Experiences and perceptions of participants, therapists and stakeholders about the intervention provided as part of the Early and Intensive Motor Training trial for People with SCI: A qualitative study

Study Design: A qualitative study. Objectives: To explore participants’, therapists’ and stakeholders’ experiences and perceptions of the trial intervention provided as part of the Early and Intensive Motor Training Trial for people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI-MT Trial). The intervention involved 12 hours per week of task specific training supplemented with strength training. Settings: Fifteen spinal injury units across Europe and Australia. Methods: Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted including 20 trial participants, 16 trial therapists and 4 stakeholders. Interview questions were framed around the Implementation Research Logic Model and the interview guide was developed by the research team. Inductive and deductive thematic analyses were done iteratively involving 4 members of the research team to identify themes from interviews. Results: Three themes were identified from these interviews, (i) the trial intervention was well received by participants and therapists, (ii) there were strengths and challenges to providing the trial intervention according to its key principles, and (iii) participants, therapists and stakeholders differed in what they felt the trial needed to demonstrate to justify the future rollout of the trial intervention. Conclusions: There were many features of the intervention provided as part of the SCI-MT Trial that both participants and therapists valued even though the trial results indicated no therapeutic benefit. Consideration should be given to how some of these features could be better incorporated into usual care to improve satisfaction and engagement.