A qualitative study based on an interpretivism methodology was carried out in order to investigate the experience of physiotherapists and get insights on the studied phenomenon. Semi-structured and face-to-face interviews were held by an experienced physiotherapist on the basis of an interview guide.
Fifteen physiotherapists were included in the present study. They were working in a clinical setting with more than five years of experience, specifically working with older people. Interviews took place individually (average interview duration: 60 minutes) and were recorded, transcribed and then analysed through the Steps for Coding and Theorisation (SCAT) method.
Three main themes resulted from this qualitative investigation:
- Physiotherapists have an important role in stimulating older patients to continue exercising: participants talked about it as a real professional goal (i.e., providing effective support), sometines requiring assistance of other health professionals (such as doctors) to be even more efficient.
- Physiotherapists have low confidence when it comes to supporting older patients to continue exercising. The main reason mentioned by the participants was the low rate of adherence achieved compared to their professional expectations. Such confidence however may increase with clinical experience and continuing professional development.
- The opportunities for education are limited: participants highlighted the fact that they did not have much opportunity to learn how to support patients and stimulate adherence during their professional education. Moreover, physiotherapists treating older people had only low interest in this subject, so they did not search for specific courses in this area as a priority.
> From: Ariie et al., Prog Rehabil Med 6 (2021) 20210005 . All rights reserved to The Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine. Click here for the online summary.
Expert opinion
This study shows that physiotherapists not only care about promoting exercise to older people, but that they also consider it as a real professional goal. They have expectations of results as healthcare professionals.
Earlier studies showed that the content of promotion of exercise is directly linked to the provider's confidence which – as highlighted in this study – remains low in the physiotherapist population. Gaining confidence through clinical experience and continuing professional development, also through education, training and learning opportunities (including via available evidence in literature) is therefore essential.
