Department of Physical Therapy

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Browsing Department of Physical Therapy by Author "Alharbi, Bashayer M."

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    Infant Motor Milestones: Analysis of Content and Variability Among Popular Sources for Parents
    (Pediatric Physical Therapy, 2024-10-08) Orlando, Julie M.; Cunha, Andrea B.; Namit, Samantha; Banoub, Abram; Alharbi, Bashayer M.; Lobo, Michele A.
    Purpose: Evaluate the content and variability of infant motor milestone education provided to parents in popular sources. Methods: Sources were screened for inclusion, and their motor milestone content was coded. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Results: Content from 241 websites, applications, and books was evaluated; 6984 motor milestones were extracted, representing 146 unique milestone codes across 14 categories. Books and applications had more milestone content than websites. There was variability in the milestones mentioned and their associated ages across the sources and relative to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) content. Several frequently mentioned milestones were behaviors that facilitate early learning. Conclusions: There is variability among sources in the motor milestones they provide to parents of infants. The AAP and CDC content likely has some influence on the broader content available, but there is substantial deviation from the information they provide. WHAT THIS EVIDENCE ADDS Current evidence: Education about developmental milestones can positively impact parental knowledge and confidence and enhance discussions between parents and healthcare providers.1 In addition to health care providers, parents report commonly accessing popular sources, including internet searches, websites, books, and mobile applications (apps), to learn about child development.2-5 Gap in the evidence: Parents are more likely to encounter information about milestones than suggestions for play activities or toys when searching about infant milestones, development, and play in popular sources.5 Yet, the nature of this motor milestone content has not been previously studied. How does this study fill this evidence gap? This study comprehensively describes which infant motor milestones parents are educated about by popular sources (ie, apps, books, and websites) and when those milestones are mentioned throughout infants’ first year of life. The study also evaluates whether the content available among popular sources besides those authored by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) varies from the information provided by the AAP and CDC. Implication of all the evidence: There is a large amount of variable information about infant’s motor milestones available to parents in popular sources, with similarities but also deviations and expansions from the AAP and CDC content. The results provide a comprehensive picture of the motor milestones that parents are likely to encounter in popular sources from birth through 1 year. They highlight behaviors parents are less likely to learn about on their own, suggesting health care providers might consider more active education if they want parents to be knowledgeable about these behaviors. Health care providers might suggest apps or books to parents seeking greater amounts of information yet may consider offering education periodically in concurrence with expected developmental skills.6
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