Novita Research Report - 2004 to 2007 - Novita Children's Services

14Project titleContributorsFundingSummaryMethodResultsImplicationsPatterns of engagement in young people with physical disabilities: Factorsassociated with the achievement of meaningful participation in life activitiesDr Alison Lane (University of South Australia) Professor Tim Olds (University of SouthAustralia), Sonya Murchland, A/Professor Jenny Ziviani (University of Queensland)• University of South Australia, Division of Health SciencesPrevious studies have shown there is a relationship between the ways young peoplespend their time and their likelihood of maintaining healthy living patterns into adulthood.Researchers have been able to collect self-recorded data about daily time use from youngpeople without disabilities using the Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents(MARCA). This project adapted MARCA so young people with physical disabilities could alsorecord their daily activities.After initial evaluation of the usability and accessibility features of MARCA by NovitaTech,it was extensively reprogrammed to allow access to its graphics interface via the use ofa keyboard or assistive technology device. Twenty Novita clients who met the eligibilitycriteria were invited to participate in the trial and six responded – one declined the invitationto participate, two were unable to be contacted (one due to English language difficulties),one withdrew due to the exacerbation of their condition and two completed the trial of themodified MARCA.The modified MARCA was trialed by volunteers who experienced physical disability. Datacollected during the trial showed that no excessive ergonomic burden was placed on theparticipant, the time taken to complete a single day entry was 43 and 41 minutes respectivelyand participants reported that they found the physical and cognitive demands of MARCA tobe within their capacity. These results indicate that the modified MARCA could be completedby young people with physical disabilities as easily as young people without disabilities. Dueto the success of the initial modifications and the difficulty with recruiting participants to thestudy, no further user testing was conducted as planned in the original study outline.The modified MARCA will now be used in further studies with young people with disabilitiesto help understand how these young people choose and participate in activities.For clients – the modified MARCA can be used to record patterns of engagement in activitiesover a twenty-four hour period.For services – a broader study exploring patterns of engagement in activities with childrenwith physical disabilities can be undertaken to broaden therapists’ understanding of theimpact of disabilities on children’s lives.StatusCompleted