Build Insight, Change Thinking, Inform Action: Considerations for Increasing the Number of Indigenous Students in Canadian Physical Therapy Programmes.

Abstract

Purpose: We explored the perspectives of experts on increasing the recruitment of Indigenous students into Canadian physical therapy (PT) programmes. Methods: For this qualitative interpretivist study, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with individuals with expertise in encouraging Indigenous students to pursue higher education, recruiting them into PT programmes, or both. Data were organized using NVivo and analyzed using the DEPICT method, which included inductive and deductive coding to develop broader themes. Results: Analyzing the participants' perspectives revealed three themes, which could be layered sequentially, so that each informed the next: (1) building insight by increasing awareness of structural forces and barriers; (2) changing thinking, using a paradigm shift, from the dominant Eurocentric orientation to a view that respects the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples; and (3) informing action by recommending practical strategies to facilitate the recruitment of Indigenous students into Canadian PT programmes. Conclusions: This is the first study to provide evidence of the structural considerations, barriers to, and facilitators of increasing the recruitment of Indigenous students into Canadian PT programmes.