A Survey of Canadian Occupational Therapists' Use of Hand Splints for Children with Neuromuscular Dysfunction

This survey was designed to identify the current practice of Canadian occupational therapists who have identified themselves as working in paediatrics to determine: (1) what hand splints they use with children who have neuromuscular dysfunction; (2) what influences the therapists' selection of splints; (3) what therapy goals the therapists associate with the splints they use; and (4) what relationships exist between therapists' years of clinical practice and post-graduate training and the splints used. Questionnaires were mailed to 399 occupational therapists across the ten provinces and the Northwest Territories and the Yukon with a 60% return rate. Only three splints are used regularly by over 50% of the therapists. These were the resting palmar hand splint, the thumb splint, and the hard cone splint. For the remaining nine splints, over 65% of the therapists reported they had never used any of them. The major reason reported for not using these splints was a lack of familiarity. Another reason for not using hand splints was a lack of available resources (time and materials). Therapists who worked less than five years demonstrated a greater tendency to use hand splints as compared to those therapists with more years of clinical experience. The majority of therapists were employed in rehabilitation facilities with a trend toward community facilities. This pattern may in part explain the low frequency of hand splint use among therapists. Other suggestions are made for the interpretation of these results, along with questions for future research.