Abstract
This literature review aimed to investigate clinical outcomes and physical therapy indicators in 4 physical therapy fields, i.e. 1) musculoskeletal system, 2) neurological system, 3) pulmonary and cardiovascular system, and 4) pediatrics. Systematic reviews were searched from start to 15 July 2019 in several databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, and PEDro. Relevant systematic reviews with full report published in English were retrieved. Data from included studies were extracted, analyzed, and synthesized. The results showed that 151 papers were included in this study. Clinical outcomes and physical therapy indicators were categorized into 22 groups. In general, assessing patient’s clinical outcome required more than one clinical tool or form to cover all aspects of patient’s problems, including signs and symptoms, functional ability, and social participation. Most common clinical outcomes and physical therapy indicators used were pain, body movement, functional ability, and quality of life. Physical therapists can apply this information to set treatment goal, planning treatment program, and evaluating treatment progression in order to improve quality of service to patients and to establish goals for service from a multi-professional team.
