PTOTSurveyJournal of physical therapy science2018

Recognition of roles of various professionals by home-visiting specialists.

Yasuaki Kusumoto, Hiroko Makita, Kuniyoshi Nagai and 1 others

PMID 29950767

WHAT IT FOUND

Home-visiting nurses were widely recognized for explaining and reporting symptom changes.

Rehabilitation specialists were less recognized for dementia and end-of-life support. Dieticians had low recognition from other professions, so teams may miss their role.

Key findings

01Other home-visiting specialists recognized nurses' role at 70% or higher.

02Rehabilitation specialists' role recognition was below 70% for support for elderly persons with dementia, and nurses' recognition of their end-of-life role was only 23–50%.

03Managerial dieticians were recognized by other professions below 70% for all role items, but recognized their own role above 70% for some elderly nursing-care and symptom-reporting items.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs

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What it does not show

Response rates were low: 12.3% for nurses, 18.5% for rehabilitation specialists, and 34.4% for managerial dieticians. The actual cooperation between professionals in the participants' home-care teams was not clear. Results were reported for rehabilitation specialists as one group, not separately for the 54 physical therapists, 17 occupational therapists, or 1 speech therapist. The study asked about perceived role recognition, not patient outcomes or observed team performance.

Declared interests

Financial support came from JSPS KAKENHI grant number JP15K11828, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read low recognition for rehabilitation specialists as evidence that therapists are less effective in home care. The survey asked about perceived roles, not patient outcomes, and it reported all 74 rehabilitation specialists together, including 54 physical therapists, 17 occupational therapists, and 1 speech therapist.

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