Physiotherapists' experiences on assisting physiotherapy users during the COVID-19 pandemic with lockdown measures in Spain.

Abstract

Background: Physiotherapists had faced a new healthcare scenario characterised by the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physiotherapy profession from the perspective of physiotherapists working in the public and private sectors.

Methods: Qualitative study based on semi-structured personal interviews with 16 physiotherapists working in public, private, or public-private partnership sectors in Spain. The data were collected between March and June 2020. Inductive qualitative content analysis was performed.

Results: The participants (13 women, 3 men; aged 24-44 years) had professional experience in diverse healthcare settings (primary, hospital, home, consultations, insurance companies, associations). Five categories were identified: (1) the impact of lockdown on the health of physiotherapy users; (2) managing the demand for physiotherapy services during lockdown; (3) introducing protocols and protective measures in physiotherapy consultations; (4) changes in therapeutic approaches; and (5) future expectations in the physiotherapy care model. Physiotherapists perceived that lockdown caused a decline in the functionality of people with chronic conditions, together with a reduction in the physiotherapy services. Difficulties in prioritising users considered urgent became evident, and the inclusion of prophylactic measures affected treatment duration differently depending on the care setting and the pandemic prompted the use of telerehabilitation.

Discussion: The pandemic affected the functional status of chronic physiotherapy users and made treatment time, quality of care and triage protocols visible. In physiotherapy, technological barriers need to be solved, such as digital literacy, families without resources, situations of dependency and cultural barriers.