In-Home Postpartum Physical Therapy Research Study
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What's this study about?
What's this study about?
It's not a big secret that current medical systems and standards for people who have just given birth in the United States are not ideal. A missing link from most routine care is the high-value, low-cost addition of a Physical Therapy assessment.
This study is designed to explore the impact on the lives of childbearing people if they receive a routine in-home Physical Therapy evaluation within the first two weeks after childbirth (or hospital discharge, if a longer stay at the hospital is required). The research team is especially interested in whether PT has any effect on:
Maternal mortality and other serious health risks by screening for Maternal Early Obstetric Warning Signs
Mental Health and general quality of life
Returning to all desired fitness activities
General ability to participate in all desired household and community roles, including returning to work as expected
Who can sign up to be part of this research?
Anyone in their second or third trimester of pregnancy who lives within 25 miles of Silverdale, Washington and is between the ages of 21 and 40. Due to the very limited resources of this pilot study, at this time only those who can speak English fluently without need for a medical translator are eligible to participate. It is Dr. Kranenburg's hope that this study sparks a greater interest in this topic, allowing a more diverse population of community members to receive this care.
I'm interested! If I sign up for the study, what can I expect?
First you will recieve a phone call from either Dr. Kranenburg or her office manager, Mandy Watson. This call will be to collect some basic information, like e-mail address, phone number, and physical address. Then you will receive some health history intake forms over email that are part of the research. A short in-person physical assessment will be scheduled to record some basic data on your movement and vital signs.
Second, you will be assigned to either the "treatment" group or the "control" group. If you are in the treatment group, you will be contacted weekly to check in and make sure you're scheduled for the in-home PT visit within the timeline required for this research.
If you are assigned to the control group, you will be contacted weekly until the date of your delivery is confirmed. Nothing else will happen for six months after that.
Treatment group participants will receive an in-home PT evaluation from Dr. Kranenburg that consists of assessing vital signs, screening for other health risk factors, discussing concerns about mobility, bowel & bladder function, and initiating some early home program recommendations related to scar tissue healing and general healing. You will receive guidance about safe return to movement as you heal. If there is a clinical basis for you to continue with postpartum PT, you will receive a list of all local PTs trained in pelvic health -- there is no requirement or expectation to continue care with Dr. Kranenburg.
For all participants: Six months after delivery, you will receive a new round of questionnaires to complete online or in-person. You will also be scheduled for a short in-person physical assessment which will be administered by other area PTs or PTA students. The paperwork will take about 45 minutes, and the physical assessment will take about 20 minutes.
All participants will receive $25 gift cards at intake and 6-month follow-up as a way to say thank you for giving your time to this important research.
All participants and their partners (for those who have partners) may also be asked to attend focus groups to discuss their postpartum experience. Focus groups are a common way for researchers to explore common themes about experiences that may not be captured well in existing questionnaires or physical assessments. The focus groups could help future researchers take this information and move forward with even better questions.
Will there be any cost to me?
Private funding and research grants will be sought to create a fund for this research. Dr. Kranenburg will be collecting insurance information from each treatment group participant in order to bill their insurance appropriate for the in-home PT visit. However, any resulting patient responsibility for that care will be covered by the research funds and not billed to the participant directly. You will receive EOBs and billing statements as proof that this care was billed appropriately, but you will not be asked to pay out of pocket for your copay, deductible or any other insurance-related expenses.
Are there any risks to me if I participate?
The short answer is "almost certainly not." There are no identifiable risks to receiving early in-home Physical Therapy screening because the entire purpose of the visit it to screen for risk at a time that you would otherwise be at home with no immediate resources until your six-week postpartum check-up.
I have more questions that weren't addressed here. How can I find out more about the study?
Email Dr. Kranenburg directly. If you go to her website (https://chrysalis-pt.com) you can scroll to the bottom of the page and fill out the contact form at the bottom. If you don't hear back, that probably means your email was eaten by the spam filter. Call the clinic phone number 360-900-9971 and leave a message. Dr. Kranenburg will get back to you within a few days!
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