Original Research Use of standardised outcome measures among physiotherapists in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa

Abdoulaye Sawadogo, Emmanuel Segnon Sogbossi, Gauthier J. Everard, Toussaint Kpadonou, Charles Sèbiyo Batcho

South African Journal of Physiotherapy | Vol 80, No 1 | a1981 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v80i1.1981 | © 2024 Charles Sèbiyo Batcho, Abdoulaye Sawadogo, Emmanuel Segnon Sogbossi, Gauthier J Everard, Toussaint Kpadonou | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 30 August 2023 | Published: 26 January 2024

About the author(s) Abdoulaye Sawadogo, School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin
Emmanuel Segnon Sogbossi, School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin; and University Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Centre National Hospitalier Universitaire Hubert Koutoukou MAGA, Cotonou, Benin
Gauthier J. Everard, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; and Department of Neuro Musculo Skeletal Lab, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Secteur des Sciences de la Santé, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium
Toussaint Kpadonou, University Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Centre National Hospitalier Universitaire Hubert Koutoukou MAGA, Cotonou, Benin
Charles Sèbiyo Batcho, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; and Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Background: The use of standardised assessment tools is a fundamental aspect of good clinical practice. However, to our knowledge, no study has documented the use of standardised assessment tools in physiotherapy in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives: Documenting the use of standardised outcome measures in physiotherapy in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

Method: Our cross-sectional survey used an online self-questionnaire on facilitators and barriers to the use of standardised outcome measures, distributed to physiotherapists in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

Results: A total of 241 physiotherapists working in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa responded to the survey. The most represented countries were Benin (36.9%), Cameroon (14.1%), and Burkina Faso (10.8%). Although 99% of participants reported using standardised outcome measures, only 27% of the respondents used them systematically (all the time). The most reported facilitators included the recognition that standardised outcome measures help to determine whether treatment is effective, help to guide care, and improve communication with patients. The most significant barriers were the lack of time, unavailability of the standardised outcome measures, and non-sensitivity of measures to patients’ cultural and ethnic concerns. There was a higher proportion of use in the middle age group (30–40) (p = 0.02) and a lower proportion of use in physiotherapists simultaneously working in public and private sectors (p = 0.05).

Conclusion: Standardised outcome measures are still not widely used by physiotherapists in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

Clinical implications: The perceived barriers and facilitators could help to develop strategies to improve the systematic use of outcome measures in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords

patient outcome assessment; rehabilitation; physiotherapy modalities; evidence-based practice; Africa

Sustainable Development Goal

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

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