The participants were parents of children and adolescents (0-18 years old) treated from the Pediatric Palliative Care Unit of the Niño Jesús Hospital in Madrid, regardless of their diagnosis. Data collection was carried out through unstructured and semi-structured interviews with parents.

The documents that frame Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC), both at European and national level, expressly state the importance that the physical symptoms that these children usually present, such as pain, constipation, respiratory, neurological, orthopedic and sensory problems, be controlled, and that everyone should have access to professional physiotherapy treatment 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, since Physiotherapy is considered a discipline that helps control these symptoms. But the reality is that the resources of the families and of the public administration are limited, and the physiotherapist is usually found outside the CPP teams, in other external resources of the child's community to which the families do not always have access. In most cases, due to economic reasons linked to the child's health status, they find themselves in situations that prevent them from leaving their home to receive Physiotherapy treatment. To our knowledge, no study to date has provided information on experience after implementation of a home rehabilitation program for children in CPP.

As a conclusion of the study, it is highlighted that, from the parents' perspective, home Physiotherapy is established as a useful tool to meet the needs of their children. Most parents identify Physiotherapy as a technique that improves the quality of life of children and themselves. The family training carried out by the physiotherapist is an essential part of this process, it brings confidence and relief to the caregivers, who feel more secure in the daily management of their children. The experience of including a physical therapist in a CPP team was positively perceived by parents, as it had a favorable effect on the child's physical and functional status. The parents perceived that Physiotherapy helped to reduce the pain and suffering of their children.

This work evidences the need to integrate physical therapists within CPP programs. In addition, it helps us to better understand the needs of this group and, therefore, allows us to better adapt our intervention to the needs of the child and their family, in their usual environment, the home.  The clinical impact of this study lies in showing that the experience of implementing a home physical therapy program for children who require CPP is essential to improve both the quality of life and the quality of care for children and their parents.

Rico-Mena P, Palacios-Ceña D, Martino-Alba R, Chocarro-Gonzalez L, Güeita-Rodriguez J. The impact of home-based physical rehabilitation program on parents' experience with children in palliative care: a qualitative study. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2019 doi: 10.23736/S1973-9087.19.05474-1.