Assistência fisioterapêutica na atenção primária à saúde infantil: uma revisão das experiências

Objective. To review pediatric physical therapy experiences described in the litera-ture and to analyze the production of knowledge on physical therapy in the context of pediatric primary health care (PPHC). Methods. A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA criteria. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, LILACS, SciELO, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane; Brazilian Ministry of Health’s CAPES doctoral dissertations database; and System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE). The fol-lowing search terms were used: [“primary health care” and (“physical therapy” or “physiotherapy”) and (“child” or “infant”)] and equivalent terms in Portuguese and Spanish, with no restriction on publication year. Results. Thirteen articles from six countries were analyzed and grouped into three main themes: professional dilemmas (three articles), specific competencies and skills required in a PPHC setting (seven articles), and practice reports (four articles). Pro-fessional dilemmas involved expanding the role of physical therapists to encompass community environments and sharing the decision-making process with the fam-ily, as well as collaborative work with other health services to identify the needs of children. The competencies and skills mentioned in the literature related to the identification of clinical and sociocultural symptoms that go beyond musculoskel-etal conditions, the establishment of early physical therapy diagnoses, prevention of overmedication, and the ability to work as team players. Practice reports addressed stimulation in children with neurological diseases, respiratory treatment, and estab-lishing groups with mothers of children with these conditions. Conclusions. The small number of studies identified in this review suggests that there is little knowledge regarding the roles of physical therapists in PPHC and pos-sibly regarding the professional abilities required in this setting. Therefore, further studies are required to provide data on the field, along with a continuing education effort on the part of physical therapists.