Italian physiotherapists’ knowledge of and adherence to osteoarthritis clinical practice guidelines: a cross-sectional study

Battista, Simone; Salvioli, Stefano; Millotti, Serena; Testa, Marco; Dell'isola, Andrea

Abstract

Introduction: Implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to manage musculoskeletal conditions among physiotherapists appears suboptimal. Osteoarthritis is one of the most disabling conditions worldwide and several studies showed a lack of knowledge of and adherence to osteoarthritis CPGs in physiotherapists' clinical practice. However, those studies are not conclusive, as they examine the knowledge of and adherence to CPGs only in isolation, or only by focussing on a single treatment. Thus, analysis of the knowledge of and adherence to CPGs in the same sample would allow for a better understanding of the evidence-to-practice gap, which, if unaddressed, can lead to suboptimal care for these patients. This study aims at assessing Italian physiotherapists' evidence-to-practice gap in osteoarthritis CPGs. Methods: An online survey divided into two sections investigating knowledge of and adherence to CPGs was developed based on three high-quality, recent and relevant CPGs. In the first section, participants had to express their agreement with 24 CPG statements through a 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) scale. We defined a ≥ 70% agreement with a statement as consensus. In the second section, participants were shown a clinical case, with different interventions to choose from. Participants were classified as 'Delivering' (all recommended interventions selected), 'Partially Delivering' (some recommended interventions missing) and 'Non-Delivering' (at least one non-recommended interventions selected) the recommended intervention, depending on chosen interventions.

Citation

Battista, S., Salvioli, S., Millotti, S., Testa, M., & Dell'isola, A. (2021). Italian physiotherapists’ knowledge of and adherence to osteoarthritis clinical practice guidelines: a cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 22(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04250-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 8, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Deposit Date: Feb 20, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2024
• Journal: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04250-4
• Keywords: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; Rheumatology