Educating rehabilitation professionals on clinical skills for postural care services: A scoping review

Background: This scoping review aims to identify evidence-based practices for educating rehabilitation professionals who provide assistive technology interventions, specifically night-time postural care, to children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A review of both peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 2000 and 2021 was undertaken in June 2021. The articles were analyzed using a process outlined by Arksey and O’Malley in 2005: scanning abstracts, completing initial and critical reviews, collating and summarizing data into themes. Results: The search resulted in 15 articles, predominantly from the United Kingdom and the United States: 10 primary research, two reviews, two conceptual/theoretical, and one gray-literature source. Four themes emerged (1) Successful service delivery required competence, (2) Benefits of incorporating practice, collaboration, and feedback, (3) Effective online education through multifactorial approaches, (4) Considering different learning requirements among team members. Conclusions: There’s beginning evidence that rehabilitation professionals’ competence with night-time postural care might be achieved via active, interactive, multi-factorial online training.