PIH Multi

The intensive part of the treatment program consists of a training program that has been offered as a clinical service for several years at the Regional Center for Intensive Pediatric Rehabilitation (RIB) at Sørlandet sykehus in Kristiansand. What is new now is that this program will be offered as a clinical service at the other three treatment locations mentioned above. The intensive program lasts approximately one year and consists of three 2-week group gatherings with intensive rehabilitation and training. The groups consist of 3-5 families/children who live near the relevant hospital. Between the gatherings (3-5 month intervals), the child will train daily according to an individualized program, either at home or in kindergarten. The duration of the daily training will be approximately 1 hour 5 days a week during the "home periods" and approximately 4 hours daily during the group gatherings. During the group gatherings, various professionals; physiotherapists, special educators, occupational therapists, and possibly psychologists, will organize the training in collaboration with the parents. The parents will receive instructions and guidance so that they can manage the home training, possibly together with local professionals in the primary care services if the training is to take place in kindergarten. The parents will also receive their own follow-up program with a focus on coping with their own situation and stress-reducing measures. In order to evaluate the effect and benefit of such an intensive program, standardized examinations of the child will be carried out, and questionnaires will be provided for completion before, during, and after participation in the project. The examinations of the child, which will last approximately 1 hour, will be carried out by an experienced physiotherapist who does not participate in the training or follow-up of the child.

The advantage of this study is that we will gain new knowledge as to whether participation in an intensive rehabilitation program gives a greater positive effect on the child's daily functioning, motor skills, and socially than the follow-up and treatment services the child normally receives. We also want to find out whether participation in such a program can also have beneficial effects on the parents' role by the parents feeling a greater degree of coping, less stress, and more optimism after participating in the program. There is no research-based knowledge about the effects of participation in such an intensive program in Norway. Children who participate in the study will be randomly assigned to either start with the intensive part of the program or continue with their regular rehabilitation follow-up for one year before starting the intensive part in year 2. This could constitute a possible disadvantage if there is a desire for a quick start of the intensive part. It cannot be seen that there are other disadvantages associated with participating in the project than that it is time-consuming and requires motivated parents.

See also:PIH Multi