Developing a capability assessment tool for physiotherapists managing patients with blunt chest trauma

Purpose: The aim was to develop a capability assessment tool (CAT) for physiotherapists managing patients with blunt chest trauma. Materials and methods: A nominal group technique incorporating a cross-sectional survey was used. A panel of 10 international physiotherapist experts developed and tested the content validity of the domains and items to be included in the tool. For each item, an item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was calculated based on the panel members’ rating. Panel members rated each item for relevance to physiotherapy management of patients with blunt chest trauma. Results: The final proposed CAT comprised 11 key capabilities, each with a subset of descriptors. Key capabilities included; 1) core aspects of care, 2) pre-hospital setting, 3) respiratory assessment, 4) recognition of patient progression and deterioration, 5) respiratory interventions 6) functional/musculoskeletal assessment, 7) functional/musculoskeletal interventions, 8) evaluation of interventions, 9) adjunctive analgesia management, 10) discharge home from hospital, and 11) community rehabilitation. The tool had a scale-level content validity index of 0.80. Conclusions: This study developed a comprehensive CAT for physiotherapists managing blunt chest trauma. The tool encompasses the entire recovery process, from pre-hospital to community settings following discharge from the hospital, and is applicable to all specialties.