Experience of activity and participation of individuals with developmental coordination disorder/dyspraxia and their families and service providers: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This review aims to synthesize existing qualitative studies on the experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions in individuals with developmental coordination disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia and their families and service providers.

INTRODUCTION: DCD features a significant delay in lifespan motor development, which limits daily activities and restricts participation at home, school, workplace, recreation and in the community. To date, these activity limitations and participation restrictions have been sporadically characterized in quantitative and qualitative studies. However, the nature of the subjective experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions has not been systematically reviewed or qualitatively synthesized from the first- and third-person perspectives.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review will consider qualitative studies with participants who are 5 years of age and above, conducted anywhere in the world. We will exclude studies that are not identifiable through English titles or abstracts in English databases, and non-primary peer-reviewed evidence, such as biographies, newspapers and magazines.

METHODS: Key information sources include CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, JSTOR, Soc Index, Project Muse, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and OpenGrey. No time or language limits will be placed. Two independent reviewers will screen and retrieve potentially relevant studies in full. The full text of selected studies will be assessed against the inclusion criteria. All included studies will undergo the assessment of methodological quality, data extraction and the generation of a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: 137616 (PROSPERO).