This descriptive survey study aimed to identify the priority of educational needs for home-based rehabilitation services among physical therapists with experience in home physical therapy. The findings will serve as a foundational resource for the eff...
This descriptive survey study aimed to identify the priority of educational needs for home-based rehabilitation services among physical therapists with experience in home physical therapy. The findings will serve as a foundational resource for the effective development of practical training programs for home physical therapists. A survey tool, developed by the researcher based on prior domestic studies, including an occupational analysis of physical therapy in Korea, was utilized in this study. Responses were collected from 101 physical therapists who had participated in home rehabilitation service pilot projects or had experience in home physical therapy. The educational needs were analyzed using Borich's needs assessment formula and the Locus for Focus model.
The results revealed that ‘Accident prevention and management’ was the top-priority domain for educational needs, with the specific items ‘Emergency Response and Management’ and ‘Pressure ulcer prevention and care’ identified as the highest-priority educational needs. Additionally, two other domains, ‘Physical Therapy Interventions’ and ‘Education and Counseling,’ along with twelve items—such as ‘Swallowing function enhancement,’ ‘Urinary training,’ ‘Respiratory rehabilitation,’ ‘Cognitive enhancement programs,’ ‘Respiratory rate and volume monitoring,’ ‘Nutritional status monitoring,’ ‘Goal setting and intervention planning,’ ‘Cognitive status assessment,’ ‘Caregiver counseling and safety education,’ ‘Personal and environmental hygiene management,’ ‘Medical equipment use and management,’ and ‘Health education’—were identified as secondary priorities.
In conclusion, the development of training programs for home physical therapists should prioritize the highest-ranked educational needs identified in this study to ensure the practical and effective education of therapists in home-based rehabilitation services.