The Second Physical Therapy Summit on Global Health: developing an action plan to promote health in daily practice and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases

Abstract

Based on indicators that emerged from The First Physical Therapy Summit on Global Health (2007), the Second Summit (2011) identified themes to inform a global physical therapy action plan to integrate health promotion into practice across the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) regions. Working questions were: (1) how well is health promotion implemented within physical therapy practice; and (2) how might this be improved across five target audiences (i.e. physical therapist practitioners, educators, researchers, professional body representatives, and government liaisons/consultants). In structured facilitated sessions, Summit representatives (n ¼ 32) discussed: (1) within WCPT regions, what is working and the challenges; and (2) across WCPT regions, what are potential directions using World Cafe´T M methodology. Commonalities outweighed differences with respect to strategies to advance health-focused physical therapy as a clinical competency across regions and within target audiences. Participants agreed that health-focused practice is a professional priority, and a strategic action plan was needed to develop it as a clinical competency. The action plan and recommendations largely paralleled the principles and objectives of the World Health Organization's non-communicable diseases action plan. A third Summit planned for 2015 will provide a mechanism for follow-up to evaluate progress in integrating health-focused physical therapy within the profession.

A clinical reasoning model focused on clients’ behaviour change with reference to physiotherapists: its multiphase development and validation

“…This approach may facilitate client participation in care and treatment and improve outcomes (Gatchel et al, 2007;Laisne, Lecomte, and Corbiere, 2012). In a vision of the physiotherapy profession in the twentyfirst century, a biopsychosocial approach and competencies in health behaviour change have been advocated (Dean et al, 2011(Dean et al, , 2014. Thus, the traditional focus on physical and pathological factors has been challenged.…”

“…The literature describes a range of strategies and methods that can be used to address behaviour change in clients (Linton and Shaw, 2011;Michie et al, 2009). To facilitate physiotherapists' translation of this knowledge to daily practice, user-friendly implementation formats have been advocated (Dannapfel, Peolsson, and Nilsen, 2013;Dean et al, 2014). Thus, a rational starting point for knowledge translation is a conceptual model related to clinical reasoning with a focus on clients' behaviour change in the physiotherapy context based on theory, evidence and experience-based knowledge of experts in the field.…”

A qualitative study exploring the views of individuals with knee osteoarthritis on the role of physiotherapists in weight management: A complex issue requiring a sophisticated skill set

“…This research adds to a significant contemporary conversation about the role of weight management and physiotherapists (Dean, 2009;Dean et al, 2011Dean et al, , 2014Dean et al, , 2016 in knee OA, critically from the perspectives of individuals with knee OA. The complex nature of weight and the need for a healthcare practitioner to have highly developed skills and a rapport with patients, in order to provide optimal weight management support, were emphasized.…”

“…Nonetheless, the scope of healthcare has never been stagnant and evolves with society's public health needs. Over the past decade, leading physiotherapy bodies have advocated for physiotherapists to align with the World Health Organization's health priorities to address obesity (Dean, ; Dean et al, , ). The present study provides some insight into the way in which physiotherapists can be involved in weight management in an acceptable manner to patients, and highlights some of the potential barriers, including patient perceptions of the professional scope of practice and expertise.…”

“…Nonetheless, the scope of healthcare has never been stagnant and evolves with society's public health needs. Over the past decade, leading physiotherapy bodies have advocated for physiotherapists to align with the World Health Organization's health priorities to address obesity (Dean, 2009;Dean et al, 2014Dean et al, , 2016 Several methodological factors should be considered when interpreting the present study. Participants were from across Australia, with exposure to the Australian healthcare system; therefore, the findings may not be completely generalizable to other sociocultural environments.…”