Staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to mobilisation in a rehabilitation setting: Short report of a multidisciplinary survey.

OBJECTIVES: Regular mobilising is important in inpatient rehabilitation, but objective measurements show low patient mobility. We sought to understand multidisciplinary staff perspectives on barriers and enablers to mobility in a rehabilitation setting. METHODS: A validated barriers survey (standardised score 0-100, higher representing greater barriers) was distributed to 99 clinical staff on two wards at a single rehabilitation facility. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 83 staff (52 nurses, 25 allied health professionals, 4 therapy assistants and 2 medical officers) and identified barriers in behaviour (mean 39, SD 11), attitudes (mean 34, SD 12) and knowledge (mean 23, SD 18). Prominent perceived barriers were nursing workload, unclear responsibility for mobilising, risk of staff injury, patient motivation and family participation; perceived enablers were good knowledge, positive outcome expectations and team communication. CONCLUSIONS: These barriers can inform locally tailored strategies to improve rehabilitation patient mobility.