Co-development of the CMAP Book: a tool to enhance children’s participation in pediatric rehabilitation

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the co-development project was to create a tool that enhances children’s active participation and agency in rehabilitation and in everyday life.

Materials and methods

Action research was the methodological approach. Participants in the different phases of the process (2015–2017) were children with disabilities, parents and rehabilitation professionals. The co-development process included: (1) designing the tool’s first version, (2) piloting the tool, (3) evaluating the tool by collecting feedback and reflection, (4) generating the tool’s final version.

Results

Through the co-development process, an accommodating and digital tool called the CMAP Book–a description of the child’s meaningful activities and participation–was developed. The CMAP Book is used with an electronic app enabling the identification and description of what is meaningful in daily life from the child’s perspective with videos, photos, pictures, recording and writing. The tool enables the child, family and professionals to prepare and build collaboration in rehabilitation with flexibility according to child and family needs.

Conclusions

Use of the CMAP Book promotes the active involvement of the child and parents in designing the rehabilitation process in daily life in partnership with professionals. The stakeholder involvement in the co-development facilitated meaningful results and a concrete tool for rehabilitation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• The CMAP book is a new tool that enhances the child’s active participation and agency in the rehabilitation process based on meaningful activities in everyday life expressed by the child.

• Identifying and utilising meaningful issues in the child’s daily life through collaboration increases the child’s commitment and motivation, and thus may enhance the benefits and effects of rehabilitation.

• Through co-development, the child and his/her family can be active and equal partners not only in development projects but also in the rehabilitation process.

• In the future, child-specific practices and policies should be developed to promote participatory co-research between families and clinicians linked to the daily lives of families with children.

Keywords:

• co-development
• participation
• digital tool
• children with disabilities
• pediatric rehabilitation

Acknowledgments

We extend our warm thanks to the children, families and professionals who took part in the co-development process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The co-development of the CMAP Book was part of the LOOK-project that was funded by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (2015-2017).