A Survey on the Current Status of Neonatal Physical Therapy in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#This study aimed to investigate and report the current status of physical therapy (PT) performed in Korean neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to present foundational data that promotes the advances in neonatal PT in Korea. @*Methods@#Based on the Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) data, we administered a questionnaire survey to 74 hospitals (39 tertiary and 35 general hospitals) in Korea equipped with a NICU and pediatric PT unit. We developed a 32-item questionnaire with reference to previous Korean studies. The questionnaires were distributed and retrieved via regular mail and an online system. @*Results@#Of the 74 hospitals, 58 (78%) practiced neonatal PT and the duration of each session significantly differed according to the hospital rating. PT was given, depending on clinical symptoms, to infants who were preterm and low birth-weight (96.5%), had brain and spinal cord diseases (84.5%), had pathological tonus (94.8%), with respiratory problems (65.5%), for range of motion exercises (82.8%), for neurodevelopment approaches (72.4%), and for positioning (70.7%). Interdisciplinary meetings were held to share clinical decision-making in 17.2% of the hospitals surveyed and parent-participating education to ensure a family-centered approach was offered in 63.8% of the hospitals. The barriers of neonatal PT included low insurance fees, insufficient awareness of colleagues, and the severity of the patient. @*Conclusion@#This study is the first report of the current status of neonatal PT in Korea. The findings of this study will serve as foundational data to review the current neonatal PT practice and promote further advances.