Problems Faced by the Physiotherapists Wearing PPE Kit While Treating the Covid Patients

Physiotherapists have played a major role during the COVID-19 outbreak, however there have been many problems associated with PPE Kit varying from breathlessness to difficulty in performing manual therapy. A need was felt to assess these problems faced by Physiotherapists to get their effective redressal with objective of identifying whether the physiotherapists are facing any difficulties wearing PPE kit while treating the COVID patients. Total of 150 Physiotherapists from various COVID hospitals of Maharashtra were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. An electronic Questionnaire was formed and designed into a Google Form. The data from Google form was collected in a tabular format via Google sheet and statistically analyzed. Percentage of the result was obtained and conveyed through graphical presentations via pie charts and graphs. The questionnaire was returned by 150 participants giving response rate of 100%. 64% physiotherapists experienced breathlessness, 98.67% experienced moderate-extreme perspiration, 82.67% had communication problem with patients, 78.67% stated that breathlessness or perspiration compromised the quality and time of their treatment, 60.66% faced difficulty while performing manual techniques. This study significantly revealed various parameters that were surveyed in the process like perspiration, breathlessness etc. resulted notable alteration in quality of treatment.