Essential competencies for physical therapist managing individuals with spinal muscular atrophy: A delphi study

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 22;16(4):e0249279. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249279. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Background and purpose: With the availability and development of disease-modifying therapies for individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), new emerging phenotypes must be characterized, and potential new treatment paradigms tested. There is an urgent demand to develop an educational program that provides physical therapists (PTs) worldwide the necessary knowledge and training to contribute to best-practice care and clinical research. A competency based education framework is one that would focus on outcomes not process and where progression of learners would occur only after competencies are demonstrated. The first step toward such a framework is defining outcomes. The purpose of this Delphi study was to develop consensus on those competencies deemed essential within the SMA PT community.

Methods: Purposive selection and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit expert SMA PTs. Three web-based survey rounds were used to achieve consensus, defined as agreement among >80% of respondents. The first round gathered demographic information on participants as well as information on clarity and redundancy on a list of competencies; the second round, collected the same information on the revised list and whether or not participants agreed if the identified domains captured the essence of a SMA PT as well as the definitions for each; and the third asked participants to rank their agreement with each competency.

Results: Consensus revealed 35 competencies, organized under 6 domains, which were deemed essential for a PT working with persons with SMA.

Discussion: In order to develop a curriculum to meet the physical therapy needs of persons with SMA, it is imperative to establish defined outcomes and to achieve consensus on those outcomes within the SMA community.

Conclusions: This study identified essential competencies that will help to provide guidance in development of a formal education program to meet these defined outcomes. This can foster best-practice care and clinical decision-making for all PTs involved in the care of persons with SMA in a clinical and research setting.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Clinical Competence*
  • Delphi Technique
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Muscular Atrophy, Spinal / pathology
  • Muscular Atrophy, Spinal / therapy*
  • Physical Therapists / education
  • Physical Therapists / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Cure SMA, F. Hoffman La Roche, and Biogen. The funders provided meeting support including travel, accommodations, honoraria, and technical support. The funders did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section” Lexa Enterprises is not a commercial company, did not provide any funding for this project, and therefore does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.