Awareness and utilization of physiotherapy services in management of people living with HIV among health care workers

Abstract

Background: Physiotherapy is one of multidisciplinary teams that has demonstrated efficacy in HIV care/management. Irrespective of the evidence established on the efficacy of physiotherapy intervention on HIV management, there seem to be poor utilization of physiotherapy services by PLWHA. The aim of this study is to assess the healthcare providers’ awareness on the role of physiotherapy in HIV management and the possible factors affecting the utilization of services by the healthcare providers. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Health Research Ethics Committee Ituku-Ozalla (UNTH). A self-structured 20-item questionnaire was distributed to 75 healthcare providers (56 females and 19 males) working within Enugu metropolis. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics of frequency and percentages.   Results: Majority perceived physiotherapist not knowledgeable in the management of HIV 49(65%) and PLWHA uninformed on the role of Physiotherapy in their management 68(91%). Also, majority of the respondent perceived been ignorant of the type of physiotherapy services available in HIV management role affected its utilization 55(75%) and attributed poor awareness creation by physiotherapists 57(76%) as a limiting factor. Conclusions: Poor awareness creation by physiotherapist for PLWHA among Healthcare providers, poor knowledge of the healthcare providers regarding the physiotherapy care available in HIV management are major barriers to utilization of physiotherapy services in HIV management.