Attitudes, perceptions and barriers around evidence-based practice in sports physiotherapy in Kenya.
Thomas K Mwololo, Benita Olivier, Wallace M Karuguti and 1 others
PMID 34522819WHAT IT FOUND
Kenyan physiotherapists mostly supported evidence-based practice, but time was the biggest barrier.
Poor fit of research to sport patients, difficulty applying findings, and limited appraisal and statistics skills were also common.
Key findings
01Most respondents held positive attitudes to evidence-based practice: 94.6% (370 people) agreed with more than half of the attitude statements.
02Insufficient time was rated as the most important barrier by 57.8% (226 people).
03Other most important barriers were lack of generalisability to sport patients (56.3%, 220 people), difficulty applying findings to individual patients (50.1%, 196 people), limited critical appraisal ability (47.6%, 186 people), and lack of statistical understanding (45.8%, 179 people).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The survey measured self-reported attitudes, perceptions and barriers, not whether physiotherapists actually used evidence-based practice or whether patients improved. Only 391 of 700 physiotherapists responded, so the views of non-respondents are unknown. The number with negative attitudes was small (21 people), so comparisons involving negative attitudes are unstable. The study was done in Kenya among licensed physiotherapists, so it may not apply to other countries, other professions, or physiotherapists not working in sport. The four-point agreement scale was collapsed into agree or disagree, which may hide stronger or weaker views.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high positive attitude as proof that evidence-based practice is already being used or that patient care has improved. The survey only asked about reported attitudes and barriers, not behaviour or outcomes.