ABSTRACT
Background
Currently, the early detection of cerebral palsy (CP) or risk of CP is recommended to enable targeted and specific intervention. The provision of early therapy is a complex practice that places high demands on both parents and therapists. More knowledge about the perceptions of parents and therapists is needed to help the implementation of family-centred early therapy interventions that are based on recent evidence in clinical practice. This scoping review aims to identify the extent of literature and summarize the evidence exploring parents’ and therapists’ experiences of early occupational and physical therapy for infants with or at risk of CP.
Method
The scoping review was conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and reported following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. The experiences of parents and therapists were categorized using qualitative content analysis.
Results
In total, 16 studies published between 2018 and 2024 were included. Parent-reported experiences were included in 15 studies and therapist-reported experiences in three. The content analysis resulted in five categories reflecting perceptions of valued and challenging aspects of early therapy. Four categories concerned parents’ perceptions: parental commitment, parent–therapist collaboration, parents as training providers and parental education. One category concerned therapists’ perceptions: providing guidance and educating parents.
Conclusion
Insight into perceptions of early therapy highlights the importance of professional coordination of intervention, specific training of therapists, managing parents’ feelings of uncertainty and balancing parents’ engagement in their role as treatment providers and the pressure they may experience from the responsibility this role entails. This finding contributes important knowledge for the successful implementation of family-centred and evidence-based early therapy interventions in clinical practice for infants with or at risk of CP. A limited number of studies exploring therapists’ perceptions were identified, which indicates a knowledge gap and a need for further research.