Functioning in schizophrenia: a Delphi study covering the perspective of physiotherapists

Abstract

Purpose

This qualitative study explores the barriers, personal characteristics/resources, and environmental factors that experienced physiotherapists identify as relevant in the assessment and treatment of persons living with schizophrenia, and whether the identified aspects are represented in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Sets for schizophrenia.

Methods

A three-round Delphi study with physiotherapists was conducted between April and July 2018. In the first round, participants had to list all the aspects they considered to be relevant when assessing and/or treating individuals with schizophrenia, and they were asked six open-ended questions. Their responses were linked to categories. In the second and third rounds, physiotherapists had to judge whether each category/personal factor was relevant for describing functioning in schizophrenia.

Results

Thirteen of 22 eligible physiotherapists from eight countries responded to the first round, and 10 completed all three rounds. Eighty-two (84.5%) of the 97 categories in the Comprehensive Core Set for schizophrenia and all 25 categories in the Brief Core Set were considered relevant. A total of five categories were additionally identified.

Conclusions

The barriers, personal characteristics/resources, and environmental factors from the physiotherapists’ perspective have been identified. The results largely confirm the content validity of the Core Sets for schizophrenia.

Implications for rehabilitation

• This study shows which barriers, personal characteristics/resources, and environmental factors in persons with schizophrenia are relevant from physiotherapists’ perspective and should be integrated in the rehabilitation process.

• The content validity of the Comprehensive and Brief Core Sets for schizophrenia is largely supported from the physiotherapists’ perspective and therefore could be used in the assessment of functioning in persons with schizophrenia.

• The Comprehensive and Brief ICF Core Sets for schizophrenia could be used to plan and assess multidisciplinary rehabilitation interventions.

Keywords:

• Physiotherapy
• schizophrenia
• International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
• Core Set
• content validity

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the participating experts for their commitment and the time spent, without which the study would not have been possible. Participants who agreed to be acknowledged in the publication are listed in surname alphabetical order: P. Ann, J. Betore Muro, V. Jiménez, L.W.L. Lim, M. Probst, R. Sander, V. Schweitzer, P. Serranos, F. Wendelstein Cano and K. Yuenyongchaiwat.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant PSI2015-67984-R], and by the Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants of the Government of Catalonia [grant 2017SGR1681].