mHealth Family Adaptation Intervention for Families of Young Children with Down Syndrome: A Feasibility Study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of using the mHealth Family Adaptation Intervention (FamilyAdapt-DS), with families of young children with Down syndrome (DS), and to assess the effect of participating in this mHealth intervention on family adaptation. Design and methods: A one-group pre-test post-test design was employed. Sixteen parents from eight families of young children with DS (under the age of three years) participated in this study between September 2015 and September 2016. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to identify the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores. Results: All parents perceived that the program was feasible to use and they were willing to recommend the intervention to other families. Improvements were noted between pre-test and post-test scores. For fathers, views of their child's daily life became more positive, their child's condition became more manageable, their problem-solving communication became more affirming and their family functioning scores improved. Mothers reported less difficulty managing their child's condition. Conclusions: These findings suggest that FamilyAdapt-DS is a feasible m-Health intervention for families of young children with DS; however, scaling up of this program with larger and more diverse samples is needed to test its effectiveness. Practice implications: Nurses and other healthcare providers may find it helpful to use therapeutic conversations and mHealth interventions such as the one described in this paper to tailor the care they provide to families of young children with DS.