An exploration of orthopaedic physiotherapists' experiences with the use of outcome measures in practice: A qualitative study

Abstract

Objective: Explore orthopaedic physiotherapists' views and experiences with the use of outcome measures (OMs) in practice and investigate whether OMs influence orthopaedic physiotherapists' clinical decision-making. Design: Qualitative, phenomenological design Participants: Six HCPC registered orthopaedic physiotherapists working in NHS Scotland (in-patient and out-patient). All participants were female, with a median age of 43 years (Range 25-59) and a median duration of experience in orthopaedic physiotherapy of 8 years (Range 0.42-22) Methods: Individual, semi-structured interviews over the phone, lasting approximately 40 minutes. Results: Two a priori themes were confirmed and four themes emerged from the data; 1. Awareness and understanding of OMs. 2. Physiotherapists' views towards using OMs. 3. How physiotherapists select OMs to use in practice. 4. How OMs are used in practice (a priori). 5. Barriers towards using OMs (a priori). 6. Factors influencing the future use of OMs. Conclusion: Orthopaedic physiotherapists use OMs to support clinical decision-making and justify the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions. OMs used in practice were selected based on validity and practicality of use. Lack of time, lack of knowledge and measures being inappropriate for patients were identified as main barriers towards using OMs in orthopaedic practice. Easy accessible OM databases with information and active educational strategies, combined with increased support from managers were suggested to increase use of OMs in orthopaedic practice.