Systematic review of early intervention programmes for children from birth to nine years who have a physical disability.
OBJECTIVE
To systematically review the literature on the effectiveness of early intervention programmes for children with physical disabilities.


METHODS
Twelve electronic databases were searched for articles published between 1990 and April 2008. The quality of articles was appraised using an adapted version of the Checklist for the Evaluation of Research Articles and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale.


RESULTS
Ten studies were included in the review. Cross-sectional and interrupted time-series studies were of moderate methodological quality, whereas the non-randomised control trial was of moderate-to-high methodological quality. Studies differed considerably with respect to participants, types of intervention and outcomes measured.


CONCLUSIONS
Positive outcomes for both children and families have resulted from early intervention. However, methodological limitations hamper a more rigorous analysis of findings across studies.
Ziviani
Jenny
J
Division of Occupational Therapy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. j.ziviani@uq.edu.au
Feeney
Rachel
R
Rodger
Sylvia
S
Watter
Pauline
P
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D037001:Directive Counseling; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D010820:Physicians; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013997:Time Factors