Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study
COVID-19 introduced widespread challenges in healthcare access and was demonstrated to be a significant stressor for patients with pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT) is a first line behavioral modification to address PFD. The impact of COVID-19 on PFPT adherence rat...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | COVID |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/5/64 |
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| author | Nicole P. Jenkins Gregory W. Vurture Amber Wai-San Chan Stephanie Sansone Nina Jacobson Scott W. Smilen |
| author_facet | Nicole P. Jenkins Gregory W. Vurture Amber Wai-San Chan Stephanie Sansone Nina Jacobson Scott W. Smilen |
| author_sort | Nicole P. Jenkins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 introduced widespread challenges in healthcare access and was demonstrated to be a significant stressor for patients with pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT) is a first line behavioral modification to address PFD. The impact of COVID-19 on PFPT adherence rates in a urogynecologic population is unknown; therefore, a retrospective chart review was conducted looking at “pre-pandemic” (referring to before 1 March 2020) and “pandemic” (referring to after 1 March 2020) cohorts. A total of 173 women met the inclusion criteria (93 pre-pandemic vs. 80 pandemic). The PFPT adherence rates were similar between the pre-pandemic and pandemic groups (20.0% vs. 18.8%, <i>p</i> = 0.85). Patient-reported barriers to initiation included insurance coverage, transportation, and time commitment. When looking for clinical correlates associated with non-adherence, patients who utilized an internal referral to a hospital-associated PFPT facility were 4.9-fold more likely to adhere to PFPT for PFD (95% confidence interval: 1.31–18.23, <i>p</i> = 0.018). While COVID-19 was not identified as a barrier to PFPT adherence, identifying barriers preventing patients from attending PFPT remains an area for improvement. Increasing the utilization of an internal referral system to a hospital-associated PFPT facility may be an effective solution for increasing patient adherence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0450bf04cd6b4333b01a574c7918cf52 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-8112 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | COVID |
| spelling | doaj-art-0450bf04cd6b4333b01a574c7918cf522025-08-20T01:56:19ZengMDPI AGCOVID2673-81122025-04-01556410.3390/covid5050064Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective StudyNicole P. Jenkins0Gregory W. Vurture1Amber Wai-San Chan2Stephanie Sansone3Nina Jacobson4Scott W. Smilen5Division of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USADivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10463, USADivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USADivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USADivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USADivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USACOVID-19 introduced widespread challenges in healthcare access and was demonstrated to be a significant stressor for patients with pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT) is a first line behavioral modification to address PFD. The impact of COVID-19 on PFPT adherence rates in a urogynecologic population is unknown; therefore, a retrospective chart review was conducted looking at “pre-pandemic” (referring to before 1 March 2020) and “pandemic” (referring to after 1 March 2020) cohorts. A total of 173 women met the inclusion criteria (93 pre-pandemic vs. 80 pandemic). The PFPT adherence rates were similar between the pre-pandemic and pandemic groups (20.0% vs. 18.8%, <i>p</i> = 0.85). Patient-reported barriers to initiation included insurance coverage, transportation, and time commitment. When looking for clinical correlates associated with non-adherence, patients who utilized an internal referral to a hospital-associated PFPT facility were 4.9-fold more likely to adhere to PFPT for PFD (95% confidence interval: 1.31–18.23, <i>p</i> = 0.018). While COVID-19 was not identified as a barrier to PFPT adherence, identifying barriers preventing patients from attending PFPT remains an area for improvement. Increasing the utilization of an internal referral system to a hospital-associated PFPT facility may be an effective solution for increasing patient adherence.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/5/64COVID-19pelvic floor physical therapyadherence |
| spellingShingle | Nicole P. Jenkins Gregory W. Vurture Amber Wai-San Chan Stephanie Sansone Nina Jacobson Scott W. Smilen Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study COVID COVID-19 pelvic floor physical therapy adherence |
| title | Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study |
| title_full | Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study |
| title_fullStr | Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study |
| title_short | Adherence to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study |
| title_sort | adherence to pelvic floor physical therapy during covid 19 a retrospective study |
| topic | COVID-19 pelvic floor physical therapy adherence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/5/64 |
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