Parents’ perspectives on Vojta therapy and factors related to effectiveness in children with motor disabilities
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Abstract
Background: Vojta therapy is an intervention technique that helps stimulate motor ability. This method requires a patient to be in a particular position. Therapist gently stimulates movements through the specific body parts. The patient then automatically moves his body without active command, in other words, creating movements involuntarily. Although many benefits occurred, this specific method might be uncomfortable due to the position restriction, especially when used with children. Often, children will respond by crying and parents might doubt the continuation or effectiveness. Therefore, the experiences from other parents who have been treating their children with Vojta therapy will be great answers to these uncertainties.
Objective: To survey parents' perspectives on Vojta therapy and to examine the factors related to the effectiveness of this method in children with motor disabilities.
Methods: Sixty parents who have been treating children with Vojta therapy participated in this survey. The questionnaire, launched through online media, included perspectives on Vojta therapy, accessibility, therapist, and effectiveness. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze outcomes.
Results: Parents' perspectives on Vojta therapy, therapist and effectiveness were agree to strongly agree level. Fifty-eight point five percent of participants reported better motor abilities of their children. Age started Vojta therapy, level of cognition and perception, and interaction between age started Vojta therapy and age of children were the factors related to the effectiveness (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Positive perspectives from experienced parents have been evidenced. These should encourage new parents about this intervention and ease their concerns in the future.
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