Quality Indicators for Physiotherapy Care in Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Development and Clinimetric Properties

Abstract

The QIP-HKOA, based on 18 process indicators derived from a physiotherapy guideline on hip and knee OA was found to be reliable and discriminated between expert and general PTs. Its ability to measure improvement in the quality of the process of physiotherapy care needs to be further examined.

Effectiveness of an interactive postgraduate educational intervention with patient participation on the adherence to a physiotherapy guideline for hip and knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial

“…In addition, only the questionnaires to assess adherence and knowledge had been previously tested with respect to their validity [13,20], whereas the questionnaire on perceived barriers had not been used before. As the questionnaire on adherence was based on self-report, it cannot be ruled out that socially desired answers were given.…”

“…Adherence with the guideline Self-reported adherence was measured using the 6 items that were found to discriminate between expert and general physiotherapists in an 18-item questionnaire developed in a previous study [20]. The six selected items were: 1.…”

“…Knowledge on the contents of the guideline was measured by means of a self-developed knowledge questionnaire [20], with 19 items reflecting the content of the guideline recommendations. The score range of each question was 0-4, yielding a total score range of 0-76, with a higher score meaning greater knowledge.…”

Healthcare Quality Indicators for Physiotherapy Management in Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Delphi Study

“…In addition to the basic set of 18 indicators for PT in HKOA (Peter et al, ), the Delphi panel derived eight new indicators from the guideline, which had not been considered by the PT expert group in the earlier study (Peter et al, ). The indicators concerned: goal setting (one item); communication with other professionals (one item); treatment modalities that are not recommended (two items – massage and electrophysical modalities); combined passive and active exercises (one item); treatment for patello‐femoral OA (one item); diagnosis‐specific measurement instruments [i.e.…”

“…It is debatable how to test the indicators as to whether they are able to actually measure (changes in) healthcare quality. One measurement method could involve the development of a questionnaire for professionals (Peter et al, ) or patients (Østerås et al, ), which both give different but supplementary information; however, the self‐report nature of questionnaires makes such information less reliable. More reliable information can be collected by video‐taping the treatment of patients.…”