Graduate Seminar Series: Clinical Stream – Daniela Chan-Viquez

Graduate Seminar Series: Clinical Stream
Graduate Seminar Series for the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME). This day is for clinical stream presenters.
If you would like to invite your Principal Investigator, please add their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.
Presentation Title: Video gaming for home-based rehabilitation: feasibility for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy living in Costa Rica.
Abstract: Economic and geographic barriers can limit access to rehabilitation therapies for children with cerebral palsy (CP). These barriers are magnified in developing countries and with the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In Costa Rica, 43% of children with disabilities do not have access to basic health services. To address this accessibility gap, effective and engaging approaches are needed to motivate and support children in practicing motor therapies at home. Bootle Blast (BB) is a low-cost, movement-tracking video game encouraging upper limb (UL) exercises at home. This study will assess the feasibility of a family-centred BB home intervention among Costa Rican children with CP. Our objectives are to 1) Establish probable efficacy for clinical outcomes related to UL function, activity, and participation and 2) Evaluate the implementation of the 8-week BB intervention (e.g., achievement of family-directed play time goals). Fifteen children with a diagnosis of CP (7-17 yrs) and one of their primary caregivers will participate. Children must have a current accessibility barrier to UL rehabilitation services as reported by the caregiver. Study assessments will be performed via videoconference (probable efficacy). Measures will target UL activity (e.g., Box & Blocks Test) and related participation (i.e., Canadian Occupational Performance Measure). Children will play BB at home for 8 weeks with weekly, 15–20-minute check-in video calls by a monitoring therapist. Computer-system logs (e.g., time and games played) and data from reported technical barriers will be collected (implementation). Measures for implementation will be reported using descriptive statistics. System logs will identify the percentage of children meeting their weekly play time goal. Effect sizes and confidence intervals will be calculated for clinical measures. Pre-post changes in clinical outcomes will be interpreted based on the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). This study will provide valuable learnings on how therapy gaming interventions can/should be implemented to bridge accessibility gaps, engage children and caregivers, and improve access to care.
Supervisor Name: Elaine Biddiss
Year of Study: 4
Program of Study: PhD
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610372821?pwd=azd4SCtYVWtreVovaGNPV1c2NGY2Zz09
Meeting ID: 896 1037 2821
Password: 483329
Powered by Calendly.com