Peer-reviewed article
Move to Improve: Co-Designing a Hospital-Based Physical Activity Program for Children With Chronic Health Conditions.
Sivaramakrishnan H, Jones AF, Long T, Naylor L, Valentine J et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study used co-design workshops with children who have chronic health conditions and their parents to develop Move to Improve, a hospital-based physical activity program in Perth, Australia. Participants identified five key themes: the need for family-led and goal-oriented approaches, individualized program design, enjoyment, confidence building, and support for transitioning to community activities. The resulting protocol includes goal-setting at the start, goal review at the end, and tailored strategies for skill building and condition self-management. The approach prioritizes children's and families' input to create a scalable model for supporting physical activity in hospital settings.
Key points
- Five interrelated themes emerged from co-design workshops: family-led approaches, goal-oriented design, individualization, enjoyment, and confidence building
- The protocol incorporates goal setting at program start, goal review at program end, and tailored skill-building and self-management strategies
- Children and parents directly shaped program structure, content, and delivery strategies
- The model is designed to support transition from hospital-based to community-based physical activity
- The approach emphasizes family-centered and tailored programs for sustained engagement
Limitations
This is a co-design study that describes protocol development rather than intervention outcomes; it does not evaluate whether the resulting program actually improves physical activity participation or health outcomes for children with chronic conditions. The document does not report baseline participation rates, sample size details, or demographic characteristics of participants.
Abstract
Background Physical activity can support physical and mental health among children living with chronic health conditions; however, programmes must be tailored to their specific needs to support participation. Objective This study aimed to co-design the protocol for Move to Improve, a hospital-based clinical service at Perth Children's Hospital to support physical activity participation among children with chronic health conditions. Methods Four online co-design workshops were conducted with children living with chronic health conditions and their parents, using a participatory and collaborative approach to inform programme development. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Five interrelated themes were identified, highlighting the importance of family-led and goal-oriented approaches, individualised programme design, enjoyment, confidence building and support for transition to community-based physical activity. Together, these findings underscore the need for family-centred and tailored programmes that support sustained engagement in physical activity. Conclusion The co-design process informed the development of a structured protocol incorporating evidence-based strategies aligned with families' priorities. These strategies included goal setting at the start of the programme, goal review at the end of the programme and tailoring of strategies such as skill building and education on self-management of the condition across the duration of the programme. This protocol offers a clinically relevant and scalable model for supporting physical activity participation among children with chronic health conditions within hospital-based services. Patient and public contribution Children and parents of children living with chronic health conditions participated in co-design workshops, and their input directly informed and shaped key elements of the Move to Improve protocol, including programme structure, content and delivery strategies.