Knowledge, attitudes, and barriers of physiotherapists regarding the pelvic floor muscle training and pregnancy: cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background The evidence shows the benefits of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) to prevent urinary incontinence (UI) during pregnancy and postpartum. However, there is a need to investigate the attitudes of the Brazilian physiotherapists that are taking care of this population. We aimed to analyze the knowledge, attitudes and barriers of physiotherapists regarding their ability to search for scientific outcomes and clinical expertise about the assessment and the prescription of PFMT during pregnancy. Methods A cross-sectional study carried out remotely through the Google Forms platform. A semi-structured and self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants’ sociodemographic, academic, and professional characteristics attitudes, perceptions, and barriers related to evidence-based practice(EBP) for the prescription of PFMT during pregnancy. Participants also answered about the main resources to assess the PFM function and presence of dysfunctions of PFM in pregnant women. The knowledge of physiotherapists regarding the benefits of the prescription of PFMT for pregnant women was assessed by eight questions related to the available evidence of PFMT in preventing and treating UI and fecal incontinence during pregnancy and postpartum.. Results Ninety-eight physiotherapists were included. Most participants(73%) agreed with their ability to search for scientific studies and find answers to their clinical questions from the results of scientific papers. Around 97% of participants searched for scientific evidence in scientific databases; and 64% searched in databases of health institutions such as World Health Organization(WHO) and the Ministry of Health of Brazil. Barriers to implementing EBP in clinical practice were related to understanding statistical analysis(47%) and languages besides Brazilian Portuguese(38%). A higher percentage of participants(> 80%) agreed that PFMT would prevent and treat urinary and fecal incontinence in the late pregnancy and postpartum. Conclusions The most of the physiotherapists were confident with their scientific research and interpretability abilities to identify answers to their questions regarding the PFMT for pregnant women in the scientific literature. However, there are some barriers in order to applying concepts of EBP in Women's Health area. Professionals agreed that PFMT prevents and treats urinary and fecal incontinence during pregnancy and late postnatal, despite scientific evidence proving its effectiveness only in preventing UI during pregnancy.