Physiotherapy interventions and profile of practice for COVID-19 patients in Jordan

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Physiotherapy plays an essential role in combating the complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Profiling the experiences and challenges of physiotherapy practice in a country will help in customizing the competencies needed for physiotherapy education and regulations of practice. OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences, knowledge, training, and barriers of practice for Jordanian physiotherapists who worked with COVID-19 cases at different work settings. METHODS: An online survey was distributed to physiotherapists working at different Jordanian rehabilitation settings. Physiotherapists who had experience in dealing with COVID-19 cases were eligible to participate in the study. RESULTS: The survey showed that only 38% of participants had received specialized training in dealing with COVID-19. Respiratory exercises were mostly used in the intensive care units or isolation wards (60%), and with patients having long-term complications (74%). Inadequate patients’ referral to physiotherapy was reported by 88.6% of eligible participants. The majority of participants (68%) reported lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for physiotherapists. Challenges at the level of treatment skills, techniques, and communication were the most frequently reported by participants (44%), followed by challenges at the level of work policies (32%), then by challenges at the level of knowledge about the disease (28%). CONCLUSION: The study showed gaps in knowledge, training, and work-related policies that all created challenges for physiotherapists dealing with COVID-19 cases in Jordan. We hope our data can help in providing a basis for developing educational and training programs, in addition to revising work-related policies, to promote physiotherapy management of COVID-19 in Jordan.