The Identification, Selection, and Validation of Topic Areas for a Physical Therapy Critical Care Learning Needs Assessment Tool: A Mixed Method Approach.

Purpose: To identify, select, and validate topic areas for a physical therapy critical care learning needs assessment tool. Method: A scoping review was used to identify knowledge/skill areas relevant to physiotherapy intensive care unit (ICU) practice and develop a survey questionnaire. Physiotherapists rated the relevance of each survey item for practice in the ICU, as well as their knowledge about each item. Descriptive statistics summarized the responses. A statistically based algorithm was used to identify highly relevant items where the level of knowledge/skill was relatively low. Experienced physiotherapists were consulted to agree on the items that should be included. The process was repeated in three additional ICUs to validate the selected items. Results: A total of 238 items, identified from 40 articles, were included in the survey and rated by physiotherapists. From survey results, a statistical-based algorithm identified 113 important topic areas for inclusion (47.48%). A modified triage technique was used to further reduce the selected areas to 90 topics. The validation process further refined the topics to 94 topics along with 13 additional site-specific topic areas. Conclusions: Topics identified in this study will inform the development of a physical therapy critical care learning needs assessment tool. Our survey tool and methodological approach could guide the development of hospital-specific learning needs assessment tools in other clinical settings.