Exploring physiotherapist experiences and beliefs about psychologically informed practice to inform development of a training programme

Aim

To explore physiotherapists' experiences, beliefs, and opinions about psychologically informed practice (PIP) in order to design a training programme for non-psychologist clinicians to enhance their PIP skills.

Design

This study adopted an interpretive description qualitative methodology using focus groups and consistent with the aim of generating knowledge relevant to applied health and to inform the design of a training programme.

Participants

Phase one included musculoskeletal physiotherapists (n=18) who were purposively sampled to take part in two focus groups. A third focus group consisted of pain specialist physiotherapists (n=6) recruited from a specialist network in the UK called the Physiotherapy Pain Association (PPA) to explore further topics identified in phase one and to inform training development.

Data analysis and synthesis

Qualitative content analysis was used as a framework for data analysis and consisted of subjective interpretation of textual data through a systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns.

Results

Three interconnected themes that provide insights into the perceptions and experiences of physiotherapists concerning PIP were constructed: 1) Professional Roles and External Influences on PIP, 2) Interpersonal Aspects of PIP, and 3) Support Needs to Enhance PIP Application.

Conclusion

The findings provide an understanding of the multifaceted nature of PIP and its impact within healthcare settings. They will inform development of training to address gaps and provide practical strategies for enhancing PIP for non-psychologists.

Contribution of the paper

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  Our findings concur with existing literature regarding application of psychologically informed practice; that physiotherapists recognise that there are challenges in applying knowledge and skills relating to psychologically informed practice.
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  With increasing complexity and numbers of people living with multiple long-term conditions it is important for physiotherapists to increase their confidence in order to ensure they are considering the psycho-social aspects of care for this population.
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  A desire for training in psychologically informed practice was expressed and in addition supervision and mentorship was recognised as essential in supporting clinicians to embed skills and increase confidence.