📄 Abstract
Background: Physiotherapists play an increasingly important role in the prevention, assessment, and management of movement disorders and chronic health conditions. In many healthcare systems, physiotherapists function as first-contact practitioners through direct access models. However, public awareness of the scope of physiotherapy practice and acceptance of physiotherapists as primary healthcare professionals remain limited in several countries. Understanding public perception is essential for improving healthcare utilization, promoting direct access to physiotherapy, and strengthening the role of physiotherapists within primary healthcare. Objective: To assess public perception of physiotherapy as a primary healthcare profession and identify factors associated with positive perception and willingness to consult physiotherapists as first-contact healthcare providers. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 520 adults aged 18 years and above recruited from urban and semi-urban communities using multistage sampling. Participants completed a validated self-administered questionnaire consisting of five domains: demographic characteristics, awareness of physiotherapy, knowledge of physiotherapy scope of practice, perception of physiotherapists as primary healthcare professionals, and willingness to access physiotherapy services directly. Knowledge and perception scores were calculated using standardized Likert-scale responses. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, Chi-square tests, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean age of participants was 34.8 ± 11.7 years, and 52.5% were female. Overall, 78.1% had previously heard of physiotherapy, while 46.9% had received physiotherapy treatment at least once. Although 82.7% correctly identified physiotherapy as beneficial for musculoskeletal conditions, awareness of its role in neurological rehabilitation (51.5%), cardiopulmonary rehabilitation (38.4%), women's health (34.6%), pediatric rehabilitation (41.2%), and preventive healthcare (43.8%) was considerably lower. The mean perception score was 74.6 ± 10.8 (possible range: 20–100). Overall, 68.3% of participants considered physiotherapists competent primary healthcare professionals, and 64.8% expressed willingness to consult a physiotherapist directly for common musculoskeletal complaints without physician referral. Participants with previous physiotherapy experience demonstrated significantly higher perception scores than those without prior exposure (79.3 ± 9.4 vs. 70.5 ± 10.6; p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression identified previous physiotherapy experience (β = 0.34, p < 0.001), higher educational level (β = 0.27, p < 0.001), and greater knowledge of physiotherapy services (β = 0.41, p < 0.001) as independent predictors of positive perception. Binary logistic regression demonstrated that previous physiotherapy experience (Adjusted OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.71–4.05), higher education (Adjusted OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.24–2.88), and greater knowledge scores (Adjusted OR = 3.12, 95% CI: 2.11–4.61) significantly increased the likelihood of willingness to seek direct-access physiotherapy. Conclusion: Although awareness of physiotherapy was generally satisfactory, important misconceptions regarding the profession's scope of practice remain. Previous exposure to physiotherapy, higher educational attainment, and greater knowledge were independently associated with more favourable perceptions and greater acceptance of physiotherapists as first-contact healthcare providers. Public education initiatives and advocacy programmes highlighting the comprehensive role of physiotherapy may improve utilization of physiotherapy services and facilitate broader acceptance of physiotherapists within primary healthcare systems.
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📚 How to Cite:
Dr. Neha Parmar , PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF PHYSIOTHERAPY AS A PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROFESSION: A COMMUNITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY , Volume 12 , Issue 7, July 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 1105 - 1113 ,