Use of the biopsychosocial model of functioning in physiotherapeutic evaluation of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a survey-based study.

Purpose: Our study aimed to analyze the use of the biopsychosocial model of functioning in the physiotherapeutic evaluation of patients with obstructive sleep apnea in Brazil.

Methods: Physiotherapists working with sleep-related breathing disorders were included. They completed an electronic questionnaire with items related to physiotherapeutic evaluations and sociodemographic characteristics. Data were reported in descriptive statistics, and the Wilcoxon test compared the codes of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) included in the evaluation and therapeutic objectives.

Results: The sample (n = 72) had a mean age of 41.4 ± 8.3 years, and most (n = 40) worked in the Southeast region. About 43.1% of the physiotherapists held sleep therapy certifications, 87.5% worked in clinical care, and most (62.5%) only with sleep disorders. Regarding the evaluation of sleep functions, 98.6% of the physiotherapists evaluated excessive sleepiness, and sleep quality was investigated using subjective questioning (80.3%). The components considered very relevant for evaluation were activity (73.6%), followed by body functions (72.2%), environmental factors (70.8%), body structure (65.3%), and participation (63.9%). Some components were evaluated but were not often included among the therapeutic objectives, such as recreational activity (p = 0.016) and intimate relationships (p = 0.035).

Conclusions: Physiotherapists reported collecting information on all functioning components; most were activity and body function components. However, standardized evaluation tools for investigating functioning are not often applied.