Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Clinical Physical Therapists Regarding Evidence Based Practice

Abstract

Objective: To determine knowledge, attitudes and practices of Physical therapist towards Evidence Based Practice and to identify the barriers faced by them regarding their practice Study Design: A Cross Sectional Study. Place and Duration of Study: Physical therapists of Rawalpindi and Islamabad working in different clinical setups from 1st December 2020 to 20th May 202. Materials and Methods: A Cross sectional survey was conducted and 205 Physical therapists were randomly recruited from Rawalpindi and Islamabad working in different hospitals to respond to a self-administered questionnaire. First part of the questionnaire was about demographics and the second part highlighted the Knowledge, attitude and clinical practice among physical therapists. Results: The study results showed that majority of Physical therapists had a clinicalexperience of less than 10 years and only 19% had more than 10 years' experience. 47.3% Physical therapists had a clear understanding of Evidence based practice. They had a positive attitude towards its implementation; they are interested in enhancing their skills. 45% of them consider that evidence based clinical practice helps in decision making regarding patient care. Conclusion: Physical therapists have sufficient knowledge and a suitable attitude towards the use of Evidence based practice but only a few of them incorporate it in their practice. Insufficient time for implementation of evidence-based practice is the most prevalent barrier.