Previously submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols (no longer under consideration since Mar 18, 2026)
Date Submitted: May 27, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Jun 5, 2025 - Jul 31, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Occupational Therapy Related Support Programs for Parents of Children with Special Needs - A Scoping Review Protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Developmental disabilities significantly impact children and impose substantial caregiving demands on parents, who often face emotional strain, isolation, and disrupted routines. Despite evidence that parent-support interventions enhance well-being and caregiving outcomes, there is limited synthesis of occupational therapy-related support programs specifically designed for parents of children with special needs.
Objective:
This scoping review aims to map existing evidence and identify gaps in support programs, emphasizing the importance of family-centered care and the unique contributions of occupational therapy to empower parents.
Methods:
A scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology will systematically identify, map and analyze occupational therapy-related support programs for parents of children with special needs. A three-phase search strategy will include databases such as PubMed, Scopus, CINHAL, and Embase. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria- parents of children aged 3-15, peer-reviewed articles published in English, and focusing on various intervention types and contexts- will be analyzed.
Results:
Extracted data will be synthesized narratively and tabulated, highlighting program characteristics and outcomes to inform future evidence-based intervention
Conclusions:
A scoping review is therefore essential to provide an evidence-based foundation for designing impactful support programs that enhance family-centered care within the framework of occupational therapy. Clinical Trial: NA
Citation
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Copyright
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