Perceived Barriers Among Healthcare Professionals for Access to Physical Therapy Service in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective To examine physical therapy scope of practice and to describe the barriers and facilitators for access to physical therapy services as reported by healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia.

Methods Ninety physical therapists from the 6 hospitals in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam were surveyed by the cross-sectional questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed through email invitation or in-person. The questionnaire was developed to determine the perceived barriers to direct access to physical therapy service among healthcare professionals.

Results The present study had a response rate of 77.7% (70 out of 90 physical therapists). Majority of the participants were in the age group range of 21–30 years (41.4%) and 68.6% of the respondents’ highest educational qualification is a Baccalaureate degree. The gender distribution showed that the majority of the respondents were female (51.4%). More than a quarter of the participants had a clinical experience that ranges from 6 to 10 years. Majority of the participants were working in the city hospital (88.6%). Most of the participants strongly agreed or -agreed that the factors included in the questionnaire such as geographical accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability of services were barriers to provide access to physical therapy services in Saudi Arabia.

Conclusions This study documents many of the perceived barriers for access to providing physical therapy services in Saudi Arabia such as geographical accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability of services. Furthermore, the identified barriers could be used as a framework by policymaker and the third party payment system in order to further improve access to physical therapy services in Saudi Arabia.

Zusammenfassung

Ziel Untersuchung des Therapieumfangs sowie Beschreibung von Hürden und Hilfestellungen beim Zugang zu Physiotherapie gemäß der Einschätzung von medizinischen Fachkräften in Saudi-Arabien.

Methoden An dieser Untersuchung haben 90 Physiotherapeuten aus 6 unterschiedlichen Krankenhäusern in Riad, Jeddah und Dammam teilgenommen. Der Fragebogen wurde über E-Mail verschickt oder persönlich überreicht. Mithilfe des Fragebogens sollte festgestellt werden, welche Hürden nach Einschätzung der Physiotherapeuten beim Zugang zu einer Physiotherapie für Patienten bestehen.

Ergebnisse Die Umfrage erzielte eine Rücklaufquote von 77,7% (70 von 90 Physiotherapeuten). Die Mehrheit der Teilnehmer war in der Altersgruppe von 21 bis 30 Jahren (41,4%) und 68,6% der Teilnehmer hatten als höchsten akademischen Bildungsabschluss ein Bakkalaureat abgeschlossen. Weibliche Teilnehmer machten mit 51,4% die Mehrheit aus. Mehr als ein Viertel der Teilnehmer hatte klinische Erfahrung zwischen 6 und 10 Jahren. Die Mehrheit der Teilnehmer arbeitete in einem städtischen Krankenhaus (88,6%). Die meisten Teilnehmer stimmten stark zu oder stimmten zu, dass die in den Fragebögen erfragten Faktoren wie geografische Zugänglichkeit, Verfügbarkeit, Bezahlbarkeit und Akzeptanz der Therapie eine Hürde beim Zugang zu Physiotherapie in Saudi-Arabien darstellen.

Schlussfolgerung Diese Studie belegt viele der als Hürden eingeschätzte Faktoren wie geografische Zugänglichkeit, Verfügbarkeit, Bezahlbarkeit und Akzeptanz der Therapie beim Zugang zu Physiotherapie in Saudi-Arabien. Darüber hinaus könnten die festgestellten Hürden als Referenzkriterien für politische Entscheidungsträger und das Kostenübernahmesystem genutzt werden, um den Zugang zu Physiotherapie in Saudi-Arabien weiter zu verbessern.

Key words

Physical therapy - direct access - barriers - facilitators - service delivery model

Schlüsselwörter

physikalische Therapie - direkter Zugang - Barrieren - Moderatoren - Servicebereitstellungsmodell

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