Early Impact of a Co-Designed Playgroup for Children With Medical Complexity: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study

Play is crucial for childhood development and quality-of-life, but for children with medical complexity (CMC), availability of recreational programming is rare. A home healthcare organization in Toronto, Ontario collaborated with parents to co-design a novel 6-week playgroup that offered accessible, medically safe, and enjoyable play experiences for CMC. A mixed methods approach was undertaken to assess the early impact of the playgroup on participating CMC's quality-of-life functioning. The Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory was administered as a pre-post-measure followed by semi-structured interviews with parents. Sixteen parents corresponding to 18 registered CMC participated in the study. Early outcomes indicated an increase in overall quality-of-life functioning (27.4% n = 12) and psychosocial functioning (31.7% n = 12). Parents validated the positive quality-of-life scores by describing improved temperament, sleep, and expressions of happiness among their children post-program. Extended benefits were experienced by parents through much needed respite. The program demonstrated the value of co-designing person-centered interventions in addressing important health and social care gaps for CMC, while emphasizing the need for greater investments in social programming.