Haku

Physiotherapy in the management of visually impaired clients - Information for physiotherapists to improve quality service

QR-koodi

Physiotherapy in the management of visually impaired clients - Information for physiotherapists to improve quality service

The aim of this Bachelor’s thesis was to collect information for physiotherapists in the management of visually impaired clients focused to improve the physiotherapy quality service. This qualitative study was done in collaboration with Satakunnan Näkövammaiset ry and carried out by interviewing visually impaired clients on their experience of physiotherapy service quality. The interviews were carried out by phone call in the spring of 2021. Three visually impaired people took part in this study. The duration of each interview was about 30-60 minutes, in which questions were asked regarding the background and personal experience as client in physiotherapy. A thematic analysis method was used to draw conclusions. A workshop for SAMK physiotherapy students was held in the campus in November 2021. Students were introduced to visual impairment, instructed how to approach visually impaired clients, and adapt physiotherapy treatments to make the session safe and professional. According to the experiences of the participants, physiotherapists in Satakunta region have overall a good knowledge of how to approach and treat visually impaired clients. As far as accessibility is concerned, healthcare facilities are still problematic, often the category is not taken into consideration when these facilities are built. The risk of ethical issues may arise when physiotherapist has no knowledge about visual impairment, and this can lead to confusion and create unpleasant situations. Telerehabilitation is a topic that has been discussed for the past two years, but this type of service cannot be used with visually impaired clients, so during the Covid-19 pandemic, participants continued with normal face-to-face physiotherapy sessions. In the future, it may be necessary to create a way to integrate telerehabilitation for visually impaired clients through technological innovation. An idea to ensure knowledge of this topic might be to integrate some course or event with a focus on assisting and treating visually impaired into the physiotherapy study program. Further studies on this topic are needed, for example with a larger number of participants, considering other areas of the world, or focusing on certain physiotherapy treatments.

Tallennettuna: