Differences between physical therapists in attention paid to patient education

Abstract

This article describes differences between physical therapists in terms of the attention they pay to educating patients. The differences between therapists were identified from audiotaped treatment sessions of 1837 patients, recorded by physical therapists in non-institutional care in the Netherlands. Trained judges assessed the quantity and the quality of the education by means of a checklist. Therapists′ opinions about patient education and their work setting were also examined as possible factors associated with between-therapist differences.

The results showed that the therapists differed in their opinions about patient compliance, the number of exercise instructions given to their patients, the amount of stress-related counselling and the attention given to patients′ demands and perceptions. Those therapists with high expectations about the effects of education compliance paid more attention to the education of their patients. The results also indicated that therapists who spent more time with their patients had a better relationship with them.