Do physical therapists follow evidence-based practices for treatment of inflammatory arthritis? Results from an online survey.

Background: Physical therapists (PTs) should know how to best treat patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Objective: To document interventions chosen by PTs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and whether choices follow evidence-based practice.

Methods: Licensed musculoskeletal PTs in Quebec, Canada responded to an online survey.

Rheumatologists' Acceptance of Patient Referrals from Physical Therapists.

We surveyed Canadian rheumatologists regarding beliefs about physical therapists' (PTs) ability to refer patients appropriately to rheumatologists and whether they would accept such referrals. Most (86.9%) believed that PTs can appropriately refer to rheumatologists.

Physical Therapists' Ability to Distinguish Between Inflammatory and Noninflammatory Arthritis and to Appropriately Refer Patients to a Rheumatologist.

Objective: To investigate whether physical therapists (PTs) can correctly identify new-onset inflammatory arthritis; to assess whether PTs are aware that cases of new-onset inflammatory arthritis should be referred to a rheumatologist; to explore the comfort level of PTs to refer to medical specialists; and to determine factors associated with correctly identifying inflammatory arthritis and referring to a rheumatologist.

Methods: We sent a questionnaire to PTs in 2 Canadian provinces describing 4 case scenarios (new-onset rheumatoid arthritis [RA], knee osteoarthritis [OA], new-onset ankylosing spondylitis [AS], and low back pain [LBP]). Participants were asked to identify probable medical diagnoses and indicate their plan of action.

Effects of waiting for outpatient physiotherapy services in persons with musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.

Purpose: This systematic review aimed to assess the scientific evidence on the effects of waiting for outpatient physiotherapy services in persons with musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods: A literature search was conducted in three databases (Medline, CINAHL, and Embase) for articles assessing the effects of waiting for outpatient physiotherapy services in persons with musculoskeletal disorders. Clinical and health system outcomes were analyzed.

Outpatient physiotherapists' attitudes and beliefs toward patients with chronic pain: A qualitative study.

: To conduct a knowledge translation exercise by sharing knowledge from a scoping review, describing physiotherapists' attitudes toward and beliefs about chronic pain, and to gain perspectives on these findings from physiotherapists working with this clientele. : We conducted three focus groups with a total of 14 outpatient physiotherapists working in public hospitals. We first showed a video (reflecting an encounter between a clinician and a person living with chronic pain) created based on themes that emerged from a scoping review we conducted, followed by a discussion about attitudes and beliefs toward chronic pain.

Assessing Rehabilitation Eligibility of Older Patients: An Ethical Analysis of the Impact of Bias.

Hospitalized older patients are more vulnerable to physical or cognitive functional decline. Inpatient rehabilitation programs improve significantly their functional status and may prevent their admission to nursing homes. While inpatient rehabilitation institutions have established admission criteria that can be seen as objective, the risk of bias remains and raises the question of equitable access for more vulnerable populations such as older patients.

Supporting ethics educators in Canadian occupational therapy and physical therapy programs: A national interprofessional knowledge exchange project.

Ethics education is the cornerstone of professional practice, fostering knowledge and respect for core ethical values among healthcare professionals. Ethics is also a subject well-suited for interprofessional education and collaboration. However, there are few initiatives to gather experiences and share resources among ethics educators in rehabilitation.

Operationalizing wait lists: Strategies and experiences in three hospital outpatient physiotherapy departments in Montreal.

In Canada, limited resources and increasing demand place pressure on the public healthcare system, something that is likely to increase. In this context, wait lists in outpatient physiotherapy departments (OPD) will get longer, system inefficiencies will arise, and frustrations and ethical concerns will be experienced by patients and staff. To better understand the perceptions of OPD staff regarding priority setting, treatment frequency, treatment duration, and wait list management strategies, we conducted an Interpretive Description study involving semi-structured interviews in three OPDs in Montreal.

Variations in demand and provision for publicly funded outpatient musculoskeletal physiotherapy services across Quebec, Canada.

Rationale: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is high and expected to increase in the next decade. Persons suffering from musculoskeletal disorders benefit from early physiotherapy services. However, access to publicly funded physiotherapy services has been shown to be compromised by long waiting times and limited availability of resources in many countries around the world.

Ethical Challenges for Patient Access to Physical Therapy: Views of Staff Members from Three Publicly-Funded Outpatient Physical Therapy Departments.

Demographic change and changing population needs are important drivers of increased demand for rehabilitation. These developments place significant stress on access to physical therapy services, as current resources are insufficient to meet the growing demand. This situation presents ethical challenges for physical therapists and others involved in managing wait lists and prioritizing access to services.

Low Back Pain: Investigation of Biases in Outpatient Canadian Physical Therapy.

Background: Previous research suggested that physical therapy services can be influenced by patient characteristics (age, sex, socioeconomic status) or insurance status rather than their clinical need.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether patient-related factors (age, sex, SES) and the source of reimbursement for physical therapy services (insurance status) influence wait time for, frequency of, and duration of physical therapy for low back pain.

Design: This study was an empirical cross-sectional online survey of Canadian physical therapy professionals (defined as including physical therapists and physical rehabilitation specialists).

Low Back Pain: Current Patterns of Canadian Physiotherapy Service Delivery.

The aim of this study was to describe the current patterns of service delivery of Canadian physiotherapy (PT) professionals working in adult musculoskeletal (MSK) outpatient practice. A total of 846 Canadian PT professionals working with an adult MSK outpatient clientele participated in an online survey about how they would treat a patient with low back pain (LBP). After reading an online clinical vignette about a fictional patient with varying insurance status, participants answered questions about how they would treat the patient (e.

Access to publicly funded outpatient physiotherapy services in Quebec: waiting lists and management strategies.

Purpose: Problems with access to outpatient physiotherapy services have been reported in publicly funded healthcare systems worldwide. A few studies have reported management strategies aimed at reducing extensive waiting lists, but their association with waiting times is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to document access to public outpatient physiotherapy services for persons with musculoskeletal disorders in hospitals and explore organizational factors associated with waiting time.

Current Uses (and Potential Misuses) of Facebook: An Online Survey in Physiotherapy.

Purpose: In recent years, the use of social media such as Facebook has become extremely popular and widespread in our society. Among users are health care professionals, who must develop ways to extend their professionalism online. Before issuing formal guidelines, policies, or recommendations to guide online behaviours, there is a need to know to what extent Facebook influences the professional life of physiotherapy professionals.

An Experiment with Public-Oriented Knowledge Transfer: A Video on Quebec's Bill 10.

When decision-makers are engaged in a polarized discourse and leaving aside evidence-based recommendations, is there a role for researchers in the dissemination of this scientific evidence to the general public as a means to counterbalance the debate? In response to the controversial Bill 10 in Quebec, we developed and posted a knowledge transfer video on YouTube to help stimulate critical public debate. This article explains our approach and methodology, and the impact of the video, which, in the space of two weeks, had more than 9,500 views, demonstrating the pertinence of such initiatives. We conclude with recommendations for other research groups to engage in public debates.

Ethics of Clinical Decision-Making for Older Drivers: Reporting Health-Related Driving Risk.

The number of older drivers will continue to increase as the population ages. Health care professionals have the responsibility of providing care and maintaining confidentiality for their patients while ensuring public safety. This article discusses the ethics of clinical decision-making pertaining to reporting health-related driving risk of older drivers to licensing authorities.

Ethics teaching in rehabilitation: results of a pan-Canadian workshop with occupational and physical therapy educators.

Purpose: Ethical practice is an essential competency for occupational and physical therapists. However, rehabilitation educators have few points of reference for choosing appropriate pedagogical and evaluation methods related to ethics. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify priority content to cover in ethics teaching in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) programmes and (2) explore useful and innovative teaching and evaluation methods.

Quality of physiotherapy services for injured workers compensated by workers' compensation in Quebec: a focus group study of physiotherapy professionals.

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the leading causes of work-related physical disability in the province of Quebec in Canada. The authors conducted a focus group study with physiotherapists and physical rehabilitation therapists working with patients whose treatments are compensated by the Quebec Workers' Compensation Board with the goal of exploring quality of care and ethical issues. Three main themes were identified: (1) systemic factors, (2) complexity in treatment decisions and (3) inequality of care.

An in-depth analysis of ethics teaching in Canadian physiotherapy and occupational therapy programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine current approaches and challenges to teaching ethics in entry-level Canadian physiotherapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) programs.

Methods: Educators responsible for teaching ethics in the 28 Canadian PT and OT programs (n = 55) completed an online survey.

Results: The quantity of ethics teaching is highly variable, ranging from 5 to 65 h.

Patient Prioritization Preferences among Physiotherapy Entry-Level Students: The Importance of Chronic Pain.

Purpose: To investigate physiotherapy entry-level students' preferences in prioritizing patients, specifically, patients with chronic pain.

Methods: After a group discussion, 249 Canadian entry-level physiotherapy students completed a questionnaire that used five distinct scenarios (fictitious patient cases). Respondents were asked to prioritize the patients (P1=highest priority, P5=lowest priority).