| Background and purpose. Several documents have been developed to try to improve consistency in physical therapy education. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of coverage and importance level of pediatric topics in physical therapy programs as well as to determine the extent the curriculums reflect items in these new documents. Methods. Survey methods were used to gather data for this study. A mailed questionnaire was sent to all 189 Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited physical therapy programs in the United States. The survey tool had four sections: program content, pediatric educational activities, professional program information, and demographic information. Sixty-nine respondents (37% response rate) indicated the level of coverage and importance level of 98 items related to pediatric content. Results. Many items were considered to be both well covered and highly important. Items that were considered to be important but not covered well included topics related to orthopedic and cardiopulmonary diagnoses, health systems delivery issues, behavioral management and cultural diversity. Observation of atypical children was the most commonly cited assignment. The most frequently cited strengths were normal development content and hands-on experiences. Top areas for improvement included more hands-on practice and more time for pediatrics. Discussion and conclusion. The overall findings of this study show that programs are adequately incorporating recommended pediatric content into their curriculum. The framework of this study can be used to determine the priority of topics within pediatric curriculums. |
