Physiotherapists’ perception of physicians’ referral of patients for physiotherapy in the Nigerian health system

Abstract

Background As the physiotherapy profession gradually evolves into a more autonomous profession, physicians continue to play a major role in the clinical practice of physical therapists globally, particularly as a source of patient referral. Therefore, an evaluation of Nigerian physiotherapists’ (NPTs) perception of physician’s referral (PR) of patients for physiotherapy may be a critical indicator of the relationship between the two professionals in the Nigerian health sector. The objective of the study was to determine the perception of Nigerian NPTs on the PR of patients for physiotherapy and the influence of demographic characteristics on the perception. The study was an online survey involving one hundred and fifty-four respondents. The instrument for the study was an 11-item self-developed questionnaire with two domains: demographics and perception. The participants were blind respondents reached through different physiotherapists’ WhatsApp platforms in Nigeria. The responses were collated electronically after 2 months and analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results The respondents have a negative perception of the 9 out of the 11-questionnaire items that were used to test the physiotherapists’ perception of the physicians’ referral of patients for physiotherapy in Nigeria health facilities. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) across the respondents’ gender, place of employment, areas of specialization, and educational qualifications and the respondents’ perception of doctors’ referrals of patients for physiotherapy. However, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in each of the participants’ perceptions across the respondents’ years of practice, with the participants who had less than 5 years of practice having the least score. Conclusions Nigerian physiotherapists have a negative perception of physicians’ referral of patients for physiotherapy, and the perception was only influenced by the years of practice of the respondents.

Physiotherapy practice in women’s health: awareness and attitudes of obstetricians and gynecologists in Ghana

“…Physicians, including obstetricians and gynecologists are at the ‘top of the pyramid’ of health professionals, and have profound influences on other health workers including physiotherapists, in terms of making the appropriate referrals [ 15 ]. The issue of delayed involvement of physiotherapy by most physicians has been of great concern to physiotherapists [ 16 , 17 ]. In order for patients to be referred to other members of the multidisciplinary team, health professionals need to understand each other’s role and contribution towards patients’ care [ 18 ].…”