Awareness, perceptions and beliefs about physiotherapy held by physicians working in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.
[Purpose] Over the years physiotherapy has been recognized as a popular mode of treatment that decreases the disability and dependency rate of patients. However, there is still a need for its recognition in multidisciplinary health care structures. If a physician were well aware of how a physical therapist could help with treatment if patients and prevent complications, hospital patient load could be decreased to a greater extent. The aim of this study was to study the awareness, perception and beliefs of physicians working in Saudi Arabia about physiotherapy. [Subjects and Methods] Three hundred fifteen members of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) with different specialties, nationalities, designation, and work experience, working in various hospitals in 5 regions of Saudi Arabia were invited to participate in this study. A 22-item questionnaire was used for data collection including sections on physicians' demographics, educational levels and knowledge about physiotherapy. [Results] After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data from 280 respondents was used for analysis. Seventy-five percent of respondents reported to having some knowledge of physiotherapy, and 11% of them referred patients to physiotherapy departments regularly, while 14% referred patients occasionally. To the best of our knowledge, this is first study performed in Saudi Arabia to evaluate awareness of physicians about the physiotherapy profession. [Conclusion] The results of this study highlight the need to organize various workshops and lectures about the effectiveness of physiotherapy in various diseases for physicians, on a regular basis, to update them with evidence-based treatment. It is the responsibility of physical therapists to raise the perceptions of other healthcare professionals about their profession.
Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Einas S
ES
Al-Eisa
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hind
H
Al-Hoqail
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Asma S
AS
Al-Rushud
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Azhar
A
Al-Harthi
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Banan
B
Al-Mass
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Bashayer M
BM
Al-Harbi
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sara
S
Al-Azzaz
Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad H
AH
Alghadir
Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Zaheen A
ZA
Iqbal
Awareness; Physicians; Physiotherapy