An exploration of person-centredness among emergency department physiotherapists: a mixed methods study.

Abstract

There is a growing number of primary contact physiotherapists based in United Kingdom emergency departments (ED) who are expected to deliver person-centred practices. Perceptions of physiotherapists working in these high-pressure environments on person-centredness are currently unknown. A mixed methods exploration of person-centredness among ED physiotherapists targeted this knowledge gap to inform future clinical practice. Online survey and semi-structured interviews followed a convergent mixed methods design with sequential explanatory features. Data sets were analysed separately using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively, before merged analysis using joint display. Twenty-six surveys and 11 in-depth interviews were completed. The three overarching themes of ED patients, ED physiotherapists, and ED environment were generated. Themes were integrated and analysed alongside quantitative survey findings. This produced three novel contributions that further our understanding of person-centred practices among ED physiotherapists. ED physiotherapists were mindful of an apparent, yet unspoken struggle between the competing philosophies of biomedicine and person-centredness. The results here support entering a patient's world as a person-centred approach to help navigate the line between what an ED attender wants and the clinical need of their visit.