Differences in novice and experienced physiotherapists' use and perceptions of patient education in Egypt: a cross-sectional study

Background/Aims Patient education plays an important role in healthcare. The aim of this study was to compare the self-reported patient education practices and perceptions of experienced and novice Egyptian physiotherapists and their perceived barriers to the effective use of patient education. Methods A previously designed and published patient education questionnaire was emailed to approximately 500 prospective participants through direct email contact to personal email addresses or via the Egyptian Physical Therapy Association member's database. Results Egyptian physiotherapists use a range of patient education activities with high levels of perceived importance. Giving information about the patient's condition or diagnosis was the patient education activity that both experienced and novice participants were using. The most frequent rated items by both groups were ‘one-to-one discussion’ (90.3% for experienced and 86.8% for novice therapists) and ‘physical demonstration’. (86.1% for experienced and 82.1% for novice therapists). The novice group had a significantly higher rating of agreement than the experienced group relating to seven of the ten barriers to effective patient education use including the cognitive status ( P =0.026), Patient assuming a passive role ( P =0.003), attitude ( P =0.003) and knowledge or literacy of the patient ( P =0.010). Conclusions The results indicate that Egyptian physiotherapists use a wide range of patient education activities, delivery methods and evaluation approaches, with experienced therapists self-reporting a higher use of patient-centred education activities. Implications for practice Physiotherapy training should emphasise patient education as a critical physiotherapy skill, and focus on how to individualise patient education within different settings. Training should also focus on how students and novice therapists can identify and manage barriers to effective patient education, especially where patient factors may influence practice and thus patient outcomes.