Rehabilitation Professionals' Self-Perceived Competence in Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Methods Before and...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Healthcare Professional Training
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Knowledge gaps exist in safe patient handling and mobility methods (SPHMM) among Swedish rehabilitation professionals.
• A national knowledge center, HMC, offers training to address these gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the 3-month outcomes of HMC's SPHMM training.
• To assess changes in self-perceived competence and the utility of acquired skills in SPHMM.

Main Methods:

• 1065 participants completed pre-training questionnaires; 389 completed post-training (3-month) questionnaires.
• Study-specific questionnaires assessed self-perceived competence and utility of SPHMM skills.
• Linear mixed models were employed for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in self-perceived SPHMM competence was observed post-training (p < 0.001).
• Rehabilitation professionals with less clinical experience reported greater improvements in competence and utility compared to those with more experience.
• Occupational therapists showed greater improvement than physiotherapists, particularly those with less experience.

Conclusions:

• HMC training enhances self-perceived competence and utility of SPHMM among rehabilitation professionals.
• Training benefits are more pronounced for professionals with shorter clinical experience.
• Improved competence can advance person-centered and efficient transfer practices in interdisciplinary settings.