Determining the experiences of physiotherapists working in the field of neurological rehabilitation during the COVID-19 process

The aim of this study was to determine the experiences of physical therapists working in neurological rehabilitation during COVID-19. The study consisted of two phases including creating a questionnaire and applying the questionnaire online. The draft survey was created by two physical therapists working in the field of neurological rehabilitation. The content validity of the questionnaire was tested with the opinions of 11 experts working in the field of neurological rehabilitation. The Lawshe method was used to calculate the content validity ratio (CVR). The CVR of the questionnaire was found to be 0.745, and the final version of the questionnaire was applied with 48 questions with the adjustments made in line with expert opinions. Physical therapists working in neurological rehabilitation in the pre-pandemic period and being working during the pandemic were included in the study. The final survey examining demographic information, clinical practice and psychological status was administered online via the e-mail network of the Turkish Physiotherapists Association. The content validity ratio was found to be 0.745 as sufficient. A total of 107 physical therapists were included with a mean experience of 6.93±6.86 years (min=1, max=30) in neurological rehabilitation. The mean anxiety level of the participants about their own health was 4.36±2.42 (min=0, max=10), and the mean anxiety about their family's health was 7.72±2.39 (min=0, max=10). While a percentage of 46.7 (n=50) of the institutions were closed in the first 3 months of the pandemic period, 73.8% (n=79) started working face-to-face during normalization period (p<0.001). The number of patients admitted to clinics per week decreased statistically significant in the first 3 months and normalization process (p<0.001). The most commonly used screening procedure was temperature check (n=90, 84.1%), and mostly used precautions during patient admission were surgical mask (n=107, 100%) and gloves (n=76, 71.1%). The usage of tele-health applications during the pandemic and normalization period significantly increased (p <0.001). The current study showed that working conditions changed, number of patients decreased, institutions and physical therapists have taken precautions, hygiene attitudes increased, and the use of tele-health applications increased throughout pandemic period. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on physiotherapy services according to this study. Therefore, there is a need for developing most accurate ways of providing the treatment without risking the patient and physical therapists, the creation of policies to be followed in extraordinary situations, and the development of special tele-health practices for neurological rehabilitation.