P4 Medicine and Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Pediatric occupational therapy practitioners face a complex and ever-changing health care environment, creating many challenges and opportunities. P4 medicine is a systems approach to health care that emphasizes proactive wellness over reactive acute care disease management. The four Ps of P4 medicine stand for predictive, personalized, preventive, and participatory, concepts that align well with the practice of pediatric occupational therapy. P4 medicine offers a model for pediatric occupational therapy practitioners to demonstrate the value of occupational therapy services.

Healthy Habits for Children: Leveraging Existing Evidence to Demonstrate Value

“…By promoting healthy habits in children, occupational therapy practitioners have an opportunity to leverage existing evidencebased practices in ways that support the health and wellness of children, families, and communities. Promoting healthy habits is also aligned with the concept of P4 medicine (Persch et al, 2013) and with AOTA's (2007) Centennial Vision. Whether it is used in medical, educational, community, or nontraditional settings, a focus on healthy habits provides occupational therapy practitioners with a way to demonstrate the value of their profession, which prevents illness, remediates disability, and restores health by enabling participation in meaningful occupations.…”

“…In their column "P4 Medicine and Pediatric Occupational Therapy, " Persch, Braveman, and Metzler (2013) noted that "within psychoeducational psychotherapy, healthy habits refers to structuring a child's diet, sleep, and physical activity in a way that optimizes health" (p. 385). Occupational therapy practitioners, with their advanced training in activity analysis, have an extraordinary opportunity to deploy healthy habits interventions for children in schools.…”

The Significance of Somatosensory Stimulation to the Hand: Implications for Occupational Therapy Practice

“…In respect to therapeutic use of self, hand stimulation has been shown to encourage face-to-face eye contact and better communication (Harris & Richards, 2010;Kim, Cho, Woo, & Kim, 2001). (Persch, Braveman, & Metzler, 2013). Neuroscience has informed us that the brain is not entirely "hard wired" to the body (Merighi et al, 2011) Neuroscience also suggests that repetition is another important element of neuroplasticity.…”