Characteristics, course and outcome of patients receiving physiotherapy in primary health care in Norway: design of a longitudinal observational project

Kari Anne I Evensen,Nina K Vøllestad,Gard Myhre,Anne E Hansen,Hilde Stendal Robinson,Astrid Woodhouse,Marit Thielemann,Wenche S Bjorbækmo,Ingebrigt Meisingset,Ottar Vasseljen

doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3729-y

Abstract

BackgroundPhysiotherapists (PTs) in primary health care manage patients with large variation in medical diagnosis, age, functional status, disability and prognosis. Lack of knowledge and systematically collected data from patients treated by PTs in primary health care has prompted this longitudinal observational physiotherapy project. This paper aims to describe a method for developing a database of patients managed by PTs in primary health care, with the main purpose to study patients’ characteristics, treatment courses and prognostic factors for favourable outcome.MethodsThis is a longitudinal observational project, following patients through their physiotherapy treatment periods in primary health care in Norway and until one year after inclusion. The project involves both private practitioners and municipally employed PTs working in primary health care in nine municipalities in Norway. The patients are recruited to three different cohorts depending on age and whether they are referred to a private practitioner or a municipally employed PT. All data are recorded electronically, transferred and stored securely. For all patients we have included extensive questionnaires to obtain information about demographics, disability and function, pain-related variables, psychosocial factors, treatments and evaluation of treatment as well as response to clinical tests. The PTs have access to use their own patients’ data. We have also prepared for linkage to national patient registers and data collected in population-based studies to be able to gather further important data.DiscussionThis project will have important implications for physiotherapy services in primary health care. The database contains more than 3000 patients, and data collection is ongoing. Data collected so far suggest that the patients included are representative of the larger population of patients treated by private practitioners or municipally employed PTs in Norway. This large scale prospective physiotherapy project will provide knowledge about the patient groups, applied treatments and short- and long-term outcome of the patients.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03626389. Registered on August 13th 2018 (retrospectively registered).

Highlights

Physiotherapists (PTs) in primary health care manage patients with large variation in medical diagnosis, age, functional status, disability and prognosis
This paper describes the framework, design and methods used for the systematic data collection, where the purpose is to establish a database for studying patient characteristics, prognostic factors, applied treatments and outcome in various patient groups
In this paper, we describe the design and main features of a longitudinal observational project to build a primary health care physiotherapy database

Summary

Introduction

Physiotherapists (PTs) in primary health care manage patients with large variation in medical diagnosis, age, functional status, disability and prognosis. There is a lack of comprehensive and systematically collected data about patients receiving primary care physiotherapy. There is a need for robust and comprehensive data of how and to whom the primary care physiotherapy services are delivered, and whether the treatment goals are achieved. This includes systematically collected information about prognostic factors, content and effect of commonly applied treatments. This knowledge will aid health care managerial decision making and policy makers in prioritising among health care services, and to improve rehabilitation of patients in primary health care

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