| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.25 MB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The aims of this study are to collect the most common non-pharmacological and
non-surgical interventions used by the Portuguese physical therapists in their knee osteoarthritis
patients, and to deeper understand the factors associated to their intervention choices. Methods:
This study incorporated a mixed-methods design. For the quantitative data it was choose an e-survey
(with 25 close-end questions, plus general information of the study and a clinical vignette), retrieving
sociodemographic and self-reported practice on knee osteoarthritis information. It was analysed
response frequencies and associations between variables with logistic regression analyses. For the
qualitative data, it was chosen to perform semi-structured interviews in purposefully selected physical
therapists to include different sociodemographic factors and survey responses regarding the physical
therapists’ interventions chosen. After the interviews, the audios were collected, anonymised,
transcribed verbatim, and the texts explored by the thematic approach. Results: From the 277
PTs that shown interest in participating in the study, 120 fully completed the questionnaire and,
from those, 10 participated in the interviews. The most chosen interventions included Resistance
Exercise, Manual Therapy, Nutrition/Weight Loss, Self-care/Education, Stretching and Aquatic
Exercise. Furthermore, it seems that PTs’ individual characteristics (age, experience, and clinical
reasoning), patient’s characteristics (clinical findings and preferences), and work-related factors
(facility type, work environment and available resources) are the main actors responsible for an
intervention chosen. Conclusions: In the Portuguese PTs context the most important interventions
are Exercise, Manual Therapy, Nutrition/Weight Loss, and Self-care/Education; these interventions
chosen may be influenced by PT, patient and work-related factors.
Description
Keywords
Physical therapy Knee osteoarthritis Non-pharmacological interventions Non-surgical interventions Research Subject Categories::INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS::Sports
Citation
Gonçalves, Rui S.; Pimenta, Nuno; Martins, Pedro N.; Ferreira, Ricardo M. (2023). Physical therapists’ choices, views and agreements regarding non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions for knee osteoarthritis patients: a mixed-methods study. Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology. ISSN 2459-3516. 34:2, p. 188-219
Publisher
Greek Rheumatology Society and Professional Association of Rheumatologists