Awareness, Belief, Attitude and Utilization of Physiotherapy Services in a Nigerian Population (original) (raw)

AWARENESS AMONGST MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF HYSIOTHERAPY.

Background: The present study was conducted to evaluate the level of awareness about physiotherapy among medical professionals. Methods: 110 medical professionals from Punjab, Haryana and Jammu participated in the survey study. They were required to complete a 21 item self developed closed-ended questionnaire. Results: The data revealed that 96.2% respondents were aware of the physiotherapy profession, 94.3% people knew it as a professional course, 41.5% people are aware of the course duration, 67.9% people were not aware of the various specialized fields in physiotherapy and only 47.2% people are aware of the physiotherapy curriculum. 96.2% of the respondents are aware of the role of physiotherapy in various conditions, 50.9% consulted a physiotherapists. 58.3% got awareness through lectures given by physiotherapist, 81.1% thought that the physiotherapists are trained enough to plan the treatment and 52.8% think that medical professionals are trained enough to prescribe physiotherapy treatment for the patients and 50.9% of participants write prescriptions while referring the patients for physiotherapy. 83.1% respondents think that physiotherapy is not still limited to orthopaedics or sports field.

Characteristics and determinants of community physiotherapy utilization and supply

BMC Health Services Research

Background: Demand for Physiotherapy is on the rise due to increasing ageing population and consequent disability and morbidity. However, the costs of healthcare in developing countries are rising, and healthcare resources are limited making the supply of Physiotherapy services challenging in rural communities. Availability of Physiotherapy may help to reduce the burden of disability and enhance efficiency of healthcare systems. This study investigated the characteristics and associations of utilization and supply of community Physiotherapy in Nigeria. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 336 consenting community dwelling individuals from three selected communities in Nigeria was carried out. A three-section validated self-developed questionnaire which sought information on socio-demographics, utilization and supply of community Physiotherapy, as well as how to improve community Physiotherapy services was used. A household was used as the primary sampling unit in the study. Inferential and Descriptive statistics were used to assess the data. Results: Lifetime, 12-month and point utilization of physiotherapy was 21.7, 7.4 and 2.7% respectively. Physiotherapy utilization was significantly associated with level of education (p = 0.007), belief on pain as "spiritual" (p = 0.020) and religious belief (p = 0.001). The respondents with primary, secondary and tertiary education were 14. 3, 13.9 and 26 times more likely to utilize physiotherapy services, respectively. Those who 'agree' or were 'not sure' that their religious belief was against physiotherapy were 92 and 83% less likely to utilize physiotherapy services, respectively compared with those who 'disagree'. Availability and supply of Physiotherapy services were mostly at the township teaching hospital (47.9%) and private hospitals (20.5%). The supply of Physiotherapy services within the communities was mostly on temporary basis (24.7%) and through visiting Physiotherapists (21.4%). Physiotherapy services utilized was mainly exercise (46.6%) and soft tissue mobilization (41.1%). Travel costs (32.6%), time constraints (27.9%) and work commitments (24.8%) were the constraints for Physiotherapy utilization while positive beliefs and higher education improved Physiotherapy utilization. Conclusions: Utilization and supply of Physiotherapy services in Nigerian rural community was low. Low utilization of Physiotherapy services in Nigerian rural communities were most significantly influenced by low educational status and beliefs about pain.

Review of Physiotherapy Awareness across the Globe

International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 2015

Background: Vital role of Physiotherapy in health promotion, prevention and treatment of a wide spectrum of disorders is established. Physiotherapy services have evolved from general to specialty clinical services across the world. Yet, its utilization is not studied adequately. Therefore, this study is designed to explore literature on awareness about Physiotherapy across the globe. Methods: Computerized literature search of EBSCOHOST, Cochrane reviews, PEDro database, Medline, EMBASE database and Google scholar was conducted. Cross references cited in the identified articles were screened. Selection criteria: Studies conducted from 1979 till date was included.

Awareness about Physiotherapy among General Public - A Cross Sectional Survey Analysis

Acta Scientific Orthopaedics

Background and Objectives: Physiotherapy is a field of medicine which deals with maximizing human functioning by treating structural and functional impairments. Although there is an increased knowledge about physiotherapy among healthcare providers, there is still lack of awareness evident among the general public. It is found that the quack practitioners and fake courses utilize this gap for malpractice. This cross-sectional survey analysis tries to identify the level of awareness among physiotherapy in general public. Methods: People above 20 years of age and has the access to internet facility are provided with online survey questions. The answers were collected from them on the same day. The data collected from the online survey was collected and documented in spreadsheet. The data was analysed descriptively and analysed accordingly. Result: A total of 346 people participated the study. It was found that more than 60% of the respondents are aware of the profession and treatments provided by the therapists. There is a lack of awareness in the public regarding physiotherapy because 4.6% of the respondents consider it as massage therapy whereas 9.1% consider physiotherapists as yoga trainers. 70 participants responded that physiotherapists are eligible to prescribe medications. 10.2% of them are unaware of the preventive aspect of diseases with physiotherapy. Conclusion: We suggest the use of available resources including social media to increase the awareness among the general public, living in both in rural and urban areas. It is imperative to take measures by professional bodies to initiate the formation of a central regulatory body in controlling malpractice in this professional field.

Awareness, Belief, Attitude and Utilization of Physiotherapy Services Among Doctors

Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences

Physiotherapy has come to be recognized as a well-known form of medical care that reduces patients' dependency and level of disability. Physiotherapists play an important part in community rehabilitation and health education because of the role physiotherapy plays in reducing the incidence and severity of disability. Objectives: To determine about the awareness of belief and attitude towards the utilization of physiotherapy services and interventions among doctors in selected hospitals of Lahore. Methods: The study design was Descriptive cross sectional. Total 150 doctors participated in this research from Arif Memorial Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Farooq Hospital and Ghurki Hospital. Results: There were 134 MBBS doctors and 16 FCPS doctors aged between 25 to 40 years and having 2 to 10 years of clinical experience. 58% of the study population were female doctors while 42% were male doctors. According to the study, medical doctors' perceptions regarding the profession of physiot...

Awareness of Physiotherapy among Medical Professionals: A Cross Sectional Survey

Journal of Women Medical and Dental College

Objectives: The study aim to determine the knowledge and awareness of physical therapy in medical professionals. Methodology: A descriptive, cross sectional study was used to examine 105 medical practitioners in Haripur. A standardized questionnaire was used in collecting data for 3 months, starting from June, 2018. Those participants (Medical practitioners) that were registered in different Haripur hospitals were included in sampling, whereas those hospitals/clinics participant that were not registered with PMDC (Pakistan Medical and Dental Council) and were not able to complete the questionnaire were excluded from the study. Prior to collecting the data, the individuals provided their written informed consent. According to the type of variable being studied, descriptive statistics were extracted from the response after it had been processed using SPSS-20. Results: The majority of medical professionals—94.3%—had shown to have good knowledge about physiotherapy. The findings indicat...

Prevalence of Awareness of Physiotherapy Amongst Health Care Professionals in Surat City

https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR\_Vol.12\_Issue.6\_June2022/IJHSR-Abstract.04.html, 2022

Background: Physical therapist plays an important role in health care in reducing hospital stay, rehabilitation for better quality of life and quicker recovery. That is why it is important for the health care professionals to be aware about the importance of a role of physical therapist in maintaining functional ability of an individual and approaches and principles. Methods: A sample of 151 subjects were randomly taken and every subject was given a validated questionnaire which was taken as an interview. Physiotherapist, interns, Lab technicians, Unwilling participants were excluded. Further analysis was done after the response was gathered. Result: There is 100% awareness of the existence of the field of physiotherapy among health care professionals in Surat city, but not of individual specialties like burns management, prescribing orthosis and community management. Conclusion: The study revealed that there is full awareness about physiotherapy among health care professionals in Surat city. Most of the subjects believed that patients should visit a physiotherapy center only on the reference of a doctor. Community based rehabilitation is least known among subjects while neuro and ortho rehabilitation is known popularly.

Utilization of In-Patient Physiotherapy Services in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

African Journal of Biomedical Research, 2013

within a period of 4 years. Medical records of all patients admitted under various medical and surgical specialties in the hospital between 2007-2010 periods were analyzed to extract information regarding the age, sex, diagnoses, period of admission and referrals for physiotherapy services. The data obtained were fed into SPSS version 16.0 package and analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and percentage. Results showed that in-patient physiotherapy services utilization correspondingly increased with increased in-patient admissions by various units and specialties in the hospital. However, surgery and internal medicine units had the largest physiotherapy services utilization across the 4-year period studied while the Obstetrics and gynaecology unit had the lowest referral rates and utilization of in-patients physiotherapy services. It is concluded that inpatients physiotherapy services utilization increased proportionally with increased hospital's patients care demand. However, the rate of utilization observed in the study even though similar to others in Nigeria, is lower than the rates seen in developed countries.

Physiotherapy practices in primary health care

Fisioterapia em Movimento, 2021

Introduction: Physiotherapy was included in primary health care (PHC) in order to expand access and provide comprehensive care to the population. Objective: To understand the routine and tools used by physiotherapists in primary health care and analyze the determining factors in providing care in a municipality where every basic health unit (BHU) has a physiotherapist. Methods: This is a qualitative study of nineteen physiotherapists conducted in a city of Southern Brazil, using a semistructured interview and a methodological framework for discourse analysis. Results: The main tools routinely used in the physiotherapy service are individual appointments, home visits and group work. Physiotherapy practices are influenced by public health, municipal management and BHU policies, physiotherapy profile in addition to the characteristics of the coverage area and the population being treated. Introducing health promotion measures and implementing relational technologies are the main challe...