Perception of medical professionals on physiotherapy profession in delhi – a survey

Background: Physiotherapy is a form of rehabilitation science which helps to make a difference in an individual’s ability to live an active and healthy lifestyle. For many physiotherapists working in India, the primary source of reference is a physician. An aware physician can timely refer patients for physiotherapy who can in turn plan an effective management without making the rehabilitation journey taxing. This article will serve us to know about the knowledge and acceptance of physiotherapy and also to determine the extent of awareness and their perception among medical practitioners. Method & Methodology: The study sample consisted of 98 subjects who all are from Delhi from which 16 were excluded and 82 were included in a study. A detailed self-administered questionnaire including close ended questions was given to practitioners through online creating Google Form and generating its link , then asked them to fill and submit the form for assess the perception of physiotherapy among the medical Professionals. Result: There is significant lack of referral rate to different specialized field of physiotherapy among Delhi’s Medical practitioners. Various factors have been identified as a possible reason for low awareness among them as low level of education about Physiotherapy profession, its working criteria, protocols, new advancement in electro modalities, manual therapy and so on. Conclusion: Medical practitioners have great insight about the Physiotherapy profession. But it is observed that they are aware of different approaches but their referral rate to Gynecological, pediatrics and Geriatric care physiotherapist are less. The factors noted in this survey for low awareness were in accordance with most literature findings. The significant decrease in awareness requires more amount of knowledge to be given in the Medical field.