Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Therapy Clinical Practice in Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study

Hosny Elkhawaga; Abdallah M Kamel; Mohamed Badr; Abdallah Gamiel; Ahmed A Basheer

doi:10.7759/cureus.73507

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Therapy Clinical Practice in Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cureus. 2024 Nov 12;16(11):e73507. doi: 10.7759/cureus.73507. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Authors

Hosny Elkhawaga^{1

2}, Abdallah M Kamel³, Mohamed Badr⁴, Abdallah Gamiel⁵, Ahmed A Basheer^{6

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, EGY.
² Medical Research Group of Egypt, Negida Academy, Arlington, USA.
³ Department of Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders and Its Surgeries, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, EGY.
⁴ Department of Physical Therapy for Neuromuscular Disorders and Its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Al Hayah University in Cairo, Cairo, EGY.
⁵ Department of Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders and Its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Modern University for Technology and Information (MTI) University, Cairo, EGY.
⁶ Department of Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, EGY.

Abstract

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was an expanding pandemic caused by a new strain of the coronavirus family known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). No previous studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical therapy practice in Egypt. Objectives This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical therapy clinical practice in Egypt five months after the pandemic declaration. The study investigated how Egyptian physical therapists interacted during the pandemic and the effect of the pandemic on precautionary measures. Additionally, this study assessed the knowledge of physical therapists about COVID-19. Methods A cross-sectional study with a convenient sample was conducted in Egypt through an online structured questionnaire. Data were collected between August 28, 2020, and October 10, 2020. Results A total of 409 physical therapists from 23 Egyptian governorates completed the survey. At some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, 249 (60.9%) physical therapists left their work. Only 131 (32%) visited patients' homes. The majority of respondents, 330 (80.7%), reported that they were afraid to catch any infection from patients during assessment and treatment. Moreover, 330 (80.7%) reported feeling anxious about the COVID-19 pandemic, and 220 (53.8%) reported that their mental health and well-being were not okay. The majority of the participants committed to precautionary measures of physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean knowledge score was 18.29±1.99 out of 23. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic affected physical therapy clinical practice in Egypt. It had a psychological impact on Egyptian physical therapists. Egyptian physical therapists committed to precautionary measures against COVID-19 and demonstrated a very good knowledge about COVID-19. Physical therapists should be aware of precautionary measures against infectious diseases, which help can prevent the spread of disease if any new pandemic occurs.

Keywords: clinical practice; coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19); covid-19; covid-19 pandemic; egypt; physical therapy specialty; physiotherapy management; physiotherapy rehabilitation; sars-cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2).