The Move & PLAY Study: An Example of Comprehensive Rehabilitation Outcomes Research

Abstract

This perspective article provides an example of a study planned using guidelines for comprehensive rehabilitation outcomes research, an approach that is believed to give service providers meaningful evidence to support practice. This line of investigation has been guided by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The short title of a study under way is Move & PLAY (Movement and Participation in Life Activities of Young Children). The article briefly describes the conceptual model, provides guidelines on how indicators and measures are selected, alludes to the details of selected measures, and describes processes of preparing for data collection, including obtaining ethics approval, preparing data collection booklets, training assessors and interviewers, and sampling. The aim of this investigation is to gain a better understanding of the multiple child, family, and service factors associated with changes in mobility, self-care, and play of preschool children with cerebral palsy as a result of using this research method. Comprehensive rehabilitation outcomes research holds promise in providing evidence that supports the complexities of planning rehabilitation services with clients with chronic conditions, such as children with cerebral palsy.