Usage evaluation of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) among Brazilian physical therapists

• Autor(a) principal: Elkins,Mark R.
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Moseley,Anne M., Pinto,Rafael Z.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-35552015000400320
• topic: evidence-based practice; rehabilitation; physical therapy

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) is widely and equally used by physical therapists in Brazil. As PEDro is considered a key resource to support evidence-based physical therapy, analyses of PEDro usage could reflect the extent of dissemination of evidence-based practice.OBJECTIVE: To describe the usage of PEDro among the five regions of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and, in more detail, in the South American region and Brazil over a 5-year period.METHOD: PEDro home-page sessions and the number of searches performed were logged for a 5-year period (2010-2014). Absolute usage and relative usage were calculated for each region of the WCPT, each country in the South American region of WCPT, and each Regional Council (CREFITO) in Brazil.RESULTS: Europe had the highest absolute and relative usage among the five regions of the WCPT (971 searches per million-population per year), with the South American region ranked 4th in absolute terms and 3rd in relative terms (486). Within the South American region, Brazil accounted for nearly 60% of searches (755). Analysis at a national level revealed that usage per physical therapist in Brazil is very low across all CREFITOs. The highest usage occurred in CREFITO 6 with 1.3 searches per physical therapist per year.CONCLUSIONS: PEDro is not widely and equally used throughout Brazil. Strategies to promote PEDro and to make PEDro more accessible to physical therapists speaking Portuguese are needed.