AN ANNUAL Q AND A SESSION WITH THE HOSTS (DR DAYNA POOL AND MARISSA SMITH)
Reflections on this episode (Dr Pool)
The pod now has many (thousands!) of new listeners and we decided to bring forward our annual Q and A session with the hosts of the show.
A little more backstory of each host, a look back at why we do what we do, some incredible highlights you might have missed and why the pod is a firm proponent of evidence based practices.
We cover off many topics, including:
Is the podcast a full-time gig?
What the difference between evidence-based and evidence-informed practice is,
Qualitative research and the rich benefits of it's implementation,
The often overlooked concept of maturation,
The view of pain and discomfort in therapy - the good and the bad,
Hands-on vs hand-off approach and the top-down and bottom-up philosophies,
Our scientific stance on manual facilitation techniques and why we have a section on the website that is dedicated to our conversation with the DMI (Dynamic Movement Intervention) founder(s).
It's about why research both matters and why ResearchWorks! 😉
We still plan on bringing you some incredible interviews with amazing researchers over the last 7 episodes of the year, culminating in our historic 200th episode milestone, so be sure to stayed tuned!
IMPLEMENTATION OF LEARNING THROUGH EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES WITH PARENTS OF INFANTS WITH CP (LEAP CP) EARLY DETECTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM IN INDIA
Reflections on this episode (Dr Pool)
LEAP-CP stands for Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents, an early detection and intervention program that adapts the international clinical practice guideline for early detection and intervention in CP for low and middle income countries.
In this paper, LEAP-CP was tested in an RCT with Asha Bhavan Centre in India from 2019 to 2019 and has continued implementation since 2021. This study aimed to determine the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, penetration, retention and fidelity of LEAP CP at the Asha Bhavan Centre in India.
Some of the amazing results from this work include:
When designing interventions, it is so important that implementation is also considered. This is such a wonderful example!
THE SELECTIVE DORSAL RHIZOTOMY AND BRIDGING THE GAP: CO-DESIGNING A DECISION AID FOR INFORMED DECISION MAKING
Reflections on this episode (Dr Pool)
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomies are often spoken about. It is a surgical procedure that may be offered to children with cerebral palsy to provide more long term spasticity reduction. There is often discussion around who is the most appropriate for this surgery as well as the outcomes that one might expect.
The Australian Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Registry houses rich datasets as an ongoing multicentre national research registry involving 5 tertiary paediatric hospitals in Australia, providing clinically relevant information for clinicians, researchers and of course, children and their families.
In this episode, we find out more about what the expected outcomes might be. This is such an important discussion because of the incredible commitment that is required from the child and family post surgery.
In what is often years of high dosage therapy sessions to follow, it is important to know that according to the register, 49% of children still need to have orthopaedic surgery, which means more therapy to follow. Knowing what to expect is so important for every family and therefore vital to incorporate into discussions right from the beginning.
RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF HAND ARM BIMANUAL INTENSIVE TRAINING INCLUDING LOWER EXTREMITY TRAINING (HABIT-ILE) FOR CHILDREN WITH BIMANUAL CEREBRAL PALSY
Reflections on this episode (Dr Pool)
This pragmatic, multi-site waitlist randomised controlled trial aimed to compare Hand Arm Bimanual Intensive training including Lower Extremity or HABIT-ILE to usual care in a multi-site randomised controlled trial to improve gross motor function and manual ability in children with bilateral cerebral palsy.
HABIT-ILE is a novel intensive goal directed motor intervention that integrates both upper and lower limb training, provided in 65 hours of therapy over 10 days. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, immediately post and at 26 weeks post intervention with primary outcomes being the GMFM and ABIL-HAND Kids.
With 90 children having been involved, it was found that HABIT-ILE was effective in improving manual ability, goal attainment, self-care and mobility compared to usual care.
As always, conversations with Leanne are insightful - her experience in conducting large multisite studies is second to none. The coordination required, particularly considering many studies we are hearing about now, had to endure during the pandemic. So much to learn from this discussion!
My biggest take home here is that not all ‘intensive therapies” are the same. Whilst the term intensive therapy really is a term to describe an increased dosage, the reality is that not only are the dosages variable across services but the ingredients are too - the actual ‘what you are doing’ is extremely variable. Describing what it is we are actually doing is a vital part of both science and translation.
The advantage here in HABIT-ILE is that it is extremely transparent - the contents of the intervention as well as the outcomes. From here, we can discern what to implement and how.
The problem lies when an intervention is described as simply “intensive” - what does it actually mean? What is the dosage, what is the actual number of active engagements and what are the outcomes? It is only when these questions are answered that we can make an educated and informed decision on where and what to spend our precious resources of time and finances on.
The ResearchWorks Podcast
Recorded at the RW Studio at the Healthy Strides Foundation, East Victoria Park, WA 6101, Australia
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At the recent AusACPDM 2024 Conference, Dr Pool and Dr Thornton were awarded the prestigious Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AusACDPM) Transformative Practice Award!
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