Identifying metaphors towards physiotherapists

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify mental images that physiotherapists and student physiotherapists have regarding the concept of physiotherapist through metaphors. The study was a mixed-methods research that combined latent content analysis and categorical data analysis. Data were collected from 207 physiotherapists or physiotherapy students. Content analysis, a qualitative method, was performed on the raw data, which was composed of each participant’s statement completing the following sentence “Physiotherapist is like… because…”. Metaphors for physiotherapists were centered around 12 concepts. Most cited metaphor by student physiotherapists was “healer” (29.4%) and it was “guiding” (17.2%) for in-service physiotherapists. The rate of the "negative connotation" category in in-service physiotherapists (7.1%) was 2% higher than that of the student physiotherapists. Women mostly emphasized the "healer" (21.9%) category, while men mostly emphasized the "healer" and "supporter" (17.8%) categories. Participants aged under 25 and 26–35 age group were mostly in the "healer" category (26.4% and 18.8%, respectively) but the participants aged 36 years and over mostly opted for "guiding" and "supporter" (20.0%). There were fundamental differences between student physiotherapists and in-service physiotherapists in terms viewpoint regarding physiotherapy as a profession, and that these differences vary by gender and especially by age. During the undergraduate period, it will be beneficial to ensure that students have a realistic perspective with versatile training programs.