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S. Ghaben1
1Palestinian Physiotherapy Association (PPTA), Gaza, Palestine
Background: By the spread of COVID19 in March 2020, some services including health care have been suspended resulting in challenges for workers and employers & affecting their economic stability. The service suspension doubled during the second round of lockdown in August 2020. Hence, people lost jobs, monthly incomes reduced & patients deprived of health care. The future of crisis is uncertain; thus, the need for plans & solutions is mandatory.
Purpose: To explore the impact of COVID19 pandemic on employment & economic stability of physiotherapy practitioners (PT) in Gaza & explore alternatives to support their economic status.
Methods: A cross-sectional study through web-based survey was conducted, including both qualitative & quantitative data. (1072) licensed PT were targeted conveniently via a post on Palestinian Physiotherapy Association (PPTA) Facebook and sending SMS to their phones.
Results:
- 205 PT responded to the survey are working for MoH, NGOs, INGOs, academic institutions, CBOs, and private clinics. Their monthly incomes have been severely, moderately, and minimally reduced by 39.9%, 9.4%, 6.9% of participants, respectively, PT from private sector were affected the most. 22.7% of participants’ monthly income remains the same.
- 64.6% of participants said: the entities they work for, responded to COVID19 by suspension of Physiotherapy outpatient clinics. 50.2% of them said: all Physiotherapy services have been suspended (some institutions provide inpatient & outpatient services). 43.8% of participants stated that their entities activated Emergency plans. 14.8% of them stated that the entities separated workers from jobs; they are from NGOs, INGS and CBOs. The reasons beyond these decisions attributed to: direct patient contact is not allowed led to suspensions of physiotherapy services, the ability of employer to pay salaries affected by overall emergency situation, and the donors shifted their priorities toward COVID19 issues.
- 58.5% of participants believe that providing physiotherapy services during the crisis should continue with finding new ways to provide it, while 12.7% believe that patient education is enough; 3.9% believe that physiotherapy services can be ceased. Participants arranged new ways to provide physiotherapy service: Social Media 70.7%, video calls 59.5%, phone calls 54.6%, mobile applications 53.7%, and outreach programs 37.6%. These new ways would be accepted by physiotherapists and patients according to 82.5% and 81.5% of participants, respectively. Participants recommend means to enhance physiotherapy employability such as: establishing tele-rehabilitation, launching outreach program, implementing infection control strategies, and getting support from Ministry of Health & PPTA.
Conclusion(s):
- Provision of physiotherapy care has been severely affected by COVID19; therefore, physiotherapy employment status & economic stability is in challenge.
- There is a fertile environment to launch new system of providing physiotherapy services: the strong beliefs to find alternatives to direct patient contact, such as use of technological solutions & Tele-rehabilitation, and the strong beliefs of its acceptance by physiotherapists and patients.
Implications:
- There is a Pressing need to introduce alternatives to conventional physiotherapy services as Tele-rehabilitation & outreach programs. These would ensure continuous delivery of services & therefore, economic stability for professionals.
Funding, acknowledgements: No
Keywords: employment, COVID19, monthly-income
Topic: COVID-19
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: Ethical approval from Palestinian Physiotherapy Association (PPTA)
Committee: NA
Ethics number: NA
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
