The physical therapist's role in neonatal intensive care: a survey

A survey was undertaken to investigate the current practice and the actual need for physical therapy in the relatively new area of neonatal intensive care. The opinions of professionals within five groupings at six hospitals with neonatal intensive care units were solicited. A hypothetical situation of the ideal physical therapy service in neonatal intensive care was presented to the respondents who were then asked to compare such ideal services with those currently provided in the units surveyed. The results indicated that the majority of those surveyed consider the physical therapist to be an important member of the health team in a neonatal intensive care unit. Expansion of physical therapy services, with regard to both availability and areas of involvement, appears desirable. Both the conclusions derived from a review of the literature and the survey's results indicate that more research in neonatal physical therapy is needed.