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

18ResultsImplicationsEmergent themes included perceptions of benefits of hydrotherapy, outcomes, barriers andpool accessibility issues.• Parents perceived greater benefits of hydrotherapy, and valued their and their child’sinvolvement more than therapists did.• Parents perceived the benefits to be ‘increase in muscle strength’ and ‘improvements inland-based gross motor skills’.• In contrast, therapists talked about the social benefits for the child and parent attendingthe group, particularly in relation to parent networking.• The barriers identified by therapists were location and temperature of the pool, difficultieswith travel and parents unable to fit it in the day.• Parents commented that fitting it in with other siblings, kindergarten/school and sleeptimes were more of an issue than travel.For clients – clients value hydrotherapy highly and consider it a fundamental and essentialcomponent of their child’s therapy.For services –this study has prompted a review of the hydrotherapy services provided atNovita, including how to best address the barriers identified by families and the role/need fortraining in multidisciplinary input in hydrotherapy services.There is a need for more rigorous clinical studies examining the effects of hydrotherapy forchildren with physical and/or multiple disabilities.StatusCompletedProject titleContributorsFundingSummaryBotulinum toxin and the neglected upper limb in children with hemiplegic cerebralpalsyDr Ray Russo (Children, Youth, and Women’s Health Service), Professor Maria Crotty(Flinders University), Dr Michelle Miller (Flinders University), Sonya Murchland, Dr PeterFlett (Calvary Health Care, Tasmania), Dr Eric Haan (Children, Youth, and Women’s HealthService), Belinda Van Zelst (Flinders University)• Allergan Pharmaceutical Company• Financial Markets Foundation for ChildrenThis project was a population-based study of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsyidentified from the South Australian Cerebral Palsy Register. The first phase of the studywas evaluating the children’s level of impairment, and functional abilities, while the secondphase was to assess the effect of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) and occupational therapy (OT)compared with occupational therapy alone on body structure, activities participation and selfperceptionin a sample of children recruited through the first phase of the study.