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A survey of physiotherapists' experience using outcome measures in total hip and knee arthroplasty
C McAuley1, M D Westby1, A Hoens2
1Mary Pack Arthritis Program, Vancouver Coastal Health.
Purpose:
To identify physiotherapists' familiarity with and experience using outcome measures (OMs) along the care continuum for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA) of the hip and knee. Views on future use and barriers were also captured.
Methods:
A stratified random sample of physiotherapists in one Canadian province completed a questionnaire about 19 standardized and clinically feasible OMs. Analyses included descriptive statistics and chi-square and McNemar tests to compare use of OMs for clinical decision making and program evaluation.
Results:
Of 694 physiotherapists surveyed, 298 (43%) responded. Of these, 172 (58%) treated TJA clients and completed the full questionnaire. A majority worked in public practice settings and >1 care phase (e.g., pre-op, acute, rehab). All physiotherapists reported using ≥1 OM and having greater experience using performance-based measures than patient-reported OMs. OMs were used more often for clinical decision making than for program evaluation. Dissatisfaction with available tools was evident from respondents' comments. Several barriers to using OMs were identified in varied clinical settings and care phases.
Conclusions:
While physiotherapists use a variety of OMs along the TJA continuum, there remain challenges to routine use across clinical settings, care phases, and patient sub-groups.
