Pediatric physical therapy during a pandemic: Assessing perceptions of providing services through telehealth.
Katelyn McNamara, Deborah E Thorpe
PMID 40153268WHAT IT FOUND
Pediatric PTs' perceptions of telehealth shifted from negative to positive after the pandemic.
They valued parent coaching and home-based activity adaptation but cited poor engagement and technology access as major barriers. This reflects therapist opinion, not proven clinical effectiveness.
Key findings
01Therapists' perception of telehealth shifted from predominantly negative before the pandemic to predominantly positive after implementation.
02Key facilitators included hands-on parent involvement and the ability to use home items, while barriers were poor patient participation and technology issues.
03Most therapists had no prior training or experience with telehealth before the pandemic.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study measures perceptions, not patient outcomes or clinical effectiveness. Participants were recruited via APTA networks, likely biasing the sample toward therapists with online access and interest in telehealth. The sample was geographically limited to the southern and northeastern US. Parents and patients were not surveyed; therapists reported on their behalf. The study relies on retrospective recall of pre-pandemic perceptions.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and received no financial support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the shift in therapist perception as evidence that telehealth is clinically effective for pediatric patients. This study reports opinions and perceived barriers, not patient outcomes or comparative effectiveness data.