Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of tutor expertise on the uptake of a
physiotherapists' educational programme intended to promote the use of outcome
measures in the management of patients with stroke.
DESIGN: Pilot randomized
controlled trial. METHODS:
Thirty physiotherapists involved in stroke management
were randomized into two groups and participated in five tutor-guided educational
sessions (the Physiotherapists' Educational Programme on Clinimetrics in Stroke,
PEPCiS). Groups differed from each other with respect to tutors: one experienced
and one inexperienced in stroke care. Primary outcome was 'actual use' (the
frequencies of data of seven recommended outcome measures in the patient records
of the participating physiotherapists). RESULTS: The actual use of instruments
shifted from a median of 3 to 6 in the expert tutor group and from 3 to 4 in the
non-expert tutor group (P = 0.07). Physiotherapists educated by the expert tutor
used a broader variety of instruments and appreciated the educational programme,
their own knowledge gain and all three scales of tutor style aspects
significantly more than their colleagues of the non-expert tutor group (all
P<0.05). Univariate analysis on the entire set of data revealed eight factors,
including tutors' performance, that were associated with a change score of the
use of two or more outcome measures by individual physiotherapists after the
educational programme. CONCLUSION: In this pilot trial it was not proven that
tutor expertise in stroke care influences the actual use of outcome measures, but
it warrants a future study with sufficient power to investigate the influence of
the tutor.

Langue : ANGLAIS