Dataset Information

Usage Patterns and Beliefs about Therapeutic Ultrasound by Canadian Physical Therapists: An Exploratory Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To explore the frequency and patterns of ultrasound (US) usage among physical therapists, to describe the most common purposes for using therapeutic US, and to investigate beliefs about therapeutic US.

Methods

A survey was sent to 95% of physical therapists licensed to practise in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Results

Of 2,269 physical therapists to whom email invitations were sent, 438 (19.3%) provided full responses. RESULTS indicate that US is still frequently incorporated into treatment regimens and is widely believed to be effective; however, the study also found a decrease in US usage over the past 15 years. While physical therapists recognize the lack of evidence for the effectiveness of US, many consider it clinically useful. Physical therapists using US rely largely on their clinical experience when making decisions about its use, but this depends on level of education: clinicians with an MScPT degree tended to base more of their US decisions on research evidence, likely because of the increasing emphasis on research evidence in graduate education.

Conclusions

Despite the questionable effectiveness of therapeutic US, physical therapists still commonly use this treatment modality, largely because of a belief that US is clinically useful. However, US usage has decreased over the past 15 years.

SUBMITTER: Armijo-Olivo S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3740995 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Usage Patterns and Beliefs about Therapeutic Ultrasound by Canadian Physical Therapists: An Exploratory Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

Armijo-Olivo Susan S Fuentes Jorge J Muir Iain I Gross Douglas P DP

Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada 20130101 3

<h4>Purpose</h4>To explore the frequency and patterns of ultrasound (US) usage among physical therapists, to describe the most common purposes for using therapeutic US, and to investigate beliefs about therapeutic US.<h4>Methods</h4>A survey was sent to 95% of physical therapists licensed to practise in the province of Alberta, Canada.<h4>Results</h4>Of 2,269 physical therapists to whom email invitations were sent, 438 (19.3%) provided full responses. RESULTS indicate that US is still frequently ...[more]

PMID: 24403700

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Project description:BackgroundPhysical therapists are uniquely positioned in health care to initiate or support smoking cessation (SC). Little is known, however, about their knowledge and views of SC as part of their practices. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess Canadian physical therapists' knowledge about the health effects of smoking, their views about addressing SC in practice, and their self-efficacy in enabling patients to quit smoking. Design This study was a cross-sectional survey.MethodsLicensed physical therapists in Canada were surveyed with postal methods.ResultsA total of 738 survey questionnaires were returned. The mean age and years of clinical experience of the respondents were 41.9 (SD=10.8) years and 17.4 (SD=11.0), respectively. Most respondents (78.6%) were women. Canadian physical therapists are largely informed about the negative effects of smoking on health. Although 76.9% of the physical therapists agreed or strongly agreed that the profession should be more involved in helping people who smoke quit, only 56.8% of the physical therapists agreed or strongly agreed that they should receive training on SC. More than 70% of the physical therapists reported that they were not prepared to provide counseling and, overall, the level of self-efficacy regarding counseling about SC was low. Lack of resources and time were reported to be key barriers to counseling patients to quit smoking. Limitations The findings of this study are limited to Canadian physical therapists. Response bias and social desirability bias also are potential limiters in this study.ConclusionsOverall, the majority of physical therapists expressed the view that advising people who smoke to quit is a clinical responsibility and endorsed greater involvement of the profession in helping people who smoke quit. Discordance existed, however, between these views and the physical therapists' interest in receiving training on counseling about SC. This is a benchmark study that has practical implications for targeting training consistent with the profession's mission to improve health by increasing physical therapists' preparedness and self-efficacy regarding counseling about SC.

Dataset Information

Usage Patterns and Beliefs about Therapeutic Ultrasound by Canadian Physical Therapists: An Exploratory Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Usage Patterns and Beliefs about Therapeutic Ultrasound by Canadian Physical Therapists: An Exploratory Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

Similar Datasets

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