A comparison of paediatrics occupational therapy university program curricula in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
Comparisons were made of the paediatric content of professional entry-level occupational therapy university program curricula in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada using an ex post facto survey methodology. The findings indicated that in Australia/New Zealand, paediatrics made up 20% of the total curriculum, but only 13% in Canada. Canadian reference materials were utilized less often in Canadian universities than in Australia/New Zealand. Theories taught most often in Australia/New Zealand were: Sensory Integration, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Client-Centered Practice, Playfulness, and the Model of Human Occupation. In Canada, the most frequent theories were: Piaget's Stages of Cognitive/Intellectual Development, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Erikson's Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development and Sensory Integration. The most frequently taught paediatric assessment tools in both regions were the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and Miller Assessment for Preschoolers. Paediatric intervention methods taught to students in all three countries focused on activities of daily living/self-care, motor skills, perceptual and visual motor integration, and infant and child development.
Rodger
Sylvia
S
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. s.rodger@mailbox.uq.edu.au
Brown
G Ted
GT
Brown
Anita
A
Roever
Carsten
C
D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D003479:Curriculum; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D009520:New Zealand; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000193:education*; D010372:Pediatrics; D012576:Schools, Health Occupations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014495:Universities