Integrating physiotherapy into primary health care in Italy: qualitative focus group study examining perspectives of involved professionals.

Abstract

Introduction: The Community Physiotherapist model is an on-call service within the primary care setting, consisting of four consultations for people with chronic functional limitations. It was designed, developed and introduced as a project for the first time in Italy in 2021 and it has been shown to be effective and safe.

Purpose: Given the novelty of the model, this focus group study aims to explore the perspectives of involved physiotherapists, general practitioners and medical specialists on the perceived efficiency and quality of the service. A qualitative design was used with two balanced multidisciplinary focus groups of 12 participants. The Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Five themes emerged from the analysis, related to the speed of both referral and intervention, tailored interventions and perceived quality: Efficiency, Perceived quality, Project implementation, Training, and Project dissemination.

Conclusion: The study findings showed that the model was appreciated by the professionals involved, although some aspect about communication between professionals and with patients/caregivers, as well as some organizational aspects, needed improvement. Further research should address the perspectives of the patients/caregivers involved.