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Brebner E.1,2, Horgan T.1
1Coventry University, Physiotherapy, Coventry, United Kingdom, 2Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, MSK Outpatient Physiotherapy, Wellingborough, United Kingdom
Background: The recent demand for an improvement in quality of care provided within the UK was initiated by reports such as the Francis Report, in conjunction with the funding constraints - most notable the Department of Health´s 2007/08 Business Plan - that have resulted in an ever-increasing emphasis on improving quality and productivity of healthcare delivery in the UK. For over a decade Physiotherapy as a health service provider has been encouraged to follow an increased business minded approach to analysing its effectiveness, most commonly achieved in other industries by collating data from Outcome Measures (OM). Within healthcare, OM are being used as a potential mechanism to aid Clinical Commissioning Groups in their provision of services and allocation of budget.
Purpose: Although there is an increased demand to use OM to show evidence of proof of benefit, this is a relatively new approach for healthcare services within the UK, consequently much of the research measuring OM compliance has been conducted in New Zealand. Furthermore, there is very little literature that measures the level of understanding that a final year student has on entry to placement, neither is there any literature that describes the attitudes that are formed after experiencing OM within a clinical setting.
Methods: A qualitative phenomenological approach was implemented and Thematic Analysis was used. Coventry University third year physiotherapy students took part in a focus group to explore their attitudes and understanding of OM within a clinical setting.
Results: Four themes emerged from the data; ´Knowledge´, ´Practice´, ´Confidence´ and ´Patient Centred´. The data suggested that students were happy with the quantity of OM taught, however their understanding of its uses was limited to the measuring of treatment specific effectiveness. There was a common interpretation that OM were deemed unnecessary and only performed due to pressure from management, rather than a perceived need by the service.
Conclusion(s): The findings suggest that physiotherapy students hold a level of understanding that OM can be used to direct treatment and support a patient centred approach, however they have a limited understanding and therefore a reduced compliance in providing the necessary information to the commissioning bodies and department managers, something the CSP has defined to be a key principle in the role of an OM.
Implications: The study showed that physiotherapy students based at one UK university are not entering clinical practice with the adequate knowledge of OM, leading to a limited understanding of the CSP´s Core Standards of Professional Practice. It is therefore recommended that the CSP develops further standards or guidance for educational institutes in the UK, to further support the physiotherapy workforce of the future ahead of further structural changes. This updated approach should then filter through into the practice of qualified physiotherapists, allowing for a more effective service that the CCG can evaluate.
Funding acknowledgements: This body of work was unfunded
Topic: Education
Ethics approval: Coventry University Ethics Committee
Date of approval: 09 January 2015
Project Reference Number: P31032
Approved as Medium Risk
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
