ArticleChronic respiratory disease
Physiotherapy service provision in a specialist adult cystic fibrosis service: A pre-post design study with the inclusion of an allied health assistant.
Article in Chronic respiratory disease. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Implementation of the Allied Health Assistant Workforce in the Australian Context: An Integrative Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- Building the private practice workforce in the Northern Territory: Barriers and facilitators for implementation of the allied health assistant role.The Australian journal of rural health · 2024Article
- Clinical care ratios for, and tasks undertaken by, allied health professionals: A scoping review of the literature.PloS one · 2024Article
- Review
- Survey of exercise testing and training in cystic fibrosis clinics in the UK: a decade of progress.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Delegation of patient related tasks to allied health assistants: a time motion study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- CRD Editor's corner archive: April-June 2021.Chronic respiratory diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
What is the impact of including an allied health assistant (AHA) role on physiotherapy service delivery in an acute respiratory service? A pragmatic pre-post design study examined physiotherapy services across two 3-month periods: current service delivery [P1] and current service delivery plus AHA [P2]. Clinical and non-clinical activity quantified as number, type and duration (per day) of all staff activity categorised for skill level (AHA, junior, senior). Physiotherapy service delivery increased in P2 compared to P1 (n = 4730 vs n = 3048). Physiotherapists undertook fewer respiratory (p < 0.001) and exercise treatments (p < 0.001) but increased reviews for inpatients (p < 0.001) and at multidisciplinary clinics in P2 (56% vs 76%, p < 0.01). The AHA accounted for 20% of all service provision. AHA activity comprised mainly non-direct clinical care including oversight of respiratory equipment use (e.g. supply, set-up, cleaning, loan audits) and other patient-related administrative tasks associated with delegation handovers, supervision and clinical documentation (72%), delegated supervision of established respiratory (5%) and exercise treatments (10%) and delegated exercise tests (3%). The AHA completed most of the exercise tests (n = 25). AHA non-direct clinical tasks included departmental management activities (11%). No adverse events were reported. AHA inclusion in an acute respiratory care service changed physiotherapy service provision. The AHA completed delegated routine clinical and non-clinical tasks. Physiotherapists increased clinic activity and annual reviews. Including an AHA role offers sustainable options for enhancing physiotherapy service provision in acute respiratory care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.