The effect of leisure activities on quality-of-life scores for children with complex needs: A service evaluation in Wales, UK

Purpose Recent guidance has resulted in an increased level of interest in the wellbeing of children and young people, including those with complex needs. Evaluation of quality of life in this population is notoriously difficult, but has become increasingly vital when assessing the value of a service. Methods A previously validated tool, Quality of life Inventory-Disability (QI-Disability), was used in conjunction with parental reports on quality-of-life measures for children and young people before and after 6 and 12 months of attending specialist leisure activities provided by a charity (Sparkle) at children’s centres in South Wales. Results QI-Disability scores improved overall after 6 and 12 months of attending Sparkle club activities. However, the only statistically significant improvement was in the QI-Disability positive emotions domain. Parental reports also confirmed that children and young people were making progress towards their personal goals. Conclusion Collecting evaluation data within real-world services is challenging but essential. This paper uses quality-of-life measures to demonstrate how leisure activities provided by Sparkle improve scores for children with disabilities, including evidence of the perceived value for children, young people and parents. Plain English summary There is little previous research evaluating specialist leisure activities provided for children and young people with disabilities within real-world services. This evaluation aimed to find out if specialist leisure activities improved wellbeing scores for children with complex needs. We used parent-report questionnaires to measure changes to children’s quality of life whilst accessing these leisure activities. We found there is a benefit to children and young people with complex needs and their families when they participate in specialist leisure activities, and children experienced more positive emotions after accessing for 6 months.