Operational Considerations for Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Rapid Review.
Kristy Wittmeier, Joanne Parsons, Sandra Webber and 2 others
PMID 32886789WHAT IT FOUND
This rapid review synthesizes operational strategies for physical therapy departments during pandemics, such as creating separate staff teams to limit exposure, shifting to tele-rehabilitation, and defining criteria for essential in-person care.
It reports no clinical outcomes or treatment effects.
Key findings
01The review identified 20 articles containing operational considerations for physical therapy services during the COVID-19 pandemic and other disaster scenarios.
02Key operational strategies included creating distinct staff teams to minimize interaction, implementing screening protocols, and utilizing tele-rehabilitation to maintain care while reducing physical contact.
03The review did not assess the quality of the included articles or their risk of bias due to the rapid nature of the process.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The rapid nature of the review meant only one person screened and extracted data, increasing the risk of missed studies or errors. No formal quality assessment or risk of bias analysis was performed on the included articles. The review was limited to English-language articles, potentially missing relevant guidance from other regions. The findings are descriptive operational recommendations and do not provide evidence of clinical effectiveness or patient outcomes. The review was not registered as a systematic review.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest. No funding was obtained for this work. One author is supported by a chair in Pediatrics and Child Health and has affiliations with related research institutes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the operational recommendations in this review as evidence that specific physical therapy interventions are effective for COVID-19 patients. This is a descriptive summary of management strategies and service delivery models, not a clinical trial or a review of treatment outcomes.