ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS ABOUT RESEARCH IN PHYSICAL THERAPY AMONG UNDERGRADUATES AND POSTGRADUATES OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: In Pakistan, physiotherapy is among the neglected health professions mainly due to fewer resources and requiring much research. Research has gained much acceptance in physiotherapy, but as there is little data available, the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour of physiotherapists towards research should be assessed.

Objective: To determine the attitude and perception of Physical Therapy Undergraduates and Post-graduates towards research and Evidence-Based Practice.

Materials and Methods: It was an observational cross-sectional study on 246 subjects. Inclusion criteria were undergraduate students between 18-30 years and postgraduate physiotherapy students with MS/MPHIL in any significant subject relevant to Physical Therapy with two years of experience.

Results: Out of 246 participants, 65 (26%) were males and 182 (74%) were females, The mean age of participants was 24.4±2.25. Both Undergraduates (56.5%) and post-graduates (43.5%) were included in the study. The results showed that out of 246 participants, 146 (59.3%) had necessary knowledge about research, 214 (87%) had a positive perception about research and 195 (79.2%) had a positive attitude towards research and intended to regularly participate in the research process.

Conclusion: This study concludes that most undergraduates and postgraduates of physical therapy have a positive attitude towards research, and about half have the necessary knowledge of evidence-based practice; undergraduates and postgraduates presented similar results. Most of them desired to participate in research in the future regularly.