Promoting community recreation and leisure.

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Pediatric Therapy
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Community recreation and leisure are vital for the well-being of children with disabilities.
• Pediatric physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) play a role in facilitating client participation.
• Understanding therapists' current involvement is crucial for improving support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the extent and nature of PTs' and OTs' involvement in promoting community recreation and leisure for pediatric clients with disabilities.
• To identify barriers to participation that therapists consider.
• To evaluate therapists' awareness and knowledge regarding recreation and leisure promotion.

Main Methods:

• A survey was developed based on a hierarchy of skills derived from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
• The survey addressed physical, social, and resource barriers to participation.
• 152 pediatric therapists (PTs and OTs) were surveyed.

Main Results:

• 82 surveys were returned, indicating therapists practice below an optimal level in promoting recreation and leisure.
• No significant differences were found between PTs and OTs, except PTs more frequently cited cost as a barrier.
• Therapists demonstrated awareness of potential barriers to client participation.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric therapists' promotion of community recreation and leisure participation for clients with disabilities may be inadequate.
• Further research is necessary to determine factors contributing to this suboptimal promotion.
• Interventions may be needed to enhance therapists' capacity in supporting recreation and leisure participation.