Evaluation of an educational course for primary care physiotherapists on comorbidity‐adapted exercise therapy in knee osteoarthritis: an observational study

Abstract

Objective:The objectives of the present study were to: (1) evaluate the effect of an educational course on competence (knowledge and clinical reasoning) of primary care physical therapists (PTs) in treating patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and comorbidity according to the developed strategy; and (2) identify facilitators and barriers for usage.Method: The present research was an observational study with a pretest-posttest design using mixed methods. PTs were offered a postgraduate course consisting of elearning and two workshops (blended education) on the application of a strategy for exercise prescription in patients with KOA and comorbidity. Competences were measured by questionnaire on knowledge (administered before and 2 weeks after the course), and a patient vignette to measure clinical reasoning (administered before the course and after a 6 month period of treating patients). Facilitators and barriers for using the strategy were assessed by a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews.Results: Thirty-four PTs were included. Competence (knowledge and clinical reasoning) improved significantly (p < 0.01). Fourteen out of 34 PTs had actually treated patients with KOA and comorbidity, during a 6-month period. The strategy was found to be feasible in daily practice. The main barriers included the limited number of (self-) referrals of patients, limited number of reimbursed treatment sessions by insurance companies and a suboptimal collaboration with (referring) physicians. Conclusion:A blended course on exercise therapy for patients with KOA and comorbidity seems to improve PTs' competence through increasing knowledge and clinical reasoning skills. Identified barriers should be solved before large-scale implementation of exercise therapy can take place in these complex patients. K E Y W O R D Sblended education, comorbidity, exercise therapy, knee osteoarthritis, primary care

The attitudes towards, and beliefs about, physical activity in people with osteoarthritis and comorbidity: A qualitative investigation

“…In the current study, participants valued HCP support, such as tailored instruction regarding PA, but this was lacking in their experiences of healthcare services. Previous research has shown how HCPs need specific condition knowledge, PA knowledge and skills to adapt treatment to the individual (de Rooij et al, 2020), but also continued contact for proper knowledge transfer to patients and subsequent integration of PA strategies in daily life (Campbell et al, 2001;de Rooij et al, 2020). Participants in the current study expressed a need for more consistent and positive collaborative communication about PA benefits and more endorsement to realign uncertainty and hesitancy regarding PA, supporting findings from Paskins et al (2014).…”

Barriers and facilitators perceived by healthcare professionals for implementing lifestyle interventions in patients with osteoarthritis: a scoping review

“…After removal of duplicates and exclusion of articles based on title or abstract, 93 potentially relevant articles remained for full-text screening. Ultimately, 36 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis 27–62…”

“…Positive experiences with or suggestions to improve the content or structure of LIs 28 30 34 37 40 45 52 60 62…”

Clinical guidance for podiatrists in the management of foot problems in rheumatic disorders: evaluation of an educational programme for podiatrists using a mixed methods design

“…The educational programme was evaluated by an anonymous digital questionnaire directly after the day programme. The questionnaire was derived from a similar questionnaire developed by Rooij et al [27]. The questionnaire in our study consisted of 20 questions evaluating participants' satisfaction with the different topics of the educational programme.…”