Perceived facilitators and barriers to routine utilisation of standardised outcome measures among physiotherapists in Namibia

Objective: To determine the context-specific perceived facilitators and barriers to routine utilisation of standardised outcome measures (SOMs) by physiotherapists (PTs) in Namibia. Design: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey. Setting: Private or public clinics/hospitals in Namibia. Participants: Practising physiotherapists. Main outcome measures: The study evaluated "routine" utilisation of SOMs operationally defined as using SOMs for 70% to 100% of the time in clinical practice. The study also determined the perceived facilitators and barriers to the routine utilisation. Results: Of the 99 respondents, 96 (96.9%) had complete questionnaires. The majority of participants were female (n=64, 66.7%), had a Bachelor's degree (n=86, 89.6%), trained outside Namibia (n=82, 85.4%), and were practising as private practitioners (n=74, 77.1%). About half of the participants (n=47, 49.0%) "routinely" used SOMs, especially impairment-based tools. The most common reasons for SOMs utilisation were tool affordability and availability. However, about a quarter (n=41, 43.6%) were strongly deterred from using SOMs because of the language of construction of the tool, whilst 36.2% (n=34) highlighted that most SOMs had a higher reading proficiency than the patient population. Time-related barriers were also perceived by 34.0% (n=32) of the participants. Conclusions: Routine utilisation of SOMs by PTs is below average in Namibia, primarily due to tool-related factors, such as the language of construction. Funding: None declared.