Sk. Swart et al., THERAPISTS PERCEPTIONS OF PEDIATRIC OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY INTERVENTIONS IN SELF-CARE, The American journal of occupational therapy, 51(4), 1997, pp. 289-296
Objectives. This study examined the congruence between pediatric occup
ational therapists' self-care interventions and occupational therapy p
hilosophical base, which focuses on performance of self-care skills as
primary in evaluation and intervention. Method. A questionnaire was m
ailed to 252 therapists serving children ages birth to 6 years. The qu
estionnaire asked for therapists' perceptions about the importance uni
queness, and frequency of 10 areas of intervention, including self-car
e. Results. Perceived importance of self-care was found to be strongly
related to perceived frequency of self-care intervention. Practice se
tting was significantly associated with perceptions of uniqueness of s
elf-care, and team membership status was significantly associated with
importance of self-care. Most respondents perceived self-care interve
ntion to be important (86%) and unique (80%) to occupational therapy S
eventy percent regularly provided intervention for self-care. Connclus
ions. The therapists' perceptions reflected continued regard for self-
care as an important and unique area of pediatric occupational therapy
but were somewhat discrepant with the actual frequency of self-care i
nterventions.