Understanding colonialism and its influences on contemporary physiotherapy education and research: students’ perspectives on decolonializing solutions

ABSTRACT

Background

Compared to other health professions, physiotherapy is a relatively new profession in Malawi and the United States, yet in both countries, past colonialism has influenced current physiotherapy education and research. The authors of this article are from Malawi and the United States, and they worked collaboratively to explore the impact of colonialization on physiotherapy education and research in their respective locations, and to discuss the similarities and contextual differences. Decolonializing physiotherapy education and research must begin by identifying how colonialization currently manifests within the profession.

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to spark discussion about colonialization in physiotherapy education and research.

Discussion

Although decolonialization literature specific to physiotherapy is limited, the literature gathered about physiotherapy and other health professions prompted generative discussion and reflection among the authors. These discussions and reflections led to student-driven recommendations that are outlined in this article and could be included in the decolonialization efforts in physiotherapy.

Conclusion

We propose that reflecting on how colonialism has influenced physiotherapy education and research could lead to international collaborations that support decolonialization in physiotherapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Global health
• physiotherapy/physical therapy education
• physiotherapy/physical therapy research
• decolonialization

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Aubrey Baier and Jessica Liu for their assistance preparing this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.