Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes of Greek Physiotherapists About Communication With Chronic Musculoskeletal Patients

Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes of Greek Physiotherapists About Motivational Interviewing, Shared Decision Making and Empathetic Communication With Chronic Musculoskeletal Patients

The purpose of current research study is to assess physiotherapists's knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about empathy, motivational interviewing and shared decision making in chronic musculoskeletal patients. An e-survey study will be conducted based on Checklist for Reporting Results of 52 Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES)

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Musculoskeletal Pain; Chronic Pain

Detailed Description

The main questions it aims to answer are:

What physiotherapists know about the use of empathy, motivational interviewing and shared decision making? What beliefs do physiotherapists have about the appropriate use of communication skills? Whether and how much they use empathy, motivational interview, shared decision-making in clinical practice? What are the main barriers of using communication skills (empathy, motivational interview, joint decision-making) in clinical practice?

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 257

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Greece
  • Lamia, Greece, 35132
    • University of Thessaly

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Physiotherapists with chronic musculoskeletal experience and clinical practice in Greece

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Physiotherapists who are member of Panhellenic Association of Physiotherapist in Greece, with active clinical practice in Greece and clinical experience in musculoskeletal disorders (>12 months).

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Demographic characteristics	Questions will include participants' demographic characteristics (e.g. gender, age), 2) the setting where they practice their profession (e.g. hospital, private physiotherapy clinic), 3) level of education (e.g. BSc, MSc), 5) their years of practice, 6) seminars or training programs they have attended regarding pain neuroscience education.	Baseline
Knowledge about Empathy	A structure questionnaire will be used which included; A question about how much do they know about empathetic behaviour, using a 10-point Likert scale (0=I don't know anything about the empathetic behaviour and 10=I have comprehensive knowledge on the empathetic behaviour)"; Toronto Composite Empathy Scale. The scale contains 26 statements scored on the Likert Scale (1=never, 2=sometimes, 3=less than half the time, 4=more than half the time, 5=almost all times, and 6=always). The scale demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. The overall reliability analysis of the TCES questionnaire in Greek is high (Cronbach's α = 0.895, Sig. from Hotelling's T-Squared Test < 0.000).	Baseline
Beliefs about Empathy	Question about how much do they believe the empathetic behaviour is useful in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Attitude about Empathy	A question about the using of the empathetic behaviour in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Barriers about Empathy	9 statements with specific barriers of showing empathy in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale, where 0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree and an open question about other barriers.	Baseline
Knowledge about Shared-Decision Making	A structure questionnaire will be used which included; A question about how much do they know about the using of Shared-Decision Making, using a 10-point Likert scale (0=I don't know anything about this concept and 10=I have comprehensive knowledge about this concept)"; The 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9). The scale demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability, a Cronbach's alpha of 0.938 in the test sample.	Baseline
Beliefs about Shared-Decision Making	A question about how much do they believe Shared-Decision Making is useful in the treatment planning of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Attitude about Shared-Decision Making	A question about the using of Shared-Decision Making in the treatment planning of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Barriers about Shared-Decision Making	5 statements with specific barriers of using Shared-Decision Making in the treatment planning of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale, where 0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree and an open question about other barriers.	Baseline
Knowledge about Motivational Interviewing	A structure questionnaire will be used which included; A question about how much do they know about the using of Motivational Interviewing, using a 10-point Likert scale (0=I don't know anything about this concept and 10=I have comprehensive knowledge about this concept)"; The Motivational Interviewing Knowledge and Attitudes Test The Motivational which included true/false statements assessing knowledge of motivational interviewing principles and attitudes associated with behaviour change and the statements will be adapted for chronic musculoskeletal patients.	Baseline
Beliefs about Motivational Interviewing	A question about how much do they believe Motivational Interviewing is useful in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Attitude about Motivational Interviewing	A question about the using of Motivational Interviewing in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale (0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree).	Baseline
Barriers about Motivational Interviewing	5 statements with specific barriers of using Motivational Interviewing in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal patients, using a 6-point Likert scale, where 0=completely disagree and 10=completely agree and an open question about other barriers.	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Thessaly
• Investigators: Study Director: Eleni Kapreli, PhD, University of Thessaly

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 28, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 15, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): July 15, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 28, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): February 1, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 22, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 19, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: shared decision making; physiotherapy; motivational interviewing; empathy; chronic musculoskeletal patients
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Chronic Pain; Musculoskeletal Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: N6

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No