The Profile of Belgian Osteopaths: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: This study gives an update on the characteristics of Belgian osteopaths five years after the Benelux Osteosurvey. Additional new data were collected on their professional identity and views on the profession. Methods: All Belgian osteopaths who could be contacted (n = 1473) were invited to complete a voluntary, online-based, closed-ended survey distributed between May and September 2018. The survey, composed of 52 questions and seven sections, was formally translated from English to Dutch and French and adapted from the original version. Adult, self-defined osteopaths working in Belgium were eligible. Recruitment of participants was performed through all professional associations and the InterMutualistic Agency. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results: The survey was completed by 332 osteopaths. Thirty-one per cent of the respondents were female. Almost all the respondents were self-employed (99.4%); half of them worked as part of a team (47.6%). Most respondents had a 5-year part-time training, and the majority had a previous academic degree, mainly in physical therapy (65.8%). According to respondents, most patients seek care for lumbar non-specific low back, pelvis and neck pain. Most respondents strongly define themselves as osteopaths and advertise themselves exclusively as osteopaths. Conclusions: This survey provided an update of the current characteristics of Belgian osteopathic practitioners and added new information on their professional identity and views on the profession. The information provided could contribute to the body of evidence used by stakeholders and policymakers in the future regulation of the profession in Belgium.

The Austrian Osteopathic Practitioners Estimates and RAtes (OPERA): A cross-sectional survey

“…Although intraoral techniques were the most commonly used techniques for internal and sensitive areas, others (vaginal, rectal, breast), although used to a lesser extent, were used by over one-third to one-half of the respondents. A similar use of these diagnostic and therapeutic techniques was also observed in other European countries [ 7 , 10 , 11 , 16 ]. Only in Italy was the use considerably lower [ 9 ].…”

“…Due to the fact that osteopathy in Austria is not recognised, it falls under the Medical Act, meaning that only physicians and physiotherapists are allowed to practice osteopathy, whereby physiotherapists are only allowed to work with the referral of a physician [ 21 ]. This explains why almost all respondents had preliminary healthcare training, which is in agreement with respondents from Belgium, Spain and Germany where the vast majority had prior training as a physiotherapist [ 7 , 10 , 16 ]. On the other hand, almost one third of respondents of Belgium, Italy and Portugal [ 7 , 9 – 11 ] received a full-time education, which contrasts the two and six percent of Austria and Germany respectively [ 16 ].…”

“…Although a majority of respondents strongly agreed to define themselves as osteopaths and felt that being an osteopath was important to them, only 17% advertised themselves exclusively as osteopaths, which is by far the lowest percentage of all European countries that dealt with this topic, as far as we know [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 16 ]. Thus, it seems that although respondents perceived a strong osteopathic identity, they failed to fully make themselves known to the public as osteopaths.…”

“…The authors demonstrated this by osteopaths working in teams being significantly younger than their colleagues working as sole practitioners. The most common team members have not changed over time and are still physiotherapists and other osteopaths, which is also the case in several other European countries [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 16 ].…”

“…The Osteopathic Practitioners, Estimates and RAtes (OPERA) project from the COME Collaboration has been developed and defined as an internationally-based survey project dedicated to profiling the osteopathic profession across Europe. This OPERA survey has already been conducted in several other European countries (Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain) [7][8][9][10][11], which makes international comparison easier. The survey also includes new information about professional identity and views on the profession, questions that were not included in previous surveys conducted in Austria.…”