Purpose: Collaboration and interprofessional practices are
highly valued in health systems everywhere, partly based on
the rationale that they improve outcomes of care for people
with complex health problems, such as low back pain.
Research in the area of low back pain also supports the
involvement of different health professionals in the interventions
for people who present this condition. The aim of this
studywas to identify factors influencing the interprofessional
practices of physiotherapists working in private settings with
people with low back pain.
Relevance: Physiotherapists, like other health professionals,
are encouraged to engage in interprofessional practices in
their dailywork. However, to date, very little is known of their
interprofessional practices, especially in private settings.
Understanding physiotherapists' interprofessional practices
and their influencing factors will notably advance knowledge
relating to the organisation of physiotherapy services
for people with low back pain.
Participants: Participants in this study were 13 physiotherapists
including 10 women and 3 men, having between 3
and 22 years of professional experience, and working in one
of 10 regions of the Province of Quebec (Canada). In order
to obtain maximal variation in the perspectives, participants
were selected using a recruitment matrix including three criteria:
duration of professional experience, work location, and
physical proximity with other professionals.
Methods: Thiswas a descriptive qualitative study using faceto-
face semi-structured interviews as the main method of data
collection. An interview guide was developed based on an
evidence-derived frame of reference. Each interview lasted
between 55 and 95 minutes and was transcribed verbatim.
Analysis: Qualitative analyses took the form of content
analysis, encompassing data coding and general thematic
regrouping. NVivo version 8 was used to assist data organisation
and analysis.
Results: Multiple factors influencing the interprofessional
practices of physiotherapists were identified. The main factors
include the consulting person's health condition, the
extent of knowledge on health professionals' roles and fields
of practice, the proximity and availability of professional
resources, as well as daily work schedules.
Conclusions: Our findings highlight the influence of multiple
factors on physiotherapists' interprofessional practices,
including professional practice and organisational issues.
However, further research on the interprofessional practices
of physiotherapists is still required. Research priorities targeting
the views of other health professionals, as well as
those of services users, would enhance our comprehension
of interprofessional practices of physiotherapists.
Implications: This study provides new insights that improve
our understanding of the interprofessional practices of physiotherapists
working in private settings with people with
low back pain, more specifically on the factors influencing
these practices. Based on our findings, implementing changes
such as improving current and future health professionals'
knowledge of the fields and roles of other health professionals
through training may contribute to positively influencing
interprofessional practices.
Keywords: Interprofessional practices; Private practice; Low
back pain
Funding acknowledgements: This research was supported
in part by a B.E. Schnurr Memorial Fund Research Grant
administered by the Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada, as
well as from a clinical research partnership in physiotherapy
between the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network
(REPAR) and the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie
du Québec (OPPQ). KP received doctoral-level scholarships
from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and
the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité
du travail (IRSST). CE Dionne is a FRSQ senior Research
Scholar.
Ethics approval: This project was approved by the ethics
research committee of the Institut de réadaptation en
déficience physique de Québec
