Therapist Characteristics Influencing Physical Therapy Non-Treatment in the Acute Care Setting

Background and Purpose: Research has found that participation in physical therapy (PT) services in the acute care setting increases functional outcomes and decreases patient length of stay. Certain physical therapist characteristics could be a potential source of influence on patient non-participation in physical therapy in the acute care setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific characteristics of therapists and patients are predictive of physical therapy non-treatment. Subjects: Subjects included 16 physical therapists or physical therapist assistants and 1225 patients at a community acute care hospital. Methods: Characteristics of each therapist and their corresponding patient data were collected from the 16 therapists at a community acute care hospital. Logistic regression was used to identify any therapist or patient factors predictive of patient non-participation in physical therapy services during their second scheduled visit. Results: Odds ratios were found to be significant for the following variables: Wednesday, the “Other diagnosis” grouping, and 2 out of the 14 therapists. Odds ratios for these variables were 0.455, 2.146, 8.804, and 10.359 respectively. Discussion and conclusion: No surveyed therapist characteristics were predictive of non-participation of physical therapy treatment in the acute care setting. Though measured attributes were not predictive, being a specific therapist, patients fitting into the “other” diagnosis category and being treated on Wednesday were predictive of non-treatment. Future research should focus on evaluating further therapist characteristics not included in this study, such as personality traits