{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T23:05:12Z","timestamp":1784156712570,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"Georg Thieme Verlag KG","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Am J Perinatol"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This study aimed to describe contemporary neonatal therapy practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>This Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved research, conducted in 2024, surveyed occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who worked in the NICU within the past 5 years.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>There were 1,095 clinicians from 728 hospitals who responded: 459 (42%) OTs, 328 (30%) PTs, and 308 (28%) SLPs. Among respondents, 517 (55%) practiced in Level III NICUs, 385 (41%) in Level IV NICUs, and 48 (5%) in Level II units. Additionally, 581 (62%) were Certified Neonatal Therapists (CNTs). Most respondents reported the presence of OTs (765, 95%), SLPs (697, 86%), and PTs (691, 85%) in their NICU, and 723 (81%) had standing therapy orders. Most (513; 58%) reported having all three disciplines in their NICU. Common neurobehavioral assessments included the Test of Infant Motor Performance, General Movement Assessment, Infant Positioning Assessment Tool, and Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Assessment. Frequently used feeding assessments were the Early Feeding Skills Assessment, Neonatal Eating Outcome Assessment, and Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale. Therapists commonly treated infants requiring ventilatory support, supported skin-to-skin care, facilitated breastfeeding transitions, and worked with extremely low birth weight, late preterm, and substance-exposed infants. Regarding care philosophy, 211 (62%) reported using the Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) program, 123 (36%) Trauma-Informed Care, 97 (28%) the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment program (NIDCAP), 95 (28%) Neonatal Integrative Developmental Care Model, and 68 (20%) Family Integrated Care. Over the past 5 years, therapists described shifts toward evidence-based practice, stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, development of structured small-baby team approaches, and implementation of interventions such as the SENSE and Infant-Driven Feeding programs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>There is greater integration of neonatal therapists to identify developmental risks and provide targeted interventions in the NICU.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2897-2670","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T22:49:29Z","timestamp":1784155769000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Current Trends in Neonatal Therapy Practice"],"prefix":"10.1055","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9240-4798","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberta G.","family":"Pineda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Southern California, California, United States","place":["Los Angeles"],"department":["Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy"]},{"name":"Keck School of Medicine - University of Southern California, California, United States","place":["Los Angeles"],"department":["Department of Pediatrics"]},{"name":"Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation, University of Southern California, California, United States","place":["Los Angeles"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deanna","family":"Gibbs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Corporate Nursing Directorate, Barts Health NHS Trust, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland","place":["London"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Margaret","family":"Miller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Washington, United States","place":["Spokane"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6778-3570","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alicia","family":"Fernandez-Fernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Florida, United States","place":["Fort Lauderdale"],"department":["Department of Physical Therapy"]},{"name":"South Miami Hospital, FL, United States","place":["Miami"],"department":["Neonatal Intensive Care Unit"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"194","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"issue":"04","key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.1097\/PEP.0b013e3181bf75ee","article-title":"Neonatal physical therapy. Part I: Clinical competencies and neonatal intensive care unit clinical training models","volume":"21","author":"J K Sweeney","year":"2009","journal-title":"Pediatr Phys Ther"},{"issue":"06","key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.5014\/ajot.60.6.659","article-title":"Specialized knowledge and skills for occupational therapy practice in the neonatal intensive care unit","volume":"60","author":"E Vergara","year":"2006","journal-title":"Am J Occup Ther"},{"key":"ref4","first-page":"p1","article-title":"Occupational therapy's role in the neonatal intensive care unit","volume":"72","author":"S Carroll","year":"2018","journal-title":"Am J Occup Ther"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Guidelines for Perinatal Care","author":"S J Kilpatrick","year":"2017"},{"issue":"07","key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"486","DOI":"10.5014\/ajot.50.7.486","article-title":"Education and training of occupational therapists for neonatal intensive care units","volume":"50","author":"A Dewire","year":"1996","journal-title":"Am J Occup Ther"},{"issue":"04","key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1207\/S15324818AME1404_4","article-title":"Job analysis and the specification of content for licensure and certification examinations","volume":"14","author":"M R Raymond","year":"2001","journal-title":"Appl Meas Educ"},{"issue":"03","key":"ref8","first-page":"285","article-title":"Neonatal therapy: A survey of current practice","volume":"12","author":"R Pineda","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Pediatr Rehabil Med"},{"issue":"06","key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"796","DOI":"10.1038\/s41372-023-01693-6","article-title":"NICUs in the US: levels of acuity, number of beds, and relationships to population factors","volume":"43","author":"R Pineda","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Perinatol"},{"issue":"03","key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1055\/a-1678-0002","article-title":"Neonatal therapy staffing in the United States and relationships to neonatal intensive care unit type and location, level of acuity, and population factors","volume":"41","author":"R Pineda","year":"2024","journal-title":"Am J Perinatol"}],"container-title":["American Journal of Perinatology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.thieme-connect.de\/products\/ejournals\/pdf\/10.1055\/a-2897-2670.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T22:49:30Z","timestamp":1784155770000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.thieme-connect.de\/DOI\/DOI?10.1055\/a-2897-2670"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"references-count":9,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1055\/a-2897-2670","archive":["Portico","CLOCKSS"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0735-1631","1098-8785"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0735-1631","type":"print"},{"value":"1098-8785","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]}}}