title: Use of time by physiotherapists and occupational therapists in a stroke rehabilitation unit: a comparison between four European rehabilitation centres.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare the time allocated to therapeutic activities (TA) and non-therapeutic activities (NTA) of physiotherapists (PT) and occupational therapists (OT) in stroke rehabilitation units in four European countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therapists documented their activities in 15-min periods for two weeks. They recorded: activity, number of patients, number of stroke patients, involvement of other people, location and frequency of each activity. Kruskal-Wallis tests and negative binomial regression models were used to compare activities between professional groups and between units.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average proportion of TA per day ranged between 32.9% and 66.1% and was higher for PT than for OT in each unit. For OT, significant differences emerged between the units in the proportion of time allocated to TA compared to NTA with British OTs spending significantly less time in TA. In the Belgian unit, three times less time was spent on patient-related co-ordination activities (e.g., administration, ward rounds) compared to the British and Swiss units.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Time allocation differed between PT and OT and between units, affecting the time available for TA. Further investigation is necessary to study the effect of work organization in stroke rehabilitation units on the efficiency of rehabilitation regimes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. kputman@vub.ac.be
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Putman
authors.forename: Liesbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Wit
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schupp
authors.forename: Baert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ilse
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.forename: Eddy
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dejaeger
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Meyer
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: de Weerdt
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feys
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Nadina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lincoln
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Louckx
authors.forename: Martens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anneleen
authors.forename: Schuback
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Birgit
authors.forename: Bozena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leys
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D009789:Occupational Therapy Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010814:Physical Therapy Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012044:Regression Analysis; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis