Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2024; 12(7): 1260-1271
Published online Mar 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i7.1260
Effectiveness of sensory integration therapy in children, focusing on Korean children: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Seri Oh, Jong-Sik Jang, A-Ra Jeon, Geonwoo Kim, Mihwa Kwon, Bahoe Cho, Narae Lee
Seri Oh, Geonwoo Kim, Department of Occupational Therapy, Kangwon National University Graduate School, Samcheok 25949, South Korea
Jong-Sik Jang, Department of Occupational Therapy, Kangwon National University, Samcheok 25949, South Korea
A-Ra Jeon, Department of Occupational Therapy, Ju-Ju Children Development Center, Nonsan-si 32985, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
Mihwa Kwon, Department of Occupation Therapy, Suwon Women’s University, Gyeonggi-do 16632, South Korea
Bahoe Cho, Hijam Center for Development of Children, Ochang 28117, South Korea
Narae Lee, Department of Occupational Therapy, U1 University, Chung-cheong bukdo 25949, South Korea
Author contributions: Oh S is the first and main author, and wrote the overall paper; Lee N is the corresponding author, wrote the introduction, discussions, and methods, and is responsible for general contact on the paper; Jang JS, Jeon AR, Kim G, Kwon M and Cho B revised and supplemented the manuscript, and wrote and edited the article on methods, results, and references.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Narae Lee, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, U1 University, (29131) 310 Daehak-ro, Yeongdong-eup, Yeongdong-gun, Chung-cheong bukdo 25949, South Korea. nereis1004@gmail.com
Received: December 6, 2023
Peer-review started: December 6, 2023
First decision: December 22, 2023
Revised: December 27, 2023
Accepted: January 27, 2024
Article in press: January 27, 2024
Published online: March 6, 2024
Processing time: 85 Days and 12.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Sensory integration is a neurological process that allows the child to interact effectively with the environment through stimulation of various senses. Difficulties in sensory integration lead to difficulties in functional performance in daily life.

Research motivation

Recent studies have methodological problems due to different sensory integration intervention methods for each study and unsystematic protocols. Therefore, evidence-based research is needed to prove treatment effectiveness.

Research objectives

The purpose is to confirm the effectiveness of sensory integration intervention, present basic data for a systematic protocol, and prepare a theoretical basis.

Research methods

To analyze the effects of sensory integration interventions, a meta-analysis method was used to investigate the effects of sensory integration interventions through papers published from 2001 to 2020 targeting children.

Research results

Through this study, the effectiveness of sensory integration intervention was confirmed, and based on this, it is believed that it will be helpful in applying evidence-based sensory integration intervention in clinical settings. As a limitation, there are differences depending on cultural background in literature published in Korea, so it is recommended to conduct research based on various cultural backgrounds in the future.

Research conclusions

The sensory integration intervention method proposed in this study is more effective for subjects with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and is more effective when performed as a 1:1 individual treatment for 40 min.

Research perspectives

It would be even more helpful to analyze the effectiveness of sensory integration interventions, including studies that applied not only sensory integration interventions but also other interventions based on diverse cultural backgrounds.