Title: Physiotherapy practice in women’s health: Awareness and attitudes of obstetricians and
gynecologists in Ghana
Version: 3 Date: 12 Apr 2022
Reviewer's report:
Reviewer comments
Title
(obstetricians/gynecologists in Ghana)………..use ‘and’ instead of /
Abstract
1. This study explored the awareness and attitude levels towards physiotherapy among
obstetricians/gynecologists. ………….use ‘assessed’ instead of ‘explored’
2. Sixty-one (61) respondents comprising; 7 consultants, 20 senior residents and 34 junior
residents, with an age range between 29-65 years were recruited…….relocate to the methods
section.
3. The results section need serious revision. Ie. …..were more aware…….where ‘more aware’
means?  What is considerable awareness ?
4. …..but a vide variation in gynaecology………..this is unclear.
5. (Similarly, their overall awareness level was high which significantly influenced their positive
attitude.) how did you establish this relationship?
6. (The main factor affecting the use of physiotherapy by obstetricians/gynecologists were
the perceived notion of non-availability of physiotherapists to cover various wards and
physiotherapists not attending ward rounds with doctors to enlighten them on their scope of
practice. ) this sentence is confusing. First, what type of analysis identified these factors? Second,
do you mean factor affecting non-use of physio? This is unclear.
Introduction
Wrong spelling “healthare” “toto”
Replace ‘myth’ with ‘misconception’
No spacing “For instance,pregnancy)
(Physiotherapists are well equipped in resolving some complications of pregnancy and further
prevent the onset of new ones  as well as treating specific postpartum problems such as pelvic
floor dysfunction and low back pain via manual therapy, exercise and or electrotherapeutic
modalities [5, 9].). …………..Long and confusing sentence. Revise
(Though physiotherapy is vital maternal health, it is still not widely practiced in low and middle
income countries  and remains underutilized)…………..  ‘in’ is missing
(Previous studies have recorded low referral rate and poor utilization of physiotherapy by
Obstetricians and Gynecologists [3, 11, 12] and doctors’s ignorance of the preventive role of
physiotherapy in antenatal and postnatal  patients has been implicated [12])…where were these
studies conducted.
(considerable awareness of its scope is limited in Ghana.)…………what is known regarding
awareness and attitudes towards physiotherapy in Ghana? What studies have been conducted
and what did they find?
(Physiotherapy services in Ghana operate greatly on a referral system in most government
hospitals, and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) partly covers the cost of
physiotherapy services)………provide citation
(In spite of the indispensable role of physiotherapy in maternal health, the involvement of
physiotherapy services by obstetricians/gynecologists depends on their knowledge and attitude
towards physiotherapy)………..provide citation.
(Hendricks et al)…….incorect citation
Methods
(The study was cross sectional)………Cross-sectional what?
Correct (largestertiary)
What were the bed and staff capacities of the various units?
(Consultants, Senior Residents and Junior Residents)…..use small letter
(A Senior Resident and Junior Resident are doctors training to become consultants and
specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology respectively.)…………….doctors training to become
is an incorrect English.
(At he time of the study, here were 17 consultants, 23 senior residents and about 55 junior
residents in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the KBTH at the time of the study.)
…correct the typo errors in this sentence.
What parameters were used to estimate the sample size?
(Awareness and Attitude Questionnaire) …………what was the reliability coefficient of the
questionnaire.  Was the questionnaire pre-tested ?
Write SPSS in full.
(The awareness and attitude variables were scored using percentages with # 50% indicating ‘high
awareness’ and ‘positive attitude’ respectively whiles scores less than 50% were considered
“low awareness” and “negative attitudes”.) ……….What was the basis for this categorization?
(Chi- square test of association was used to compare the differences in awareness and attitude by
characteristics of doctors (i.e. position, gender, age and years of practice) with significance set at
p <0.05.)……….Chi-square does not compare rather it checks association between categorical
variables.
Figure 1: How many were gynaecologists? How many of (what) could not be traced?
Results
The authors failed to compute a multivariable analysis(Regression).
Discussion
The implications of the findings have not been well discussed.
Reference
Inconsistency in referencing. Some of the references do not have pages number (i.e ref 2-5, 7, 21)