Knowledge on muscle strength among health professionals in Colombia: cross- sectional study.

Abstract

Introduction: Low muscle strength is a risk factor for various health conditions such as cardiometabolic diseases, neurodegenerative syndromes and mortality.

Objective: Evaluate the knowledge of muscle strength in health professionals in Colombia. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in health professionals attending two continuing medical education events. Three components were evaluated through a questionnaire: identification of muscle strength as a risk factor for health conditions, measurement of muscle strength and education in muscle strength.

Results: 501 participants (52.49% women) were evaluated. Of these, 53.89% (n=270) were general practitioners, 18.16% (n=91) specialists and 6.18% (n=31) nurses. The association between low muscle strength and cardiometabolic diseases was identified by 56.67% (n=153) of general practitioners and 41.94% (n=13) of nurses. The indication for measuring muscle strength in older adults was recognized by 86.81% (n=79) of specialist physicians and 41.94% (n=13) of nurses. 32.93% (n=165) of the participants were aware of some method for measurement. Physiotherapists were the group that mostly reported measuring muscle strength by 83.33% (n=20). Only 29.03% (n=9) of the nurses had received academic information on muscle strength.

Discussion and conclusions: This study demonstrates the lack of knowledge on low muscle strength, its association with health conditions and measurement methods, and the lack of information about published literature on the subject. Educational interventions are needed to incorporate muscular strength evaluation into the clinical practice.