We are excited to invite you to a CP-NET Meet the Expert Session taking place on June 27th! Dr. Darcy Fehlings, Dr. Amber Makino, and Sophie Lam-Damji will present on and answer questions about baby constraint-induced movement therapy. Email Alice Soper at sopera@mcmaster.ca with any questions about the event.

By completing the course, you will earn a CanChild / Kids Brain Health Network / McMaster University Certificate of Completion and a micro-credential.

Deadline: June 20, 2022

The COSTAS-C project is an ongoing research study regarding the most important and meaningful impacts that speech-language pathologists can have while supporting children in schools. This study will help us learn about what we need to track to ensure that these services are effective and high-quality.

This study involves a research interview and then a rating and sorting task. Finally, there will be a chance to provide feedback on the results of the study.

Contact Peter Cahill at cahillp@mcmaster.ca if you are interested!

This project has been reviewed by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board under Project (13906).

Are you a caregiver of a child with cerebral palsy (CP)? We want to hear from you!

CP-NET is recruiting parents and caregivers of children up to age 16 with any type of CP to take part in a research study. The study will help us learn what information you need on hip surveillance for your child. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge about hip surveillance and its importance for children with CP.

Your participation would involve an interview or focus group to learn about your experiences and information needs. This will be used to develop educational materials on hip surveillance.

Contact hopmansn@mcmaster.ca if you are interested!

The ResearchWorks podcast recently interviewed Postdoctoral Fellow Paula Chagas about her work on the "Development of the Gross Motor Function Family Report (GMF-FR) for Children with Cerebral Palsy".

Listen to Episode 50 to learn more about the GMF-FR, a new clinical assessment tool for families!

Do you have a child or adolescent with Cerebral Palsy between 2 and 18 years? If you are interested in participating in a measurement study about the GMF-FR or have any questions, please email Paula Chagas at chagasp@mcmaster.ca.

In recognition of an outstanding career in pediatric research in this country, Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, past Director of CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, and long-standing scientist and physician at McMaster, received the Canadian Paediatric Society’s prestigious, Career Research Award. Congratulations!

The Participation and Environment Measure - Children and Youth (PEM-CY) is a measure that evaluates participation in the home, at school, and in the community, alongside environmental factors within each of these settings. PEM-CY is the first measure of its kind as it assesses both participation and environmental factors in the same framework. The PEM-CY allows parents and service providers to understand more about a child/youth’s current level of participation, while encouraging problem solving strategies around changeable elements within each setting to better support further participation.

The PEM-CY can be used for children and youth between the ages of 5 to 17 years-old, with or without disabilities. For more information on the PEM-CY, please see our resources section.

Authors: McPhee, P. G., Benner, J. L., Sanvido, L., Roebroeck, M. E., Berg‐Emons, R. J., Slot, W. M., Verschuren, O., Hurvitz, E. A., Peterson, M. D., & Gorter, J. W. (2022). Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 64(7), 881–889. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.15181

Transition from pediatric to adult care may be associated with negative health outcomes for many adolescents with chronic illness. The authors identified quality indicators (measures of performance) for transition to adult care that are broadly applicable across all types of chronic illnesses and health systems. Eight peer-reviewed studies and 1 clinical guideline were included, identifying a total of 169 quality indicators for transition. Of these, 56% were illness specific (e.g. diabetes), 44% related to transition processes, 51% were patient centered and 0% equity focused. Common indicator themes included education (12%), continuity of care (8%), satisfaction (8%), and self-management (7%). Further work is needed to prioritize these quality indicators while meaningfully engaging youth and parents/caregivers in the process using an equity focused lens.

Authors: Bailey, K., Lee, S., de Los Reyes, T., Lo, L., Cleverley, K., Pidduck, J., Mahood, Q., Gorter, J. W., & Toulany, A. (2022). Pediatrics, e2021055033. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-055033