Research in the 1980s: World trends in physiotherapy research

Abstract

A survey of the physiotherapy journals of five major English-speaking countries, namely Physiotherapy (UK), Physical Therapy (USA), Physiotherapy Canada, the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy and the South African Journal of Physiotherapy, was conducted to determine the current areas of, and trends in, physiotherapy research. The period reviewed was from 1980 to 1989. The greatest physiotherapy research interests were the musculoskeletal system/therapy and education/administration. The number of descriptive papers decreased and the number of experimental trials increased. There was an increase, too, in the use of statistical analyses of data. In all the journals reviewed, there was an increase in the number of first authors who were physiotherapists with higher academic qualifications. These findings suggest that there is an increased trend towards more scientifically based experimental trials in physiotherapy research and towards publishing articles written by more highly academically qualified physiotherapists.