Can Technology Improve Participation From Underserved Children and Families in Rehabilitation Research?

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of research studies, exposing many of the limitations of in-person research conducted within a laboratory or clinical setting. However, these limitations existed long before the pandemic and have contributed to small and unrepresentative samples. The pandemic has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate the focus of pediatric rehabilitation research, utilizing existing technology for remote and offsite research that does not require in-person visits. The goals of this shift are to enhance engagement and participation in research and to better meet the needs of participants and their families. We describe how this shift could be applied to assessing children’s motor development outside the laboratory with everyday technology as a model for future research and clinical study. Adapting research protocols will serve a larger and more representative population of children and address inequities in research participation.