Decision making for physical therapy service delivery in schools: A nationwide analysis by geographic region

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationship between geographic practice location and recommendations for the contexts and frequencies of physical therapy service delivery in schools. METHODS: Participants were 626 school-based physical therapists from all 50 states. Four case descriptions were presented in the survey: a four-year-old girl with motor delays and typical cognitive functioning, a four-year-old girl with motor and cognitive delays, a six-year-old boy with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, and the same boy at 12 years of age. RESULTS: Proportionally fewer respondents in the Northeast recommended providing services in exclusively natural settings, as compared with other regions. Respondents in the Northeast recommended mean monthly frequencies of at least one more session for each case (3.7-7.6) than those in the other regions: West (2.5-5.5), South (1.6-4.7), and Midwest (1.6-4.5). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest an association between geographic region of practice among school-based physical therapists and the contexts and frequencies of service delivery. Copyright © 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association.