DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY TESTING OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO ON MANUAL THERAPY AS A TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCE AMONG PHYSIOTHERAPY UNDERGRADUATES

C. Mbada¹, O. Kadeba², T. Gebrye¹, C. Fatoye¹, M. Egwu², F. Fatoye¹

¹Manchester Metropolitan University, Health Professions, Manchester, United Kingdom, ²Obafemi Awolowo University, Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Ile-lfe, Nigeria

Background: The future of manual therapy education is under threat of lack of standardisation and substantial reliance on skills and competence of faculties, who are also becoming scarce. Digital platforms, such as video apps offer great versatility and potential when used as a pedagogical tool.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop an instructional video on manual therapy, test its feasibility as a teaching and learning resource and evaluate its effect on perceived skills acquisition among physiotherapy students in physiotherapy education.

Methods: An instructional video of interactive demonstrations spinal manual therapy (SMT) technique was developed following iterative process. The effect of the video on skill acquisition was tested using an experimental design. Two groups (experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20)) comprising of physiotherapy students received practical skills knowledge test on SMT techniques. The experimental group received the video as a learning resource for a two-week period. Both groups underwent practical skills knowledge test on the SMT techniques again. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, inferential statistics of Wilcoxon sign rank test and Mann Whitney U-test was used.

Results: The average age of the participants was 22.8 ± 1.60 years. The mean acceptability and usability scores of the video were 32.40 ± 4.02 (out of 36) and 79.25 ± 14.52 (out of 100). There were significant differences in within-group median scores (pre-and-post) for the experimental (28.0 vs 21.0, p = 0.001), and the control (21.5 vs. 21.0, p = 0.048) groups. There was also a significant difference in the post-test median scores between experimental (29.5) and control (11.5) group (p = 0.001).

Conclusions: Instructional video on SMT has high usability and acceptability among physiotherapy students, and can serve as a useful tool for learning and refreshing practical skills in manual therapy techniques.

Implications: Physiotherapy educators are to be aware of these findings as they may help address the issue of practical teaching and clinical placement provision challenge caused by COVID-19.

Funding acknowledgements: No funding

Keywords:
Manual Therapy
Physiotherapy
Perceived skills

Topics:
Disability & rehabilitation
Musculoskeletal
Rheumatology

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: The Institute of Public Health (HREC)

Committee: Health Research and Ethics Committee

Ethics number: HREC number - IPHOAU/12/1746