Every person is an individual: physical therapist clinical reasoning used in inpatient rehabilitation for walking assistive device prescription in patients with stroke and brain injury.

Conclusions: Results from this study revealed complexity in the clinical reasoning process used in physical therapy practice to determine the best walking assistive device for patients with stroke and brain injury during inpatient rehabilitation. Information from this study can inform post-acute physical therapy practice and education, and may reduce device abandonment. Implications for rehabilitation Clinical reasoning (CR) is a complex process in which a clinician must consider multiple factors, which requires non-linear and iterative thinking, and involves many people, making it shared among the patient, caregivers, and the healthcare team. Describing the actual CR process used by physiotherapists when prescribing a walking assistive device (WAD) will identify the factors considered, thus more accurately explain the process of care. Such a description could lead to better justification of rehabilitation for patients with stroke and brain injury, and furthermore, determine whether treatments are rendered consistently and when, if ever, divergent approaches occur. Better understanding of the CR process of WAD prescription may also reduce the possibility of device abandonment. PMID: 31429328 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology. - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Tags: Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol Source Type: research