Method
Study Design
This cross-sectional study involved 2
phases. First, a valid and reliable online
survey was developed. Second, the sur
vey was distributed to physical therapists
across Canada.
Survey Development
The survey was developed by a focus
group consisting of 3 physical therapists
and the study authors. Of the 3 physical
therapists, 2 used FES routinely in their
practice, and 1 did not use FES but
worked with the stroke population. The
focus group developed an ordinal-level
survey (ie, mostly closed-ended ques
tions) (Appendix). The survey consisted
of 4 parts: (1) demographic information
(eg, practice setting, number of years
practicing), (2) frequency of FES use for
various therapeutic goals relevant to
stroke, (3) facilitators of and barriers to
FES use, and (4) knowledge of the FES
literature for stroke rehabilitation.
Response options consisted of Likert
scales with both numeric and descriptive
anchors. To explore barriers and facilita
tors, closed-ended questions were mod