SDM in Pediatric Physical Therapy: AI Qual Analysis

Shared decision-making (SDM) in pediatric physical therapy is gaining traction but lacks practical, scalable workflows. The June 30, 2026 PLoS One study examined how SDM can be applied in primary-care pediatric physical therapy (focus groups: adolescents n=11, parents n=9, therapists n=6; survey: n=46, 90% response). This post shows how to turn those transcripts and survey responses into implementable insights using AI-enabled qualitative research. Read the original study at PLoS One article and then follow an Evidano-powered workflow at Evidano to extract themes, map barriers to CFIR domains, and produce stakeholder-ready visualizations that speed adoption.

Key Takeaways

Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that converts interviews and surveys into themes, CFIR mappings, and stakeholder-ready visuals.

The June 30, 2026 PLoS One study adapted a goal-based SDM model for pediatric physical therapy and recommended starting SDM at intake and goal-setting, iterating throughout therapy, and using training, tools, and culture changes to overcome time and perspective barriers.

This post presents an Evidano-powered workflow to reproduce the study's analyses and produce implementation strategy briefs.

Study design and dates: Limmen et al., PLoS One (June 30, 2026) used focus groups (June 30, 2023–Mar 5, 2024) and a survey (Mar 22–Jul 3, 2024).
Core findings: SDM should start at intake and joint goal-setting, occur repeatedly (session checks and scheduled evaluations), and cover frequency, duration, homework, home environment, and referral decisions.
Main barriers and facilitators: barriers included time constraints and administrative load, facilitators included supportive practice culture, home visits, training, and decision tools.
Reproducible workflow: ingest recordings, auto-transcribe with custom dictionaries and PII redaction, run inductive thematic extraction, apply a CFIR codebook, and export visuals and implementation maps.

Fast take: what the study found (source)

The study adapted a goal-based SDM model for pediatric physical therapy and identified implementation strategies that begin at intake, iterate goal-setting, and use training, tools, and team culture changes to address barriers.

Source: PLoS One article (Limmen et al., PLoS One, June 30, 2026).
Study inputs: focus groups (June 30, 2023–Mar 5, 2024) and a qualitative survey (Mar 22–Jul 3, 2024).
Evidano link for reproducing these analyses: Evidano.

Findings snapshot

Date / Item	Value	Why it matters	Source note
Published	June 30, 2026	Recent, peer-reviewed guidance for SDM in pediatric PT	PLoS One article
Participants	Focus groups: adolescents n=11, parents n=9, PPTs n=6; Survey: PPTs n=46 (90% RR)	Multi-stakeholder perspectives validated across methods	See methods (focus groups + survey)
Primary outputs	Adapted goal-based SDM model; CFIR-mapped barriers; CFIR-ERIC implementation strategies	Ready targets for training, tools, and measurement	Phase 2 integrated findings into model + strategies

What happened, methods & core findings (SDM in pediatric physical therapy)

The authors conducted six focus groups between June 30, 2023 and March 5, 2024 and ran a qualitative survey of 46 pediatric physical therapists to validate themes.

Methods: six focus groups (two per stakeholder group) used inductive thematic analysis for how/when questions, then mapped barriers and facilitators deductively to CFIR domains.
Validation: the qualitative survey of 46 pediatric physical therapists validated the themes (71% fully agreed; 29% added nuance).
Key actionable findings: SDM starts at intake and joint goal-setting, occurs repeatedly (informal session-by-session checks plus scheduled evaluations), and includes topics such as frequency, duration, homework, home environment, and referral decisions.
Barriers: time constraints, administrative load, difficulty balancing child/parent/therapist perspectives, and variable therapist communication skills.
Facilitators: adaptability of SDM to family context, supportive practice culture, home-based visits, and training and tools.

Implications for researchers, UX teams, and policy analysts

Researchers

Researchers should use the adapted SDM model as a coding frame and map transcripts to the six model phases (Preparation, Goal talk, Choice talk, Option talk, Decision talk, Evaluation).

Map capability, motivation, and opportunity claims when flagging quotes, and measure implementation outcomes by mapping CFIR domains to measurable indicators (for example, proportion of visits with documented goal talk and frequency of parent or child quotes indicating involvement).

UX / Product teams

UX and product teams should design clinician-facing prompts and parent or child preparation materials that align with the model's Choice talk and Goal talk steps.

Validate designs using thematic frequency and co-occurrence analysis to determine whether prompts change language around roles and expectations, and prioritize lightweight, mobile-friendly decision aids and home-program checklists to address the home environment barrier.

Policy & practice leads

Policy and practice leads should target implementation strategies at the organizational level, for example allocating paid admin and training time, appointing SDM champions, and tracking uptake using PROMs and meeting logs.

Use the study's participant numbers (focus groups n=26 participants; survey n=46, 90% RR) as a realistic evidence base when proposing pilot budgets and timelines.

FAQ: SDM in pediatric physical therapy

When should SDM start in pediatric physical therapy?

SDM should start at intake and at joint goal-setting and continue iteratively throughout therapy.

The study recommends initiating SDM at intake to set goals jointly, then reinforcing and revisiting those goals during informal session checks and scheduled evaluations to cover frequency, duration, homework, home environment, and referral decisions.

What were the main barriers and facilitators identified?

Main barriers included time constraints, administrative load, and balancing child, parent, and therapist perspectives, while facilitators included supportive practice culture, home-based visits, training, and tools.

These barriers and facilitators were mapped to CFIR domains and used to generate CFIR-ERIC implementation strategy recommendations.

What methods did the study use to develop the adapted SDM model?

The study used six focus groups conducted between June 30, 2023 and March 5, 2024 and a qualitative survey conducted March 22–July 3, 2024, applying inductive thematic analysis and deductive CFIR mapping.

Stakeholder perspectives included adolescents (n=11), parents (n=9), pediatric physical therapists in focus groups (n=6), and a survey of 46 therapists (90% response rate).

How can teams reproduce the analysis in their own settings?

Teams can reproduce the analysis by ingesting recordings, auto-transcribing with custom dictionaries and PII redaction, running inductive thematic extraction, applying a CFIR codebook for deductive mapping, and exporting visuals and implementation maps.

The post provides a 7-step checklist and describes how to produce cross-segment frequency tables, co-occurrence networks, quote banks by role and theme, and implementation strategy maps that link CFIR barriers to recommended CFIR-ERIC strategies.

Do more, faster with Evidano: map SDM transcripts to CFIR & implementation strategies

Ingest & prep

Use Evidano to ingest recordings and auto-transcribe focus groups and consultations with custom dictionaries (medical terms and local PT jargon) and PII redaction.

Evidano can translate multilingual inputs while preserving mapped terms via custom dictionaries.

Thematic & CFIR mapping

Use Evidano to run inductive thematic extraction and then apply a deductive CFIR codebook to tag barriers and facilitators at scale.

Quantify theme frequency by stakeholder segment (adolescent, parent, PPT) and produce co-occurrence networks linking themes to SDM model phases.

Synthesis & stakeholder outputs

Use Evidano to generate slide-ready visuals such as theme frequency tables, hierarchical codes and subcodes, quote banks filtered by role and theme, and cross-segment comparisons to show where perspectives diverge.

Export implementation strategy maps that link each CFIR barrier to candidate CFIR-ERIC strategies, mirroring the paper's approach.

Checklist: 7-step Evidano workflow to reproduce and extend the study

Follow this 7-step workflow to reproduce the paper's analyses and produce an operational plan.

1) Collect recordings and documents (focus groups, survey text, clinical notes).
2) Upload to Evidano and run auto-transcription with custom dictionary and PII redaction enabled.
3) Run inductive thematic extraction to surface top themes and subthemes across stakeholder segments.
4) Import or define a CFIR codebook and run deductive mapping to tag barriers and facilitators.
5) Produce cross-segment frequency tables and co-occurrence networks to highlight misalignments (for example, parent versus adolescent views on involvement).
6) Link each flagged barrier to candidate implementation strategies (training, champions, workload adjustments) and export an implementation memo.
7) Share interactive reports with stakeholders and iterate; Evidano supports clickable quotes and downloadable visuals.

Ethics & limitations (brief)

The original study restricts full transcript sharing due to participant identifiability, and any replication must follow consent and IRB requirements.

Evidano supports PII redaction and encrypted storage to preserve confidentiality during secondary analysis.

Conclusion, next steps and CTA

Turn your qualitative corpus into CFIR-mapped insights and stakeholder-ready visuals to operationalize SDM in pediatric physical therapy.

Run a two-week pilot: import 10–20 transcripts into Evidano, map themes to the adapted goal-based SDM model, and produce an implementation strategy brief for your team.

Ready to try it? Try Evidano for free. (Research note: this post is research-focused and not clinical advice.)

Topics

SDM pediatric physical therapy
CFIR mapping
qualitative analysis
shared decision-making
Evidano

Keep reading

Browse all articles