Objective: To identify the level of Parkinson’s disease (PD)-specific knowledge about the clinical manifestations, evidence-based practice, skills and experience in the management of PD among physiotherapists (PT) in Ghana.

Background: PD is a complex neurological condition with a wide array of motor and non-motor symptoms which worsen with disease progression (Hely et al., 2005). Sarfo et al, (2016) recorded PD among the 3 most common non-communicable diseases contributing to the burden of neurological disorders in Ghana. The many complications associated with PD require specific expertise for effective management of the disease. However, available evidence from developed countries suggests poor knowledge of PD management among PT. Also, there are no existing published studies evaluating PD-specific expertise among PT in Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among sixty PT of the Ghana Physiotherapy Association (GPA). A 26-item questionnaire developed by the researcher was piloted and distributed to PT during a GPA general meeting. Microsoft Excel 2016 and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to perform descriptive statistical analysis and test for association respectively.

Results: There was 70% response rate in the survey. The study found that 90% of the participating PT in Ghana had limited knowledge about the cardinal motor signs [figure 1] and non-motor symptoms [figure 2] of PD. About 56% of the PT recorded limited knowledge about motor complications of PD [figure 3] as well as setting of treatment goals for PD patients [figure 4]. 90% of the PT wanted more training and preferred 2-3 days or one-week training [figure 5]. There was no significant association between PD-specific expertise and PT practice duration [table 1] and annual volume of PD patients treated [table 2].

Conclusions: A proportion of PT in Ghana have limited PD-specific expertise about the clinical manifestation, practice, skills and experience in the management of PD. These limitations were not influenced by the PT years of practice or number of patients treated annually. The study’s findings suggest the need for PD-specific training for PT in Ghana. This will improve PT knowledge, practice, experience and interest in the management of PD and subsequently enhance patients’ health and research into the disease.

References: Hely, M.A., Morris, J.G., Reid, W.G. and Trafficante, R., 2005. Sydney multicenter study of Parkinson’s disease: Non‐L‐dopa–responsive problems dominate at 15 years. Movement Disorders, 20(2), pp.190-199. Sarfo, F.S., Akassi, J., Badu, E., Okorozo, A., Ovbiagele, B. and Akpalu, A., 2016. Profile of neurological disorders in an adult neurology clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. eNeurologicalSci, 3, pp.69-74.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/evaluating-the-knowledge-practice-and-experience-about-management-of-parkinsons-disease-among-physiotherapists-in-ghana-a-cross-sectional-survey/