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

Table 4

Association between PD needs for skills items and the variables of years of clinical practice experience, current caseload of patients with RA, postgraduate (PG) qualifications in musculoskeletal physiotherapy (MSKP), and primary area of work in MSKP (𝑛=273).

Theme	PD required; % of respondents	Yrs Clin Exp^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)
Ability to conduct and record a thorough musculoskeletal examination specific to RA	95.2	6.5  (1),  0.01*; 0.55 (0.35 : 0.87)	3.9 (1), 0.05; 0.29 (0.08 : 1.07)	1.6 (1), 0.21; 0.44 (0.11 : 1.67)	2.1 (1), 0.15; 0.42 (0.13 : 1.41)
Ongoing monitoring of disease activity and severity	93.8	6.2  (1),  0.01*; 0.60 (0.40 : 0.89)	5.0  (1),  0.03*; 0.29 (0.09 : 0.91)	5.1  (1),  0.02*; 0.30 (0.10 : 0.90)	5.2  (1),  0.02*; 0.29 (0.09 : 0.90)
Ability to implement staged treatment strategies in accordance with evidence-based guidelines	91.9	4.4  (1),  0.04*; 0.68 (0.47 : 0.97)	1.7 (1), 0.19; 0.55 (0.22 : 1.36)	2.6 (1), 0.11; 0.43 (0.15 : 1.25)	0.2 (1), 0.64; 0.81 (0.34 : 1.95)
Ability to monitor a patient’s progress and outcomes	91.6	12.8  (1), <0.01*; 0.52 (0.37 : 0.75)	3.8 (1), 0.05; 0.41 (0.16 : 1.03)	2.2 (1), 0.14; 0.45 (0.16 : 1.32)	2.4 (1), 0.12; 0.50 (0.21 : 1.22)
Ability to provide education	89.4	0.5 (1), 0.49; 0.89 (0.64 : 1.24)	3.1 (1), 0.08; 0.49 (0.22 : 1.10)	0.8 (1), 0.37; 0.62 (0.22 : 1.76)	1.0 (1), 0.32; 0.67 (0.31 : 1.47)
Ability to adjust assessment and treatment strategies in accordance with evidence-based guidelines and comorbidities	89.0	10.2  (1), <0.01*; 0.60 (0.43 : 0.82)	3.7 (1), 0.06; 0.46 (0.21 : 1.03)	4.0 (1), 0.05; 0.39 (0.15 : 1.00)	1.4 (1), 0.24; 0.63 (0.29 : 1.36)
Ability to implement evidence-based treatments while waiting for a diagnosis to be confirmed	86.1	4.0  (1),  0.04*; 0.74 (0.56 : 0.99)	5.9  (1), 0.02*; 0.41 (0.20 : 0.86)	5.6  (1),  0.02*; 0.37 (0.16 : 0.87)	8.0  (1), <0.01*; 0.35 (0.17 : 0.74)
Identification of potential physical complications of RA	85.7	17.1  (1), <0.01*; 0.54 (0.41 : 0.73)	5.0  (1),  0.03*; 0.45 (0.22 : 0.92)	7.9  (1), <0.01*; 0.32 (0.14 : 0.73)	2.5 (1), 0.11; 0.57 (0.29 : 1.15)
Ability to take and record a thorough patient history specific to RA	84.6	5.8  (1),  0.02*; 0.71 (0.54 : 0.94)	1.7 (1), 0.19; 0.64 (0.33 : 1.25)	9.3  (1), <0.01*; 0.30 (0.13 : 0.67)	1.1 (1), 0.30; 0.71 (0.36 : 1.37)
Capacity to be involved with annual multidisciplinary team reviews of patients with RA	81.7	0.60 (1), 0.44; 0.90 (0.69 : 1.18)	0.8 (1), 0.36; 0.75 (0.41 : 1.40)	2.1 (1), 0.16; 0.55 (0.24 : 1.27)	0.4 (1), 0.55; 1.21 (0.65 : 2.23)
Excellent communication skills	72.5	3.2 (1), 0.08; 0.81 (0.64 : 1.02)	0.83 (1), 0.36; 0.78 (0.46 : 1.33)	0.8 (1), 0.39; 1.47 (0.61 : 3.54)	0.0 (1), 0.92; 1.03 (0.60 : 1.75)
Ability to recognise professional limitations specific to management of RA	71.1	4.6  (1),  0.01*; 0.74 (0.59 : 0.93)	3.9 (1), 0.05; 0.59 (0.35 : 1.00)	1.0 (1), 0.32; 0.68 (0.32 : 1.45)	0.1 (1), 0.72; 1.1 (0.65 : 1.90)
Ability to provide self-management support and encouragement	71.1	2.6 (1), 0.11; 0.83 (0.66 : 1.04)	3.9 (1), 0.05; 0.59 (0.35 : 1.00)	0.0 (1), 0.85; 0.93 (0.42 : 1.05)	1.4 (1), 0.25; 1.37 (0.81 : 2.3)

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