Translating Policy into Practice for Community-Based Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Targeting Professional Development Needs among Physiotherapists

Table 2

Association between having confidence and the variables of years of clinical practice experience, current caseload of consumers with RA, postgraduate (PG) qualifications in musculoskeletal physiotherapy (MSKP), and primary area of work in MSKP (𝑛=273).

Confidence question topics	Having confidence; % of respondents	Yrs of clinical experience^a; Chi-square (df),; P value; OR (95% CI)	Current RA caseload; Chi-square (df),; P value; OR (95% CI)	PG MSKP Quals; Chi-square (df),; P value; OR (95% CI)	Primary work area MSKP; Chi-square (df),; P value; OR (95% CI)
Recognising signs and symptoms of an early presentation of RA	58.2	28.1  (1), <0.01*; 1.91 (1.47 : 2.48)	2.3 (1), 0.12; 1.46 (0.90 : 2.36)	8.6  (1), <0.01*; 3.68 (1.47 : 0.24)	0.0 (1), 0.85; 1.05 (0.65 : 1.70)
Knowledge of the typical clinical course of RA	46.9	11.8  (1), <0.01*; 1.47 (1.18 : 1.84)	18.6  (1), <0.01*; 2.92 (1.78 : 4.78)	10.1  (1), <0.01*; 3.49 (1.36 : 7.82)	4.0  (1), 0.04*; 1.63 (1.01 : 2.63)
Knowledge of evidence-based physiotherapy interventions for the management of patients with RA	22.7	1.2 (1), 0.28; 1.15 (0.90 : 1.47)	16.1  (1), <0.01*; 3.42 (1.84 : 6.37)	0.1 (1), 0.83; 0.91 (0.37 : 2.2)	12.3  (1),  <0.01*; 2.87 (1.57 : 5.26)
Knowledge to effectively and safely assist in the management of a patient with RA throughout the various stages of their disease	34.4	11.0  (1), <0.01*; 1.46 (1.17 : 1.83)	18.4  (1), <0.01*; 3.10 (1.83 : 5.24)	14.2  (1), <0.01*; 4.0 (1.87 : 8.57)	13.0  (1), <0.01*; 2.56 (1.53 : 4.30)

^aOR from the equation represents the increase or decrease in odds for a 10-year increase in clinical experience.
Abbreviations: RA: rheumatoid arthritis; Yrs: years; Quals: qualifications; df: degrees of freedom; OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval.