Evidence based physiotherapy practice in cardiopulmonary subdiscipline: A survey in United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background: Evidence based practice (EBP) is widely used by cardiopulmonary physical therapists worldwide. Therefore, it is important to identify whether the therapists have the required knowledge, skills and resources in order to deliver the best evidence-based practice. Objectives: The main objective of this cross-sectional study is to analyse the self-reported characteristics of behaviour, knowledge, skills and resources, opinion and barriers related to evidence-based practice among cardiopulmonary physical therapists of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: An electronic questionnaire was circulated among 60 licensed cardiopulmonary physical therapists, of either gender, practicing in UAE with a minimum experience of 1 year via e-mail. The response was further subjected to descriptive analysis. Results: The rate of response was 55% (33/60). The physical therapists of cardiopulmonary disciple reported that they understand the term Evidence Based Practice and frequently update themselves through scientific papers obtained via accessing various databases. Respondents also believe that the exposure in undergraduate or postgraduate course was not sufficient. However, they were also satisfied with amount of discussions taking place regarding EBP at their work place. The barriers commonly reported were difficulty in obtaining full-text papers, lack of time and lack of evidence-based training. Conclusion: Thus, concluding that physical therapists from UAE who practiced in cardiopulmonary subdiscipline believe that they have knowledge and skills to use evidence-based practice. Although, they have favourable opinions regarding its application and they still encounter difficulties in implementing it successfully.

Evidence-Based Physiotherapy Practice in Paediatric Subdiscipline: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia

“…This might be due to misunderstanding or underestimation of their technical expertise related to EBP (e.g., critical appraisal, results interpretation, and statistical understanding). Expert opinion is recognised as the lowest level of evidence; however, approximately 35% of participants believed it is the most crucial factor in clinical decision-making which is lower than other results reported in the literature [ 27 , 28 , 37 ].…”

“…The questionnaire was not assessed in a pilot study by the authors to measure its psychometric properties such as consistency and readability. However, it was previously developed in pilot study on Portuguese physiotherapists [ 29 ], and previously used by other researchers [ 27 , 28 ]. Finally, it is possible that therapists who are more confident in implementing EBP, are more likely to return surveys as approximately half of the study sample had research experience and a third had teaching experience.…”

“…The questionnaire was previously implemented with physiotherapists from Brazil and UAE [ 27 , 28 ]. The questionnaire was tested previously in pilot study with Portuguese language to ensure understanding and quality [ 29 ].…”

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