Introduction The pelvis and its floor play an integral role in everyday quality of life for both women and men. Survey research on women’s health content in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs has helped develop curricular structure for entry-level therapists. Characteristics of content presented on men’s pelvic health (MPH) in DPT programs is unknown. 2019: The Section on Women’s Health voted to change their name to the Academy of Pelvic Health to be all inclusive.
Objective To examine current entry-level content on MPH in DPT programs, perceived barriers to content delivery, and to support future entry-level curricular development.
Participants Program directors or faculty responsible for pelvic health content at CAPTE accredited DPT programs across the United States.
Methods Online surveys sent to 239 DPT programs nationally Questions based on literature review and Boissonault’s research. (likert scale, choose all, open-ended) Quantitative and qualitative data regarding MPH content collected: opinions, hours taught, topics covered, barriers, demographics
Results Response rate: 23 percent (55 programs) 60.0 percent strongly agree that MPH should be taught in entry-level DPT programs. 23.6 percent reported spending less than 1 hour teaching men’s pelvic health content. 63.3 percent reported “time” as the largest barrier. Qualitative themes: men’s pelvic health curriculum, barriers, plans for inclusion of men’s pelvic health content. Sub-themes: lack of time in DPT curricula, faculty knowledge to instruct, viewed as a specialty PT, lack of curricular guidelines.
Conclusions Basic MPH perceived as entry-level by participants and should be included in DPT curriculum. Lumbo-pelvic musculoskeletal dysfunction is a key component to evidence based practice. Male pelvis is an integral part of musculoskeletal dysfunction and perceived as important for entry-level identification and referral. MPH content delivery is inconsistent across programs. Barriers identified include: time constraints, experienced faculty, clinical importance.
Clinical Relevance Male pelvic musculoskeletal dysfunction treatment is an entry-level skill. MPH curricular content can improve clinical awareness of pelvic health options for male patients, leading to higher quality recognition and referral. Improvement of care provided by entry-level physical therapists
