Assessment of Walking Speed and Distance Post-Stroke Increases After Providing a Theory-Based Toolkit.
Nancy M Salbach, Marilyn MacKay-Lyons, Jo-Anne Howe and 7 others
PMID 35671402WHAT IT FOUND
Providing a toolkit to physical therapists increased the odds of documenting 10m walk tests by 9.7 times and 6-minute walk tests by 3.5 times.
Interpretation of results also rose, but the change was largest in outpatient and inpatient settings, not acute care.
Key findings
01Post-intervention, the odds of administering the 10m walk test once were 9.7 times higher, and the 6-minute walk test 3.5 times higher, compared with pre-intervention.
02Practice changed the least in acute care and the most in outpatient settings.
03Therapists were less likely to administer the 6-minute walk test to patients who required physical assistance to walk, despite protocols permitting assistance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
There was no control group, so it is impossible to prove the toolkit caused the change; other factors could have influenced practice over the 21-month period. Sites already had professional practice leaders, so results may not apply to hospitals without this infrastructure. Knowledge of the study's goal may have led therapists to document tests more thoroughly after the toolkit was sent. The study could not account for patients transferred between hospitals.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Funding was non-U.S. government support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this toolkit will change practice in acute care. The study found that practice changed the least in acute settings, and the lack of a control group means we cannot be certain the toolkit itself caused the improvements seen elsewhere.