Developing A Fidelity Measure Of Early Intervention Programs For Children With Neuromotor Disorders

Aim To describe the development of an intervention-specific fidelity measure and its utilization and to determine whether the newly developed Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) intervention was implemented as intended. Also, to quantify differences between START-Play and usual early intervention (uEI) services.Method A fidelity measure for the START-Play intervention was developed for children with neuromotor disorders by: (1) identifying key intervention components, (2) establishing a measurement coding system, and (3) testing the reliability of instrument scores. After establishing acceptable interrater reliability, 103 intervention videos from the START-Play randomized controlled trial were coded and compared between the START-Play and uEI groups to measure five dimensions of START-Play fidelity, including adherence, dosage, quality of intervention, participant responsiveness, and program differentiation.Results Fifteen fidelity variables out of 17 had good to excellent interrater reliability evidence with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.77 to 0.95. The START-Play therapists met the criteria for acceptable fidelity of the intervention (rates of START-Play key component use >= 0.8; quality ratings >= 3 [on a scale of 1-4]). The START-Play and uEI groups differed significantly in rates of START-Play key component use and quality ratings.Interpretation The START-Play fidelity measure successfully quantified key components of the START-Play intervention, serving to differentiate START-Play from uEI.