Khan et al 2013: this study looked at how anxiety and depression affect the success of pelvic floor muscle training. Depressed and anxious patients tended not to attend as many physiotherapy appointments, and, when they did, their outcomes were not as good. It is suggested that the psychological health of potential PFMT patient should be taken in to account when determining their physiotherapy interventions.
Osborne at al 2017 (a): Life values of women attending pelvic floor muscle training sessions were examined. Health values, work/achievement values, and spiritual values predicted attendance at the PFMT sessions. Facilitating patients to focus on their health values in particular may enhance attendance at PFMT sessions and also the patients satisfaction from these physiotherapy sessions.
Osborne at al 2017 (b) :This study looked at how providing patients attending PFMT sessions with motivational support impacted on their course completion. It was found that, compared to those patients who did not receive motivational support (which explored their health related values), those who did receive psychological support during their physiotherapy course were twice as likely to finish their treatment. This suggests that some patients, particularly those with mild to moderate anxiety/depression, may benefit from receiving motivational support along with their physiotherapy treatment.
Osborne et al 2017 (c): This research describes a randomised controlled trial where patients on a PFMT waiting list received a brief phone call (as well as receiving their appointment letter) to discuss various aspects of their upcoming PFMT appointments. Those patients who received a tele-support call had significantly higher rates of attendance at their physiotherapy sessions than those patients who did not receive a phone call. In particular, patients who were older, came from less economically derived areas and who had not been on the waiting list for a long time gained most benefit from the call.
Reed et al 2018: Aimed at physiotherapists, and discusses the benefits of taking the physiological wellbeing of their patients into account.
Reed et al 2020: A survey of the Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapists in the UK to determine the national picture of PFMT services. The survey suggest that compliance rates are significantly better when access to psychological support is available for the physiotherapy service, but only 50% of services had access to psychological support within their multi-disciplinary team.
Papers are available on request from Professor Phil Reed.