Emergency department physiotherapists: consideration of perceived barriers and facilitators to help optimise their role in the Australian emergency department.

Questions: What are the current barriers and facilitators to the role of ED physiotherapists? How do ED physiotherapists believe their role may be optimised within the context of the ED?

Design: Mixed methods study using a cross sectional survey.

Participants: Australian physiotherapists currently providing services to patients within an Australian emergency department.

Intervention: N/A.

Outcome measures: The survey included questions related to the level of integration of ED physiotherapy into emergency department teams and wider health system, and open answer questions to identify the factors which impact and influence ED physiotherapy practice, and the future of ED physiotherapy.

Results: 1 - Organisational culture, 2 - training and credentialling, 3 - governance, legislation and policies, 4 - funding, and 5 - advocacy and research were the five major themes generated from participant comments on existing facilitators and barriers to their role and the role of ED physiotherapists nationally. Six themes were generated from participant comments regarding the strategies to overcome barriers and facilitate an increased contribution by ED physiotherapists in the future: 1 - Training opportunities and specialisation pathways, 2 - Organisational culture, 3 - Governance, legislation and policies, 4 - Funding, 5 - Advocacy, 6 - Medicolegal Risks.

Conclusion: Australian emergency department physiotherapists perceive their roles and emergency physiotherapy service provision to be impacted by complex and multi-factorial influences. The overall contribution of ED physiotherapy is susceptible to influence from non-linear interactions of various agents and factors which span all levels of the health system.

Trial registration: N/A.