PTSurveyThe South African journal of physiotherapy2018

A comparative survey of Nigerian physiotherapists' familiarity with, knowledge of and utilisation of standard outcome measures: 10 years after initial survey.

Adesola C Odole, Olufemi O Oyewole, Aderonke O Akinpelu

PMID 30167500

WHAT IT FOUND

Nigerian physiotherapists' familiarity, knowledge and use of standard outcome measures improved from 2006 to 2016, but for most measures, 63.4% to 97.3% of physiotherapists still did not use them.

Key findings

01In 2016, between 51.4% and 85.8% of Nigerian physiotherapists were still not familiar with eight standard outcome measures.

02Between 63.4% and 97.3% of physiotherapists did not use standard outcome measures in 2016, while the Visual Analogue Scale and Gross Motor Function Measure remained the most used.

03Mean knowledge of how to administer the 16 outcome measures was 3.67 correct answers out of 16 in 2016 and 3.11 in 2006.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs

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What it does not show

The sample was selected by convenience, not randomly, so it may not represent all Nigerian physiotherapists. Three hundred and eighty-two questionnaires were sent and 183 were returned (48%). The study used a questionnaire about familiarity, utilisation and knowledge of administration, not records of patient care. The paper says differences in survey instruments and listed outcome measures make direct comparison with existing published studies difficult. The 16 outcome measures selected were different from outcome measures tested in previous published studies. The findings are limited to Nigerian physiotherapists and may not apply to other countries or professions.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read the improvement since 2006 as evidence that standard outcome measures are now used routinely. In 2016, between 63.4% and 97.3% of physiotherapists still did not use them.

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