Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation into parents' experiences of physical therapy and early mobility (EM) for their children in a pediatric critical care unit (PCCU).
Methods: We conducted a series of four qualitative case studies using in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews. We recruited parents of children who had undergone surgery and received at least one EM physical therapy intervention while intubated. We conducted a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews to illuminate the factors that influenced EM experiences.
Results: Four parents participated in the study. We developed an overview of Parental Experiences with Physical Therapy and Early Mobility in a PCCU, which includes four themes that parents believed influenced their experiences: (1) environmental factors; (2) awareness of physical therapist and health care professional (HCP) roles; (3) communication among parents and HCPs; and (4) parental participation in their child's EM, within the overarching parental experiences in the PCCU.
Conclusion: This study affords a preliminary understanding of parents' experiences with physical therapy and EM in a PCCU setting. Results provide an important foundation for future research on mobility in the context of pediatric critical care research and practice.
Keywords: Pediatric; children; early mobility; intensive care; parent; rehabilitation.