Work Practices of Rural and Remote Physiotherapists

Abstract

Physiotherapists in rural and remote areas face challenges in their service delivery. The challenge is to provide accessible and comprehensive services to rural and remote Australians. Research was undertaken regarding the work practices of physiotherapists and the availability of other health professionals in rural and remote South Australia and Northern Territory. Rural and remote area physiotherapists in this study are likely to be sole practitioners with a generalist practice. The high number who have practising rights at public hospitals gives rise to service delivery with a wide range of clients and reduced opportunity for specialisation. In addition, the demand for physiotherapists to be multiskilled is increased with the lower number of resident medical specialists and allied health professionals in rural areas. Greater access to other professionals for rural and remote Australians may come from the development of resource networks supported by regional organisation of resources and infrastructure.

Validity and reliability of Internet-based physiotherapy assessment for musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review

“…6,7 The incidence of MSDs is noted to be higher in rural populations due to the lack of available healthcare and rehabilitation services. 8,9 Telerehabilitation (TR) may be a potential solution to deliver remote rehabilitation services using information and communication technology to address this rural healthcare disparity. 10 Recent advancement in computer software, biosensors and communication technology has allowed clinicians to administer various TR-based applications in the field of health sciences.…”

Rural rehabilitation practice: perspectives of occupational therapists and physical therapists in British Columbia, Canada

“…However, the effect of these characteristics on rural rehabilitation practice differs [25][26][27] . Nurses and physicians in rural communities characteristically work alongside each other or within a team 17 , whereas OTs and PTs in rural areas are more likely to work in sole charge positions or in settings such as the community with very few other healthcare professionals 24,28 . OTs and PTs working in rural areas have been found to practice with a high level of autonomy 29 .…”

Service Level Decision‐making in Rural Physiotherapy: Development of Conceptual Models

“…This conceptual representation provides insight into the complexity of rural physiotherapy service provision and reveals the potential for variation in local services. The variation and diversity that are features of rural communities and health services (Sheppard, 2001;Humphreys, 2009) require consideration of local context, external influences, the availability of other services and issues of access to specific services required by people in the local community. Viewing service provision through a single lens, such as workforce availability, risks generation of only partial solutions to the challenge of delivering sustainable rural health services.…”