ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a significant challenge for the work and personal experience of physiotherapists (PTs). OBJECTIVE: To investigate how the work activities of PTs in a region in Italy have changed, describe the reasons for change, perceived competence, and effectiveness of professional education, and explore their personal experience. METHODS: We adopted a monocentric convergent mixed-methods light-questionnaire variant study. The questionnaire contains both closed-ended and open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative data were combined to interpret the results. RESULTS: Among 78 respondents (response rate 24.4%), 87.2% worked during the pandemic, 52.9% treated patients with COVID-19, and 45.6% changed their working activities. Professional competence was perceived as low in intensive and sub-intensive care settings. The major critical aspect of professional education was respiratory rehabilitation. Life-learning education was judged as effective, even if mainly focused on safety. Nine themes emerged from the analysis of the PTs' experiences: 1) Physiotherapy during COVID-19; 2) Fear and negative feelings; 3) Positive aspects; 4) Organization and management; 5) Prevention measures; 6) Patients; 7) Change; 8) Information; and 9) Professional education. CONCLUSIONS: PTs who have direct experience with patients with COVID-19 showed great resilience. They overcame the first phase of disorientation and fear, despite a specific lack of competence in the respiratory field.
ABSTRACT
Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) is characterized by physical, psychological and cognitive symptoms with a negative impact on daily activities. This study tested the responsiveness and construct validity of the original version of the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS) in a cohort of Italian hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This longitudinal study involved 79 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with rehabilitation needs, assessed after 12 and 26 weeks post-infection. Functional and patient-reported outcome measures were correlated with 10 items of the C19-YRS to test the construct validity, whereas distribution-based methods were used for the responsiveness over time. After 12 weeks since infection, 88.5% of patients reported fatigue, 83.3% breathlessness, 69.4% anxiety, 55.6% depression, and 44.9% pain. Moreover, 84.6% experienced reduced mobility, 75.7% had difficulties with usual activities, and 47.4% with personal care. Single items for each symptom had significant correlation (rho 0.25-0.60) with well-established scales for these symptoms. At 26 weeks, except for anxiety, all the PCS symptoms were still present but significantly reduced. The C19-YRS had moderate responsiveness for the most represented deficit reported. The C19-YRS was a valuable patient-reported outcome for screening, assessing severity, and monitoring the persistence of symptoms after 12 and 26 weeks from SARS-CoV2 infection in a cohort of Italian hospitalized patients.
