Delegation of workload from musculoskeletal physiotherapists to physiotherapy assistants/support workers: A UK online survey

Sarigiovannis, P.; Foster, Nadine E; Jowett, Sue; Saunders, Benjamin

doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2022.102631

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Within the UK these include titles such as physiotherapy assistant, rehabilitation assistant, technical instructor, or physiotherapy technician. 10 The wide variation in job titles also suggests that role content varies widely from administration to clinical tasks. Further variation in job titles occurs at entry, senior and advanced levels of practice ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Deployment and Utilization of the Allied Health Professions Support Workforce: A Scoping Review

Etty,

Snaith,

Hinchcliffe

et al. 2024

JMDH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The demand for healthcare services internationally continues to increase, exacerbated by patient backlogs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties in recruiting and retaining healthcare staff. These difficulties have led to increased interest in workforce redesign, and the upskilling of existing staff in all areas of healthcare, including within the Allied Health Professions (AHP). Clinical support staff are a key component of workforce redesign, yet little has been documented on the utilization of this workforce across the wide range of professions that collectively form the AHP workforce. Existing research is also unclear due to the variety of titles used to describe them (eg, allied health assistants, therapy assistants, etc). This study aimed to review how Support Workers and Assistant Practitioners (SWAPs) are utilized within the AHP professions. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL complete, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were searched to find English Language primary research articles that explored the deployment of clinical support staff within Allied Health. Following the scoping review methodology, data from each study were analyzed in terms of design, key findings, and implications. A quality assessment was also completed. Thirty-nine articles met the eligibility criteria. Studies were undertaken in Australia, UK, and USA, and covered a range of AHPs and methodological approaches. Most articles employed qualitative methods, with highly variable research quality identified. Key findings were that cost-effectiveness of this workforce has not been formally evaluated in any setting or AHP discipline, and that support workers are a largely underutilized staff group potentially due to inconsistencies in their deployment and scope of practice, and the lack of a clear career pathway. Rigorous, quantitative, and mixed methods research into the deployment and impact of this staff group is needed in order to gain a clearer understanding of how they are optimally utilized across the different AHP disciplines.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Deployment and Utilization of the Allied Health Professions Support Workforce: A Scoping Review

Etty,

Snaith,

Hinchcliffe

et al. 2024

JMDH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Shared decision‐making in advanced physiotherapy and first contact physiotherapy management of adults with musculoskeletal disorders in the United Kingdom: An online cross‐sectional survey

Thompson,

Bailey

2024

Evaluation Clinical Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

RationaleAdvanced practice physiotherapy roles (Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioners [APPs] and First Contact Physiotherapists [FCPs]) are pivotal in supporting patients to manage their musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. Having a greater understanding of how decisions are made by these practitioners will inform competency frameworks and improve the provision of patient‐centred care.AimTo evaluate the current knowledge, views and use of shared decision‐making in MSK advanced physiotherapy practice in the United Kingdom.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey using an online questionnaire was used to collect demographic information, knowledge, views and self‐reported use of shared decision‐making (SDM) of APPs and FCPs who work with adults with MSK disorders in the United Kingdom.ResultsResponses from 49 participants (25 APPs and 24 FCPs) were included in the study. In total, 80% of participants had received SDM training and overall high levels of knowledge were shown. Only 12% of participants used a communication model to facilitate SDM. In total, 80% of participants reported making decisions together with the patient either always or most of the time. FCPs favoured a more patient‐led approach to decision‐making compared to APPs who favoured collaborative decision‐making. The most commonly reported barriers to SDM included lack of time, lack of patient education resources, lack of access to patient decision aids and treatment pathway restrictions.ConclusionsThe responses in this study showed that overall APPs and FCPs have good knowledge of SDM and report routine use of collaborative and patient‐led decision‐making approaches.

show abstract

The evaluation of health, disability and aged care-sector engagement with resources designed to support optimisation of the allied health assistant workforce: a qualitative study

Whelan,

McLean,

Edwards

et al. 2024

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Allied health assistants (AHAs) support allied health professionals (AHPs) to meet workforce demands in modern healthcare systems. In an Australian context historically, AHAs have been sub-optimally utilised. Prior research has identified that AHAs and AHPs working in health, disability and aged care sectors, and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) industry, may benefit from access to resources to support the optimisation of the AHA workforce. As a part of a Victorian department of health funded project, several resources were developed in line with workforce recommendations for use in each of the above sectors. Recommendations and resources covered the broad areas of pre-employment training, workforce planning and governance, consumer-centred therapy and supports, recruitment and induction and workplace training and development. This study aimed to evaluate the engagement with these newly designed resources to support optimisation of AHAs in the Victorian context. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted to evaluate engagement with resources, from the perspective of AHAs, AHPs and allied health leaders (AHLs) in the health, aged care or disability sectors, and educators and managers of allied health assistance training. Thematic analysis was conducted using team-based framework analysis. Results Thematic framework analysis of the interview data identified four themes; Why participants accessed the resources; How participants engaged with the resources; What (if any) changes in practice occurred as a result of engaging with the resources in a participant’s local context, How did participants envision the resources being utilised for AHA workforce optimisation in the future. Responses were mapped to the AHA workforce career pathway at the career preparation, career development and career trajectory tiers. Conclusions Appetite for AHA workforce development and optimal utilisation is evident across Victoria, Australia. Readily accessible resources that inform AHA role and scope of practice, delegation practice, or improve the ability for an AHA to state their own development needs, were identified as useful by participants. The potential for these resources to assist in the optimal utilisation and development of AHA workforces across the career continuum differs according to the role, sector and geographical location of the resource user. Further study is needed to investigate the transferability of these resources to national and global contexts.

show abstract

Delegation of workload from musculoskeletal physiotherapists to physiotherapy assistants/support workers: A UK online survey

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

The Deployment and Utilization of the Allied Health Professions Support Workforce: A Scoping Review

The Deployment and Utilization of the Allied Health Professions Support Workforce: A Scoping Review

Shared decision‐making in advanced physiotherapy and first contact physiotherapy management of adults with musculoskeletal disorders in the United Kingdom: An online cross‐sectional survey

The evaluation of health, disability and aged care-sector engagement with resources designed to support optimisation of the allied health assistant workforce: a qualitative study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About