Improving translation of intensity and quality of upper limb rehabilitation provided by occupational therapists to children with unilateral cerebral palsy: A cluster randomised controlled trial (2015-2018)

Unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) occurs in over 1 million children under 21 years of age in the industrialized world. Impaired upper limb (UL) function impacts performance of daily life activities. Evidence exists for UL rehabilitation that is goal directed using motor learning approaches at an adequate dose to achieve sustained changes in UL skills and daily independence. Despite strong evidence, occupational therapists (OTs) fail to use a goal directed approach, persist in using traditional interventions with limited evidence and ineffective models of therapy provision. An evidence practice gap exists, requiring theoretically informed implementation strategies to improve health provision and outcomes for children with UCP. This health professional ECR fellowship builds on knowledge gained in my PhD (large RCT of contemporary UL rehabilitation), TRIP Fellowship (implementation science) and large meta-analysis quantifying current evidence. This proposed part time ECR Fellowship takes the next steps.