Professional practice pattern and outlook of physiotherapists in Nigeria

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalent job holding, patient management activity and priorities, and training preferences among physiotherapists in Nigeria. One hundred and eighty-one physiotherapists from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria were surveyed with a questionnaire that assesses their practice profile and outlook, and practice patterns and priorities in patient management activities. Participants spend most part of their direct care time on orthopedic and general surgery (40%) and medicine and neurological conditions (40%). Histories including prior level of functions (84.6%) and activities of daily living (ADL) function test (77.9%) are examination priorities among the physiotherapists in Nigeria, whereas ADL training (81.8%), gait (78.5%) training and pain control (86.2%) are their priority areas of intervention. A simple majority of the Nigerian physiotherapists (54.7%) use evidence in selecting procedures for their intervention and an overwhelming majority indicated preference for clinical doctorate entry-level education (72.9%) and clinical specialization (74.6%) as postgraduate training route. Professional practice activities and preferences of Nigerian physiotherapists offer insights into the potential goals and the direction of physiotherapy professional growth in this African country.