Feasibility of Health Promoting Activity Coaching for Mothers of Children With Disabilities: Pilot Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Abstract Importance: Mothers of children with disabilities experience health disparity. Interventions targeting maternal mental health need to be developed. Objective: To determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Healthy Mothers Healthy Families–Health Promoting Activities Coaching (HMHF–HPAC) intervention for mothers to improve participation in healthy activities and mental health and to evaluate outcome measures. Design: Nonrandomized controlled pilot feasibility study with one group who received HMHF–HPAC and a control group. Setting: Pediatric occupational therapy service; on site or telehealth. Participants: Twenty-three mothers completed prequestionnaires; of those, 11 mothers participated in the intervention, and 5 did not (7 withdrew). Intervention: Eleven pediatric occupational therapists were trained to deliver six 10-min sessions of HMHF–HPAC to mothers, integrated into their child’s therapy session or separately via telehealth. Outcomes and Measures: Mixed-design analysis of variance explored changes in scores on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale–21 Items and the Health Promoting Activities Scale. Results: The intervention group reported, on average, significant reductions in depressive symptoms and stress symptoms and significant increases in participation in health-promoting activity. No significant main effect of time was found for these variables in the control group. Conclusions and Relevance: The HMHF–HPAC program is a viable occupational therapy coaching intervention that can be embedded in existing services for families of children with disabilities. Future trials that evaluate the effectiveness of the HMHF–HPAC intervention for mothers of children with disabilities are warranted. What This Article Adds: This article provides support for the feasibility of appropriate and sensitive outcome measures and program content and delivery to implement the novel HMHF–HPAC intervention in further research. Mothers of children with disabilities benefited from integrated HMHF–HPAC delivered by pediatric occupational therapists within the family’s existing services.