KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF PRE-AND POST-OPERATIVE PHYSIOTHERAPY INTERVENTIONS AMONG MEDICAL DOCTORS IN TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

Background: Physiotherapy interventions reduce the length of hospital stay and also exert beneficial effects on physical fitness and post-operative outcomes across various surgical fields.

Aim:To determine the knowledge and perception of medical doctors on pre-and post-operative physiotherapy intervention, and the influence of age, gender, place of basic training/primary medical practice, and present career status on the variables.

Methods: 102 medical doctors (29 females and 73 males) working in the two tertiary hospitalsin Anambra State, who gave their consent were consecutively recruited. Each of the participants responded to the self-reported questionnaire. Obtained data were summarized using the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Alpha level was set at >0.05.

Results: Mean knowledge of pre-and post-operative physiotherapy interventions was found to be 8.87 ± 1.66 and a perception score of 5.30 ± 1.72. Knowledge of pre-and post-operative physiotherapy had no significant correlation with their perception (p=0.629). The study also showed participants from institutions that trained physiotherapists had a significantly higher knowledge of the pre-and post-operative physiotherapy referrals than their counterparts that trained in institutions without physiotherapy (p =0.025).

Conclusion: Medical doctors in this study had good knowledge of pre-and post-operative physiotherapy interventions but a poor perception of pre-and post-operative physiotherapy interventions. Participants from institutions that trained physiotherapists had a significantly better knowledge of the pre-and post-operative physiotherapy.