Development, use and evaluation of a national digital platform for physiotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic - lessons learned

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swedish healthcare system was challenged, and the need for knowledge regarding how to treat, rehabilitate and evaluate patients was acknowledged from healthcare professionals’ perspective. In March 2020, three clinical researchers constructed a digital platform to facilitate communication among physiotherapists at a national level in Sweden. The purpose of this study is to describe the development process of the Swedish Physiotherapy Platform (SwePPt) and further, to evaluate the need for support and knowledge for physiotherapists in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive study, containing a process evaluation based on retrospective quantitative and qualitative data from the platform, field notes, memos and a digital survey about the use of the platform. From April 2020 to January 2023, 26 webinars were held, reaching a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 204 computers. A total of 1854 visitors registered at SwePPt. The visitors represented 20 of 21 regions of Sweden and worked in hospitals, regional or municipal primary health care, private care, and other areas. The survey was answered by 228 participants (86% female, mean 51 (9.2) years) with 98% being physiotherapists. The majority (28.9%), worked in hospitals. Material from the SwePPt was used in clinical everyday life, as reported by 89%, and 61% downloaded materials related to treatment methods (80%), assessment instruments (61%) and articles (50%) and 70% reported they shared the information with others. The evaluation of the SwePPt discovered that the digital platform was an important source of reliable, up-to-date knowledge and was used to facilitate clinical knowledge mobilization. Furthermore, it is recommended to establish a structured approach for knowledge sharing to be prepared for future crises. An ethical statement was registered by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority, with Dnr 2023-00040-01.