https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2021.1762

Physiotherapist involvement in the pandemic era: a Lombardy region survey

Vol. 91 No. 3 (2021)
Submitted: January 5, 2021
Accepted: April 17, 2021
Published: May 4, 2021
Physiotherapist, COVID-19 pandemic, health care professionals, work organization
Abstract Views: 1604
PDF: 743
Supplementary: 96
Annex 1: 97
Annex 2: 106
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.

Authors

Emilia Privitera
emilia.privtera@gmail.com
Health Professions Department Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan; Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR), Italy.
Francesco D'Abrosca
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0505-2371
Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR), Italy.
Giuseppe Gaudiello
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1270-9397
Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR), Italy.
Marta Lazzeri
Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR); Cardio-Thoracic Department, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.
Angela Bellofiore
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0037-1392
Health Professions Department Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
Pamela Frigerio
Mother-Child Department, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.
Martina Santambrogio
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7428-7927
Italian Association of Respiratory Physiotherapists (ARIR); Respiratory Unit and Cystic Fibrosis Adult Center, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.

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.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
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 Order

How 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) Creative Commons License

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.