QES of parental experiences of PCIT (O'Toole et al., 2021)

Purpose: Parent–child interaction therapy refers to a number of interventions mediated by trained parents to treat developmental difficulties, including speech, language, and communication. Understanding the experiences of parents who take part in parent–child interaction therapy is a key aspect of determining how this intervention can be implemented successfully. However, to date, there has been limited work on synthesizing parental views of this intervention.

Method: We used qualitative evidence synthesis that involved searching the literature for qualitative studies addressing the experiences and perceptions of parent–child interaction therapy for parents of preschool children with communication difficulties. We identified 27 studies (from 32 publications) and synthesized the data using thematic synthesis. We appraised the quality of included studies using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and assessed our confidence in the review findings using GRADE Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual).

Results: At the beginning of this intervention, parents may have competing demands and varied expectations about the intervention. Their engagement is facilitated when the intervention is tailored to their individual family, their preferences for learning, and when they have a trusting relationship with the clinician. At the end of the intervention, although most parents perceive an improvement in their child’s communication and feel empowered to facilitate this, they have concerns about their child’s future needs.

Conclusions: It is important that clinicians explore parents’ readiness for this intervention by discussing their needs and preferences openly, and that they facilitate their engagement through a supportive relationship. They also need to consider how parents will transition out of the intervention and continue to support their child’s language development.

Supplemental Material S1. Sample search string for Scopus Database (searched February 4, 2021 = 482 results).

Supplemental Material S2. Assessment of Methodological Limitations (CASP).

Supplemental Material S3. GRADE CERQual Full Evidence Profile

Supplemental Material S4. Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) checklist.

O’Toole, C., Lyons, R., & Houghton, C. (2021). A qualitative evidence synthesis of parental experiences and perceptions of parent–child interaction therapy for preschool children with communication difficulties. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00732