| Summary: | Background: Veterinary physiotherapists provide postoperative care, rehabilitation, sports maintenance, and aged maintenance for their patients. Outcome measures are extensively used within human medicine, including physiotherapy, but a widely accepted issue in veterinary physiotherapy practice is that outcome measures lack sufficient evaluation with regard to intra- and inter-clinician comparisons. This project aimed to determine the quality of outcome measures being used in canine and equine physiotherapy practice and any disparities external factors cause.
Methods: A structured scoping literature review consolidated current understanding and limitations. This was combined with a survey of qualified veterinary physiotherapists (n=40). Statistical analysis comprised descriptive statistics and Chi Squared analyses.
Results: Key observations generated include (1) a lack of differences in application of outcome measures between veterinary physiotherapists with and without a human physiotherapy background, (2) enhanced utilisation of outcome measures by members of a registration body and (3) an overall skew towards subjective, rather than objective, outcome measure use.
Limitations: Sample size and time for a secondary survey further exploring limitations.
Conclusion: Recommendations on enhancing outcome measures in clinical practice include several technical measures, e.g. goniometers and pain scoring, and profession-wide initiatives, including the introduction of comprehensive CPD resources and reviews of regulatory and education bodies.
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