Rol del terapeuta ocupacional en la evaluación y tratamiento de prematuros en las unidades de cuidados intensivos neonatales. Revisión sistemática

Zusammenfassung

Objective: To know the different occupational therapist duties in neonatal intensive care units in the evaluation and treatment of premature infants with birth weight under 1500g. Methods: A bibliographic review was carried out using 3 databases selecting only those studies answering the study question, that is, occupational therapy’s role in neonatal units throughout the last 15 years. Results: Sixteen studies were evaluated in which an occupational therapist was included as part of the intensive care unit, emphasizing their role as the health care professional in charge of implementing the techniques and processes which allow infants to continue their growth and neurological development. Conclusions: Further studies are necessary in order to prove the need of occupational therapy practitioners in neonatal units.