Parents of Children With Constipation Will be Asked About Their Views on Their Children's Physical Activity.
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Constipation - Functional. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Sweden
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Parents' Experiences of Physical Activity in Their Children With Functional Constipation - A Qualitative Interview Study
Overview
Children with functional constipation are a large patient group that not only needs to seek care at primary healthcare centers and pediatric clinics, but many of the visits received at the emergency department are related to symptoms of constipation. The personal suffering, physically and psychologically, affects not only the child but the entire family. After the patient has started their medical treatment and received information regarding the diagnosis and dietary advice, healthcare today does not have much more to offer. The physiotherapist has currently no natural part in the team around children with constipation. Regular physical activity is recommended but lacks support in science. Physical activity has been shown to have a good effect, such as stimulating bowel movements, reducing constipation, and improving gut microbiota, in other diagnoses from the gastrointestinal tract such as irritable bowel syndrome. From a physiological perspective, physical activity is good for bowel motility; however, there is a lack of studies that can show evidence that physical activity could alleviate symptoms in functional constipation. The purpose of interviewing parents about their experiences of physical activity in their children with functional constipation is to gain a deeper understanding of physical activity in their children. Parents of 12 to15 children with functional constipation will be collected at two different pediatric clinics in Sweden to participate in the study. The method will be semistructured individual, in-depth, interviews that are transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Both the manifest and the latent message will be analyzed. The result of this qualitative study can lead to generating new and increased knowledge about children with functional constipation and their physical activity, which can fill a knowledge gap as there is sparse previous research in the area. Knowledge from the planned study could be valuable in the long run to improve care for children with functional constipation and could lead to the physiotherapist becoming part of the team around children with functional constipation. The result from the study could also be used as a basis for future studies in the area.
Primary outcome measures
- To explore parents' perspectives on physical activity in children suffering from functional constipation [Time frame: Nov 25- April 26]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Parents of children aged 6-12 years who have functional constipation.
- Are registered at a pediatric and adolescent medicine clinic in Alingsås or Lerum due to functional constipation and are undergoing treatment for functional constipation.
Exclusion criteria
- Does not speak or write Swedish.
- The parent should not have impaired cognitive ability.
- The child should not have another illness/injury that could affect the ability to be physically active.
- The family should not have had the supervisor as a therapist.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
Study locations
Sweden · 1 center
- Närhälsan, Sörhaga Rehab — Alingsås
Publications
- Dogan IG, Gursen C, Akbayrak T, Balaban YH, Vahabov C, Uzelpasaci E, Ozgul S. Abdominal Massage in Functional Chronic Constipation: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Phys Ther. 2022 Jul 4;102(7):pzac058. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzac058. PMID 35554601
- Bongers ME, van Wijk MP, Reitsma JB, Benninga MA. Long-term prognosis for childhood constipation: clinical outcomes in adulthood. Pediatrics. 2010 Jul;126(1):e156-62. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-1009. Epub 2010 Jun 7. PMID 20530072
- Barberio B, Judge C, Savarino EV, Ford AC. Global prevalence of functional constipation according to the Rome criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Aug;6(8):638-648. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(21)00111-4. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID 34090581
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07300423 · 2025-06087-01