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

Table 3

Association between PD needs for knowledge 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 of 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)
Importance of monitoring RA disease activity	93.4	6.4  (1), 0.01*; 0.95 (0.91 : 0.99)	3.7 (1), 0.05; 0.36 (0.13 : 1.05)	4.5  (1), 0.04*; 0.32 (0.11 : 0.97)	3.9 (1), 0.05; 0.36 (0.12 : 1.04)
Red flags requiring immediate attention and medical review	90.1	10.6  (1), <0.01*; 0.58 (0.41 : 0.80)	3.3 (1), 0.07; 0.47 (0.20 : 1.08)	8.7  (1), <0.01*; 0.27 (0.11 : 0.68)	5.1  (1), 0.02*; 0.38 (0.16 : 0.91)
General physiotherapeutic principles of treating RA	86.8	7.6  (1), <0.01*; 0.66 (0.49:0.88)	4.5  (1), 0.03*; 0.46 (0.22 : 0.95)	6.5  (1), 0.01*; 0.34 (0.14 : 0.80)	4.6  (1), 0.03*; 0.45 (0.21 : 0.94)
Alert to presentation that may suggest RA	86.4	9.8  (1), <0.01*; 0.63 (0.47 : 0.84)	0.7 (1), 0.39; 0.74 (0.37 : 1.48)	1.9 (1), 0.17; 0.53 (0.21 : 1.33)	0.0 (1), 0.88; 1.06 (0.53 : 2.11)
Features requiring referral back to GP or rheumatologist	82.1	18.9  (1), <0.00* 0.55 (0.42 : 0.73)	1.9 (1), 0.16; 0.64 (0.34 : 1.20)	1.01 (1), 0.32; 0.64 (0.27 : 1.53)	0.6 (1), 0.45; 1.27 (0.68 : 2.37)
Contraindications to some physiotherapy treatments specific to people with RA	81.3	33.9  (1),  <0.01*; 0.45 (0.34 : 0.60)	5.3  (1), 0.02* 0.48  (0.26 : 0.90)	17.7  (1), <0.01*0.21  (0.1 : 0.46)	4.2  (1), 0.04* 0.52 (0.28 : 0.98)
Understanding the impact of comorbidities on physiotherapy intervention	80.6	6.6  (1), 0.01* 0.71 (0.55 : 0.92)	1.8 (1), 0.18; 0.66 (0.36 : 1.21)	1.5 (1), 0.22; 0.60 (0.26 : 1.38)	2.0 (1), 0.16; 0.65 (0.35 : 1.19)
Physiotherapeutic principles of treating inflamed joints	79.5	6.8  (1), <0.01*; 0.71 (0.55 : 0.92)	4.3  (1),  0.04*; 0.53 (0.29 : 0.97)	3.8 (1), 0.05; 0.46 (0.21 : 1.02)	9.2  (1), <0.01*; 0.39 (0.21 : 0.73)
Comprehensive understanding of RA as a chronic disease	72.2	6.6  (1), 0.01*; 0.74 (0.58 : 0.93)	0.0 (1), 0.97; 1.01 (0.60 : 1.72)	0.0 (1), 0.94; 1.03 (0.46 : 2.34)	0.1 (1), 0.76; 0.92 (0.54 : 1.56)
Multidisciplinary teamwork	71.8	2.8 (1), 0.09; 0.82 (0.65 : 1.03)	0.5 (1), 0.48; 1.21 (0.71 : 2.05)	0.3 (1), 0.59; 1.26 (0.54 : 1.93)	2.1 (1), 0.15; 1.47 (0.87 : 2.51)
Importance of early referral to a rheumatologist	68.5	23.1  (1), <0.01*; 0.57 (0.45 : 0.72)	3.2 (1), 0.08; 0.63 (0.37 : 1.05)	2.08 (1), 0.15; 0.58 (0.28 : 1.22)	1.0 (1), 0.32; 1.30 (0.78 : 2.17)
Understanding the importance of good communication	45.1	2.5 (1), 0.11; 0.84 (0.67 : 1.04)	0.2 (1), 0.68; 0.90 (0.56 : 1.46)	0.1 (1), 0.75; 0.89 (0.42 : 1.85)	0.44 (1), 0.51; 1.18 (0.73: 1.89)

^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.