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Analysis of institutional authors

Gueita-Rodriguez, JCorresponding AuthorPalacios-Cena, DAuthor

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Article

Effects of Aquatic Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Social Competence and Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study

Publicated to:International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. 18 (6): 1-19 - 2021-03-01 18(6), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063126

Authors: Gueita-Rodriguez, Javier; Ogonowska-Slodownik, Anna; Morgulec-Adamowicz, Natalia; Martin-Prades, Mar Liedo; Nicolas Cuenca-Zaldivar, Juan; Palacios-Cena, Domingo

Affiliations

Hosp Guadarrama, Rehabil Unit, Madrid 28440, Spain - Author
Jozef Pilsudski Univ Phys Educ Warsaw, Fac Rehabil, PL-00968 Warsaw, Poland - Author
Nuestra Senora Carmen, Pediat Brain Damage Unit, Valencia 46024, Spain - Author
Univ Francisco Vitoria, Dept Phys Therapy, Madrid 28223, Spain - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Res Grp Humanities & Qualitat Res Hlth Sci Univ R, Dept Phys Therapy Occupat Therapy Rehabil & Phys, Madrid 28922, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a constellation of social deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviours. Aquatic therapy (AT) may be effective in improving the social interactions and behaviours in children with ASD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of an AT program on social competence and quality of life and to understand participant's experiences related to the intervention by obtaining qualitative data. A mixed methods intervention study was conducted among 6 children with ASD and their parents, with two research phases in a concurrent embedded design (an aquatic intervention as the quantitative design and a qualitative design in second step). The intervention and qualitative design followed international guidelines and were integrated into the method and reporting subheadings. Significant improvement was observed in the physical competence (p = 0.026) and important improvements in school functioning and aquatic skills, with no adverse events. Qualitative findings described: the meaning of AT intervention, patterns of behaviour and activities changes, social communication and social interaction. The aquatic intervention showed positive results for the social and physical competence, with elements of discordance, expansion, and confirmation between quantitative and qualitative results.

Keywords

AdultAquatic programArticleAutismAutism spectrum disorderBehaviorChildChild healthClinical articleCognitionCommunicationControlled studyEmotionFemaleHealth riskHumanHumansHydrotherapyIntegration approachesInterpersonal communicationMaleMental healthMiddle agedMultimethod researchOutcome assessmentParental attitudePatient participationPersonal experiencePhysical capacityPractice guidelinePsychologyPublic healthQualitative researchQuality of lifeQuantitative analysisQuantitative studySchool childSocial acceptanceSocial competenceSocial interactionSocial skillsTherapy effect

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.75. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.08 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 19.15 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-01, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 21
  • Scopus: 24
  • Europe PMC: 9

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-01:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 305.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 293 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 179.43.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 22 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Poland.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Güeita Rodríguez, Javier) and Last Author (Palacios Ceña, Domingo).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Güeita Rodríguez, Javier.