THE BARRIERS TO AND FACILITATORS OF SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPISTS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
Background: Professional development is important across healthcare sector. Physiotherapists have been growing in number globally, particularly in the UK. Therefore, it is important to understand these individuals’ attitudes towards participation in continuing professional development (CPD). The facilitators and barriers associated with physiotherapists’ involvement in CPD were explored in this study because existing literature has not explored these factors for sports physiotherapists specifically.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the facilitators and barriers that influence the participation of sports physiotherapists in three types of CPD activities.
Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to sports physiotherapists using the online platform SurveyMonkey.
Results: Results showed that the main facilitator for short clinical courses, academic courses, and mentorship was “Improve my skill” at 90.2%, 73.5%, and 83.3%, respectively. The main barrier to participation in short courses and academic courses was “lack of time” at 70.6% and 61.8%, respectively. Lack of finances was also considered a main barrier for undertaking short courses at 60.8% and academic courses at 71.6%. However, the main barrier for undertaking mentorship was location at 60.8%.
Conclusion: Sports physiotherapists are motivated to participate in CPD and to improve their skills. However, there were barriers to theses individuals’ motivation indicating a need for more support from their employers to overcome said barriers.