Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of a Child Life-Based Breathing Exercise Program for Children Recovering From Severe Pneumonia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of a Child Life-Based Breathing Exercise Program for Children Recovering From Severe Pneumonia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a child life-based breathing exercise program for children recovering from severe pneumonia. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Is the child life-based breathing exercise program feasible for hospitalized children recovering from severe pneumonia?
• Can the program improve caregiver satisfaction and promote recovery in children with severe pneumonia?

Researchers will compare a child life-based breathing exercise program combined with routine health education with routine health education alone to determine whether the intervention improves rehabilitation outcomes.

Participants will:

• Receive either routine health education alone or routine health education combined with the child life-based breathing exercise program
• Participate in breathing exercise training during hospitalization
• Complete assessments of caregiver satisfaction and clinical recovery outcomes, including improvement in chest imaging findings and time to resolution of symptoms such as cough, fever, and dyspnea.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Children aged 6-18 years.
2. Diagnosed with severe pneumonia and in the recovery phase.
3. Written informed consent is obtained from caregivers, and assent is obtained from children when appropriate.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Contraindications to breathing exercise, including: (a) hemodynamic instability (e.g., bradycardia or tachycardia, arrhythmia, hypotension or hypertension); (b) open sternal incision; (c) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); (d) acute phase of severe wheezing or stridor; and (e) severe pulmonary hypertension.
2. Communication disorders.