Assessment of Knowledge of Iranian Occupational Therapists of Handling of Children with Cerebral Palsy

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of Iranian occupational therapists regarding the handling of children with cerebral palsy and the application of their knowledge into practice. A questionnaire with two scales of a self‐report and a knowledge‐based test was designed. Data were analysed by using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation. Of 77 participants, 64.9% participants reported their knowledge of handling at moderate, 14.3% at low and 6.5% at very low level. The result of the test showed that 57.1% participants had knowledge at moderate and 16.9% at low level. Toileting and bathing are the least focused areas by occupational therapists in teaching handling techniques to caregivers. These results suggest that the participants need further training to increase their knowledge in the various areas of handling and positioning techniques especially toileting and bathing. Because participants were from one area of Iran, future research could include a larger population of occupational therapists. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.