https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2021.1762
Physiotherapist involvement in the pandemic era: a Lombardy region survey
Submitted: January 5, 2021
Accepted: April 17, 2021
Published: May 4, 2021
Accepted: April 17, 2021
Abstract Views: 1505
PDF: 739
Supplementary: 94
Annex 1: 95
Annex 2: 104
Supplementary: 94
Annex 1: 95
Annex 2: 104
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
In February 2020 the first COVID-19 case was reported in Italy and afterwards the virus started spreading rapidly, increasing dramatically the number of infected subjects. To face the pandemic outbreak, hospitals converted wards to assure COVID-19 patients’ care and adopted measures to reduce virus diffusion. The aim of this study was to determine how many physiotherapists, in the Lombardy region, worked during pandemic, whether they continued their usual practice or were employed in COVID-19 wards and in which tasks they were involved. The survey was submitted online by the national professional order. The response rate was 11.79%. During the pandemic, 648 (53.9%) respondents interrupted their services. Less than 20% of the physiotherapists that continued working were assigned to COVID-19 wards with the role of physiotherapist. Only a small proportion of respondents had advanced skills in respiratory physiotherapy. Moreover, this study showed a limited involvement of physiotherapists inside the very acute and intense settings. In conclusion, this work revealed that, during COVID-19 pandemic, in the Lombardy region a small percentage of physiotherapists was employed in COVID-19 wards, mainly in post-acute context. Even though the response rate of this survey was very low, this study highlights the need to define and underline the role of physiotherapy in acute setting during emergency.
Armocida B, Formenti B, Ussai S, et al. The Italian health system and the COVID-19 challenge. Lancet Public Health 2020;5:e253.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30074-8
Lazzeri M, Lanza A, Bellini R, et al. Respiratory physiotherapy in patients with COVID-19 infection in acute setting: a Position Paper of the Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR). Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 2020;90:1285.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2020.1285
Vitacca M, Lazzeri M, Guffanti E, et al. Italian suggestions for pulmonary rehabilitation in COVID-19 patients recovering from acute respiratory failure: results of a Delphi process. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 2020;90:1444.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2020.1444
Belli S, Balbi B, Prince I, et al. Low physical functioning and impaired performance of activities of daily life in COVID-19 patients who survived hospitalisation. Eur Respir J 2020;56:2002096.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.02096-2020
Associazione Italiana Fisioterapisti AIFI, Commissioni di Albo dei Fisioterapisti. [Aggiornamento sulla nota sulla rimodulazione degli interventi fisioterapici nell'emergenza COVID19].[Report in Italian]. Available from: https://aifi.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Aggiornamento-rimodulazione-interventi-FT-CDAFT-AIFI-agg-20-02-2020-Finale.pdf
Associazione Italiana Fisioterapisti AIFI, Commissioni di Albo dei Fisioterapisti. [Nota su DPCM 26 April 2020].[Report in Italian]. Available from: https://aifi.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/NOTA-SU-DPCM-26-04-20.pdf
Associazione Italiana Fisioterapisti AIFI, Commissioni di Albo dei Fisioterapisti. [Note sulla rimodulazione degli interventi fisioterapici in relazione all'emergenza COVID19].[Report in Italian]. Available from: https://aifi.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Note-sulla-rimodulazione-degli-interventi-idrokinesiterapici-in-setting-.._.pdf
World Health Organization. Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected: interim guidance, 13 March 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331446
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/PiMR.2020.0003
Associazione Italiana Fisioterapisti AIFI, Commissioni di Albo dei Fisioterapisti. [Emergenza sanitaria COVID 19. Suggerimenti operativi per i fisioterapisti].[Report in Italian]. Available from: https://aifi.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/suggerimenti-COVID19-per-fisioterapisti-congiunto-AIFI-CDA-OrdiniTSRMPSTRP-10-marzo-2020-def.pdf
Eysenbach G. Improving the quality of Web surveys: the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). J Med Internet Res 2004;6:e34.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.6.3.e34
Taherdoost H. Determining sample size; How to calculate survey sample size. Int J Econ Manage Syst 2017;2. Available from: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3224205
Baruch Y. Response rate in academic studies-A comparative analysis. Hum Relat 1999;52:421.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679905200401
Gosselink RA, Wagenaar RC, Rijswijk H, et al. Diaphragmatic breathing reduces efficiency of breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1995;15:1136-42.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm.151.4.7697243
Fink JB. Positioning versus postural drainage. Respir Care 2002;47:769-77.
Lannefors L, Wollmer P. Mucus clearance with three chest physiotherapy regimes in cystic fibrosis: a comparison between postural drainage, PEP and physical exercise. Eur Respir J 1992;5:748-53.
Vitacca M, Clini E, Bianchi L, Ambrosino N. Acute effects of deep diaphragmatic breathing in COPD patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency. Eur Respir J 1998;11:408-15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.98.11020408
Supporting Agencies
Lombardy region section of the National Professional OrderHow to Cite
Privitera, Emilia, Francesco D’Abrosca, Giuseppe Gaudiello, Marta Lazzeri, Angela Bellofiore, Pamela Frigerio, and Martina Santambrogio. 2021. “Physiotherapist Involvement in the Pandemic Era: A Lombardy Region Survey”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 91 (3). https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2021.1762.
Copyright (c) 2021 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Marina Pianese, Vittoria De Astis, Raffaele Griffo, Assessing patients needs in outpatients with advanced heart failure , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 76 No. 2 (2011): Cardiac series
- Letizia da Vico, Barbara Biffi, Maria Luisa Masini, Francesco Fattirolli, Nutritional care in the cardiac rehabilitation program , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 68 No. 2 (2007): Cardiac series
- I. Blanco, H. Canto, J. Flóres, C. Camblor, V. Cárcaba, F.J. de Serres, S. Janciauskiene, E.F. Bustillo, Long-term augmentation therapy with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin in an MZ-AAT severe persistent asthma , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 69 No. 4 (2008): Pulmonary series
- A. Chroneou, N. Zias, A.V. Gonzalez, J.F. Beamis Jr, Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica. An underrecognized entity? , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 69 No. 2 (2008): Pulmonary series
- Giorgio E. Polistina, Camilla Di Somma, Martina Flora, Alberto E. Maraolo, Novella Carannante, Gerardo Langella, Angela I. Mirizzi, Anna Annunziata, Giuseppe Fiorentino, Respiratory Intensive Care Unit management and efficacy during the COVID-19 outbreak in Naples, Italy , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 93 No. 2 (2023)
- Rahul Tyagi, Saurabh Mittal, Karan Madan, Anant Mohan, Vijay Hadda, Pawan Tiwari, Randeep Guleria, Assessment of the impact and reorganization of interventional pulmonology services at a tertiary care centre during nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 91 No. 1 (2021)
- Susanna Ricotti, Valentina Martinelli, Patrick Caspani, Serena Monteleone, Lucia Petrucci, Elena Dalla Toffola, Catherine Klersy, Changes in quality of life and functional capacity after lung transplantation: A single-center experience , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 87 No. 3 (2017)
- Stefano Romagnoli, Laura Paparella, Paolo Boninsegni, The criteria of “inoperability†, Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 87 No. 2 (2017)
- M. Justine, F. Tahirah, V. Mohan, Health-related quality of life, lung function and dyspnea rating in COPD patients , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 79 No. 3-4 (2013): Pulmonary series
- S. Scalvini, M. Vitacca, L. Paletta, A. Giordano, B. Balbi, Telemedicine: a new frontier for effective healthcare services , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 61 No. 4 (2004): Pulmonary series
<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
