“A feeling of being part of the future”: a qualitative study on physical therapists’ experiences of delivering digital first-line treatment for hip and knee osteoarthritis

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Bibliographic Details
Title: “A feeling of being part of the future”: a qualitative study on physical therapists’ experiences of delivering digital first-line treatment for hip and knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Cronström, Anna, Sjödahl Hammarlund, Catharina
Contributors: Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, Sport Sciences, Lunds universitet, Medicinska fakulteten, Institutionen för hälsovetenskaper, Idrottsvetenskap, Originator, Lund University, Profile areas and other strong research environments, Strategic research areas (SRA), EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health, Lunds universitet, Profilområden och andra starka forskningsmiljöer, Strategiska forskningsområden (SFO), EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health, Originator, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, Rehabilitation and Sustainable Health, Lunds universitet, Medicinska fakulteten, Institutionen för hälsovetenskaper, Rehabilitering och hållbar hälsa, Originator
Source: Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 41(5):998-1007
Subject Terms: Medical and Health Sciences, Health Sciences, Physiotherapy, Medicin och hälsovetenskap, Hälsovetenskap, Fysioterapi
Description: Introduction: Digital options for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment are increasingly available with high patient satisfaction and acceptability. Little is, however, known about physical therapists’ (PT) perception of this treatment modality. Objective: To investigate PT’s experience of delivering digital treatment for hip and knee OA using a smart-phone application. Method: Nine PTs (mean age 36 years, women n = 5) with 3–24 months experience of delivering digital OA treatment were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Four main categories arose; 1) A feeling of being part of the future, 2) Making an osteoarthritis diagnosis in a digital setting, 3) Facilitators and barriers of digital OA management and 4) Where to go from here? PTs were in general positive for digital treatment delivery but felt that a lack of visual assessments and physical examinations to enhance exercise evaluations and diagnosis accuracy wassometimes a disadvantage. Conclusion: Digital treatment delivery was in general perceived as a time-efficient way of providing high-quality care that may increase patient motivation and adherence without violating the therapeutic alliance. Future implementations of digital OA treatment programs should consider the possibility of including real-time video calls for visual assessment.
Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2024.2380478
Database: SwePub
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