapist by child health services (CHS) before 18 months of age. Consecutive sampling was conducted from March to November 2018. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation. Results The three themes that emerged were that that parents liked the CHS setting, but had concerns about the lack of focus on motor development during routine health visits and wanted more dialogue about this area. The parents said that the assessments varied considerably and that their concerns were not always taken seriously. They wanted to know more about the professionals' observations, how their child was expected to develop and what they could do to support their motor development. Conclusion Parents wanted a greater focus on motor development during routine health visits. This included advice on how they could support their child's development.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of the Structured Observation of Motor Performance in Infants (SOMP-I) when used by nurses in routine child healthcare by analyzing the nurses' SOMP-I assessments and the actions taken when motor problems were suspected.

Method: Infants from three child health centers in Uppsala County, Sweden, were consecutively enrolled in a longitudinal study. The 242 infants were assessed using SOMP-I by the nurse responsible for the infant as part of the regular well-child visits at as close to 2, 4, 6 and 10 months of age as possible. The nurses noted actions taken such as giving advice, scheduling an extra follow-up or referring the infant to specialized care. The infants' motor development was reassessed at 18 months of age through review of medical records or parental report.

Results: The assessments of level of motor development at 2 and 10 months showed a distribution corresponding to the percentile distribution of the SOMP-I method. Fewer infants than expected were assessed as delayed at 4 and 6 months or deficient in quality at all assessment ages. When an infant was assessed as delayed in level or deficient in quality, the likelihood of the nurse taking actions increased. This increased further if both delay and quality deficit were found at the same assessment or if one or both were found at repeated assessments. The reassessment of the motor development at 18 months did not reveal any missed infants with major motor impairments.

Interpretation: The use of SOMP-I appears to demonstrate favorable clinical utility in routine child healthcare as tested here. Child health nurses can assess early motor performance using this standardized assessment method, and using the method appears to support them the clinical decision-making.