Patient perspectives of a physiotherapy-led musculoskeletal community event: A mixed methods survey

Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders represent a growing burden on healthcare systems. The musculoskeletal community event (MSK-CE) is an emerging, integrated model of community-based care that incorporates multi-professional and organizational collaboration to deliver holistic support. However, patient perspectives on this model remain largely unexplored.

To measure patient perceptions of an MSK-CE related to satisfaction, confidence, and comparison to usual care, to describe and explore these perceptions, and to merge these findings with intent to obtain a deeper understanding.

Patients on an NHS physiotherapy waiting list were invited to attend an MSK-CE and complete an anonymous post-event survey comprising multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and free-text questions. A pragmatic, cross-sectional, mixed-method "questionnaire variant" design was employed, integrating frequency-based descriptive statistics with qualitative review of free-text responses. These responses were grouped into key categories - satisfaction, confidence, and comparison to usual care, and coded as positive or negative.

There were 71 respondents. Satisfaction was positive, with 80% rating 7-10 on the Likert scale and subcategories "advice and guidance" and "care provision" emerging from free-text responses. Confidence to self-manage improved for 64% (rated 7-10), with subcategories "promotion of self-management" and "reassurance" also identified. Compared to routine physiotherapy, 35% rated the MSK-CE better, 27% the same, and 32% were unsure. Feedback on "format" and "organisation" was mixed.

The MSK-CE shows promise as a holistic, community-based MSK care model aligned with trends in accessibility, integration, prevention, and value-based care. Further research is recommended to explore scalability and evaluate key performance indicators to optimize implementation.