Survey of physical therapy provided to infants uder three months of age

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Physical Therapy
• Neonatal Care

Background:

• Early intervention is crucial for infant development.
• The role of physical therapy in neonatal care is not well-defined.
• Limited data exists on the current practices for infants under three months.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey the extent of physical therapy services for infants under three months.
• To identify the types of treatments and evaluations used for this population.
• To understand the current landscape of early infant physical therapy in the US.

Main Methods:

• A national survey was conducted.
• Questionnaires were sent to 208 physical therapy department administrators in US medical school-affiliated hospitals.
• 142 administrators responded, yielding a response rate of 68.3%.

Main Results:

• 58.5% of responding departments do not treat or evaluate infants under three months.
• Departments that do provide services use diverse treatment and evaluation methods.
• Specific interventions and assessment tools vary significantly.

Conclusions:

• A significant portion of US hospitals do not offer specialized physical therapy for young infants.
• There is a lack of standardized approaches to early infant physical therapy.
• Further research is needed to establish best practices for neonatal physical therapy.