Preliminary implementation and development of an enjoyable virtual reality exercise program for the prevention of cardiometabolic disease among children with cerebral palsy in school settings.

Byron Lai, Ph.D.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

This project seeks to build key evidence that will inform the application of an innovative telerehabilitation intervention (virtual reality exergaming) that could likely help manage and prevent cardiometabolic complications among children with disabilities. The goal of this project is to adapt a clinical intervention to be suitable for implementation within a school special physical education setting and to generate critical information that will inform a confirmatory trial. Specifically, the three goals of this project are to develop a protocol that can be implemented in a special physical education school setting, evaluate how well the protocol works, and test the preliminary effects of the program on critical outcomes that will indirectly affect cardiometabolic health in this population (physical fitness measured via muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness or endurance).

We aim to include a sample size of 12 people to satisfy minimum recommendations for a pilot feasibility study. This project will include a Community Engagement Group (CEG) of 3 members from the school where the intervention will be delivered at (Pelham High School): a child with cerebral palsy, their caregiver, and a Special Physical Education teacher. The CEG will attend regularly scheduled meetings with the PI and inform all aspects of the study, including but not limited to: intervention development and adaptations through barriers and facilitator analyses, participant recruitment, implementation of the program, and interpretation of the results. The findings of this study will inform an upcoming NIHR01 application to confirm the effectiveness of the virtual reality exercise program on cardiometabolic health among children with physical disabilities.