Abstract
Background Physical therapists have been encouraged to engage in health promotion practice. Health professionals who engage in healthy behaviors themselves are more apt to recommend those behaviors, and patients are more motivated to change their behaviors when their health care provider is a credible role model.
Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the health behaviors and role-modeling attitudes of physical therapists and physical therapist students.
Design This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey.
Methods A national sample of 405 physical therapists and 329 physical therapist students participated in the survey. Participants' attitudes toward role modeling and behaviors related to physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, abstention from smoking, and maintenance of a healthy weight were measured. Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to examine differences in attitudes and behaviors between physical therapists and physical therapist students.
Results A majority of the participants reported that they engage in regular physical activity (80.8%), eat fruits and vegetables (60.3%), do not smoke (99.4%), and maintain a healthy weight (78.7%). Although there were no differences in behaviors, physical therapist students were more likely to believe that role modeling is a powerful teaching tool, physical therapist professionals should “practice what they preach,” physical activity is a desirable behavior, and physical therapist professionals should be role models for nonsmoking and maintaining a healthy weight.
Limitations Limitations of this study include the potential for response bias and social desirability bias.
Conclusions Physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in health-promoting behaviors at similarly high rates but differ in role-modeling attitudes.
Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world,1 the United States ranks only 31st in healthy life expectancy.2 There is mounting evidence that personal behaviors contribute to this disparity between the wealth and health of the nation.3 Behaviors that contribute to morbidity and mortality have been identified, and health professionals have been called on to help their patients adopt healthier lifestyles.4 The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has identified a role for physical therapists in health promotion,5,6 and there is evidence that physical therapists are beginning to include health promotion in their patient management programs.7,8
To be effective in health promotion practice, therapists must understand the factors associated with successful interventions. Researchers have found that health professionals are more likely to engage in health promotion if they believe that they have adequate knowledge and skills,8–10 time,9–11 environmental support,10,12 and remuneration.10 Researchers also have found that health professionals are more likely to promote behaviors they practice themselves.7,9,13,14 Patient-related factors found to be associated with successful health behavior change include patients' beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, readiness to change, and environmental support.15
An additional factor that may influence the success of a health promotion intervention is the credibility of the health professional. Role modeling is a key construct in Bandura's social cognitive theory of behavior change.16 The importance of health professionals in role modeling healthy behaviors has been demonstrated. Researchers have found that patients of physicians who demonstrated healthy behaviors (were at a healthy weight and participated in regular exercise) were more motivated to change their own behaviors and to have more confidence in the counseling they received.17,18 Given this preliminary evidence that suggests the importance of role modeling, researchers in a number of health and education professions have begun to examine personal health behaviors19–23 and role-modeling attitudes within their professions.19,21,24 Findings for health educators, osteopathic physicians, and health education, recreation, and dance professionals were similar, with a majority of respondents in those studies reporting that they participate in regular exercise and abstain from smoking.19–23
Limited research has been published regarding the personal health behaviors of physical therapists. In Goodgold's survey of 257 physical therapists, 81% of the participants reported that they participated in sports or fitness activities.7 In a recent study by Chevan and Haskvitz,25 67% of physical therapists, 63.8% of physical therapist assistants, and 72.4% of physical therapist students reported that they engage in physical activity at the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Several researchers have studied health, education, and fitness professionals' attitudes toward role modeling.19,21,24 The majority of participants in these studies indicated that they believe that they should role model healthy behaviors. No study was found that reported on physical therapists' attitudes toward role modeling.
The current study compared the personal health behaviors of physical therapists and physical therapist students to determine whether they engage in the behaviors that would position them to be role models and examined their attitudes toward the professional responsibility to role model healthy behaviors. From the variety of health-promoting behaviors that could have been chosen for this study, those selected were considered by Reeves and Rafferty26 to be most indicative of a healthy lifestyle: engaging in regular physical activity, eating fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and abstaining from smoking. These 4 behaviors also are behaviors that physical therapists have been shown to discuss with their patients.8
This study sought to answer the following questions:
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Do physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in the personal health behaviors of regular physical activity, adequate daily fruit and vegetable consumption, maintaining a healthy weight, and abstaining from smoking?
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Do physical therapists and physical therapist students believe that they have a professional responsibility to role model healthy behaviors?
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Is there a difference between physical therapists and physical therapist students in personal health behaviors or in attitudes toward the need to role model healthy behaviors?
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Are sociodemographic variables associated with personal health behaviors or attitudes toward role modeling?
The first 2 questions will be answered through a description of reported behaviors. The third question will be answered by comparing the health behaviors and role-modeling attitudes of physical therapists and physical therapist students. Based on the findings of the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which has shown different health behaviors based on age and educational level,27–34 we hypothesized that physical therapist students would be more likely to engage in healthy behaviors than would physical therapists. We also hypothesized that there would be a difference in attitudes toward role modeling with the increased emphasis on theories of behavior change in health promotion courses in current academic programs. The final question examined the relationship between sociodemographic variables and both personal health behaviors and attitudes toward role modeling. Currently, there is no literature reporting on physical therapists' and physical therapist students' attitudes toward role modeling. In addition, there is limited information about the health behaviors of physical therapists and physical therapist students. Results of this study will contribute to this body of literature.
Method
Study Design and Sampling
This study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design.35 The sample size necessary to be able to detect a 10% difference in proportions between physical therapists and physical therapist students in both health behaviors and agreement with role-modeling statements was determined to be 413 participants per group to achieve 95% confidence, an alpha level of .05, and 80% power. With a projected response rate of only 33%, to ensure a sufficient number of returned surveys, the names and addresses of a random sample of 1,240 physical therapists (310 from each of the 4 US census regions) and 1,240 physical therapist students (310 from each of the 4 US census regions) were obtained from APTA.
Participants
Inclusion criteria included physical therapists or physical therapist students aged 18 years and older who were members of APTA and currently residing in the United States. Physical therapists were excluded if they were not currently engaged in either clinical practice or teaching. Physical therapist students were excluded if they were not currently enrolled in an accredited professional (entry-level) physical therapist education program. A total of 759 participants returned surveys, representing a 30.60% return rate. The surveys of 13 participants who did not meet the inclusion criteria and the surveys of 12 participants who did not complete 1 or more of the health behaviors or role-modeling questions were excluded, yielding a final sample of 734 participants: 405 physical therapists and 329 students (Figure). The sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents are reported in Table 1. The largest percentage of physical therapists (54.7%) worked in private or group outpatient practices or health system or hospital outpatient clinics. The 2010 APTA Physical Therapist Member Demographic Profile36 describes members as 68.3% women, and the average age of physical therapists was 43.5 years. In 2010, 54.5% of physical therapists worked in private or group outpatient practices or health system/hospital outpatient clinics. These statistics for physical therapists in 2010 are very similar to those for physical therapists in this sample, suggesting that this sample of physical therapists is representative of physical therapist members of APTA.
Participant flow during the study. Participants were excluded if they did not answer 1 or more questions on either the health behavior questionnaire or the role-modeling attitudes questionnaire. PT=physical therapist, SPT=physical therapist student.
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Physical Therapists (PTs) and Physical Therapist Students (SPTs)a
Survey
The survey consisted of 3 distinct questionnaires (Appendix). The first questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic questions. The second questionnaire asked the participants about personal health behaviors related to physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, weight management, and abstaining from smoking. The third questionnaire asked participants about their attitudes toward role modeling.
In the health behaviors questionnaire, participants were asked if they adhered to current recommendations for regular exercise, adequate fruit and vegetable consumption, abstaining from smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight, using questions adapted from the BRFSS.37 In 2008, the recommendation for physical activity was “Adults should engage in moderate-intensity physical activities for at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days of the week or engage in vigorous-intensity physical activity 3 or more days per week for 20 or more minutes per occasion.”38 Although adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is individually determined and based on personal factors,39 adequate daily fruit and vegetable consumption by the adult population in the United States is tracked and reported as the percentage of adults who consume 5 or more servings per day,31 and, therefore, was used as the operational definition of adequate consumption in this study. The behavior of maintaining a healthy weight was determined by providing participants with a body mass index scale and asking them if they maintained a healthy weight. The behavior of smoking was measured using the definition of smoking used in the BRFSS, which defines smoking as smoking cigarettes.37
Rather than presenting a dichotomous choice for participants regarding their current actions related to each of the 4 behaviors, the health behavior questionnaire allowed participants to choose the answer that best represented their current behavior along a continuum of change for the behavior. The transtheoretical model of behavior change40 identifies 5 stages of change for engaging in a specific behavior: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. An individual is considered to be in the precontemplation stage when there is no intention to take action within the next 6 months with respect to changing or engaging in a particular behavior. Individuals are in the contemplation stage if they are seriously considering a change in their behavior within the next 6 months but are not preparing to change the behavior at the present time. In the preparation stage, the individual intends to take action within the next 30 days and has taken some steps to change the behavior. The action stage has been identified as the stage when an individual has engaged in the behavior for less than 6 months. Individuals are in the maintenance stage if they have engaged in the behavior for 6 months or more. These choices provided more detailed information to the participants about current or intended behaviors. Stage of change terminology was based on wording used in previous studies for physical activity, smoking, and fruit and vegetable consumption.41–43 A new question was developed for this study for the stage of change for the behavior of maintaining a healthy weight.
The third questionnaire was adapted from Cardinal and colleagues' Attitude Toward Role-Modeling Scale.44 This questionnaire originally was developed for use with health, physical education, recreation, and dance (HPERD) professionals and contained statements regarding modeling physical activity and a number of fitness behaviors. This questionnaire has undergone psychometric testing, and the authors report a Cronbach α coefficient of .95 and a split-half reliability of .97 for their final version of the questionnaire.21 The questionnaire was modified to change both the terminology and questions asked. For example, “HPERD professionals” was changed to “physical therapist professionals.” Items on the original version related to stretching and calisthenics were removed, and items related to fruit and vegetable consumption and smoking were added. The survey, with its 3-component questionnaires, was reviewed by 3 content experts and then pilot tested for face validity and test-retest reliability with a convenience sample of 10 physical therapists and 10 physical therapist students recruited from local physical therapist clinics and entry-level academic programs. In the pilot study, participants reported no problems with understanding the questions or wording of the survey. In test-retest reliability analyses, intraclass correlation coefficients of .944 and .913 were found for the health behaviors questionnaire and role-modeling questionnaire, respectively. The Cronbach α coefficient was .979 for internal consistency of the role-modeling questionnaire. No changes were made to the survey after the pilot study.
Procedure
The study was approved by the institutional review boards of the sponsoring agencies. Participants were informed that their names and responses would be kept confidential and that only aggregate data would be used for reporting purposes. Study participants were mailed a package that included the following: a consent form with information about the purpose of the study and the drawing for an incentive gift certificate, the survey, and a stamped return envelope. Reminder postcards were sent to participants who did not return their surveys within 3 weeks. Data collection occurred from March 2009 to June 2009.
Data Analysis
Predictive Analytics Software version 17.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois) was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Frequencies for each of the health behaviors were reported for the study sample as a whole and separately for physical therapists and physical therapist students. Frequencies for agreement with the role-modeling statements were reported for the study population as a whole and separately for physical therapists and physical therapist students. Nonparametric statistics were used to compare groups and analyze associations. Wilcoxon rank sum tests were conducted to examine differences between physical therapists and physical therapist students in health behaviors and role-modeling attitudes. Secondary analyses using logistic regression were carried out to examine relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and both personal health behaviors and role-modeling attitudes. The stages of change for engaging in the behavior were dichotomized by combining the action and maintenance stage of change groups to represent the “engages in the behavior” group and combining the preparation, contemplation, and precontemplation groups to represent the “does not engage in the behavior” group. Role-modeling attitudes were dichotomized by combining “agree” and “strongly agree” to represent the “agree” group and combining the participants who were neutral, disagreed, or strongly disagreed to represent the “does not agree” group.
Role of the Funding Source
This study was supported by an Oakland University Physical Therapy Program research grant.
Results
Health Behaviors
The results of the survey indicate that both physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in health-promoting behaviors at varying levels, depending on the specific behavior (Tab. 2). An overwhelming majority of the study sample reported that they were in either the maintenance or action stage of change for abstaining from smoking (99.4%). A majority of participants reported that they were in either the maintenance or action stage of change for engaging in regular physical activity (80.8%) and maintaining a healthy weight (78.7%). Only 60.3% of the study sample reported that they were in the maintenance or action stages for consuming sufficient fruits and vegetables. No statistically significant difference was found in the health behaviors of physical therapists and physical therapist students (Tab. 2).
Health Behaviors of Physical Therapists (PTs) and Physical Therapist Students (SPTs)
Binary logistic regression modeling was applied to the survey response data to predict the odds of participants engaging in health behaviors (Tab. 3) based on their sociodemographic characteristics. Due to missing sociodemographic items for some participants, the logistic regression modeling was based on 672 participants: 352 physical therapists and 320 physical therapist students. For the behavior of engaging in regular physical activity, those participants with master's degrees were less likely to engage in physical activity than participants holding degrees beyond a master's level (odds ratio [OR]=0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.24–0.93). One variable was related to fruit and vegetable consumption; male participants were 37% less likely than female participants to consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.44–0.90). None of the variables was related to the odds of smoking. Male participants were less likely than female participants to maintain a healthy weight (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.42–0.94).
Logistic Regression Modeling of Respondents' Health Behavior (Dependent Variable: Engage in the Activity [“Yes”])a
Attitudes Toward Role Modeling
The majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed with all 10 statements in the role-modeling questionnaire (Tab. 4). The highest percentage of participants (92.1%) agreed with statement 6: “Abstaining from smoking is a desirable and recommended behavior for physical therapist professionals.” The statement with the next highest level of agreement (91.6%) was statement 5: “Maintaining a healthy weight is a desirable and recommended behavior for physical therapist professionals,” followed closely by statement 3: “Involvement in CDC-recommended levels of regular physical activity is a desirable and recommended behavior for physical therapist professionals” (91.3%). The statement with the lowest level of agreement was statement 9: “It is important for physical therapist professionals to be role models for eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day” (73.2%).
Physical Therapists' (PTs') and Physical Therapist Students' (SPTs') Attitudes Toward Role Modeling
Wilcoxon rank sum tests were carried out to analyze differences between physical therapists and physical therapist students in attitudes toward role modeling. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in 5 statements on the role-modeling attitudes questionnaire. Physical therapist students were more likely than physical therapists to agree with the following statements: “Role modeling is a powerful teaching tool for physical therapists” (P=.028); “It is not enough to simply stay current in the field; physical therapist professionals also must practice what they preach” (P=.001); “Involvement in CDC-recommended levels of regular physical activity is a desirable and recommended behavior for physical therapist professionals” (P=.027); “It is important for physical therapist professionals to role model nonsmoking” (P=.013); and “It is important for physical therapist professionals to role model maintaining a healthy weight” (P=.005) (Tab. 4). Binary logistic regression modeling was applied to the survey response data to predict the odds of participants agreeing with the role-modeling statements (Tab. 5), based on their sociodemographic characteristics. Men were less likely than women to agree that eating 5 or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables is a desirable and recommended behavior for physical therapist professionals (OR=0.61, 95% CI=0.40–0.91). Male participants also were 44% less likely than female participants to agree that it is important for physical therapist professionals to role model maintaining a healthy weight (OR=0.66, CI=0.45–0.97).
Logistic Regression Modeling of Respondents' Role-Modeling Attitudes (Dependent Variable: Agree With Statement)a
Discussion
Health Behaviors
The majority of physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in regular physical activity, eat sufficient fruits and vegetables, abstain from smoking, and maintain a healthy weight. Although caution must be taken in comparing the results of this self-report survey with the results of other self-report surveys because of differences in both the wording and format of the surveys, it appears that physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in all 4 behaviors at a higher level than the general adult population in the United States45–48 and at similar or higher levels than other professional groups.19–23
Physical activity.
In this study, 80.8% of the participants reported that they engage in regular physical activity, a finding remarkably similar to the findings of a previous study of physical therapists7 but higher than the percentage found in a more recent study of physical therapist professionals.25 The difference in findings between this study and the study conducted by Chevan and Haskvitz25 could be due to different wording and format of the surveys. This study was a mailed survey, and it used terminology similar to that in the BRFSS for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, tobacco use, and weight management to be able to compare the findings with the 2009 BRFSS findings for the general adult population for these 4 behaviors. Chevan and Haskvitz25 used an online survey with wording based on the 2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to be able to compare their findings with the 2005 NHIS findings of levels of physical activity for the general population. For example, the Chevan and Haskvitz25 survey included questions that asked respondents to identify how many days each week and for how many minutes they engaged in moderate activities and vigorous activities. These more specific physical activity questions used by the NHIS may provide more reliable estimates of the percentage of the general population and the percentage of physical therapists and physical therapist students who engage in recommended levels of physical activity.
In comparing the results of this study that used BRFSS terminology with the 2009 BRFSS results for physical activity, only 50.9% of adults in the United States reported that they engage in the level of physical activity recommended by the CDC.45 In studies conducted with other health, fitness, and education professional groups,19–21,49 the percentage of participants who reported that they engage in regular physical activity ranged from 41% to 88%. Given the resolution at the 2008 APTA Annual Session of the House of Delegates50 that physical therapists adopt healthy lifestyle choices that include meeting national guidelines for physical activity, this high percentage of physical therapists and physical therapist students who report that they currently engage in recommended levels of physical activity is heartening, but more colleagues should be encouraged to meet the guidelines.
The first hypothesis of this study, that physical therapist students would have healthier behaviors than physical therapists, was not supported. There was no statistically significant difference between the physical therapists and physical therapist students in any of the 4 behaviors, including physical activity. In the general population, a higher percentage of younger adults than older adults adhere to physical activity recommendations.27 Piazza et al51 also found that exercise behavior decreased with age in their survey of 300 female occupational health nurses. Perhaps physical therapists are a unique population who, through education and vocation, better understand the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle and have developed strategies to ensure that they maintain these healthy behaviors throughout their adult lives. If this is the case, physical therapists are ideally suited to engage in discussions with their patients about the benefits of engaging in regular physical activity.
The statistically significant difference in physical activity behavior found on logistic regression between those with a master's degree versus those with a post-master's degree is difficult to understand, especially because there was no statistically significant difference between those with a bachelor's degree and those with a post-master's degree. The higher end of the CI approaches 1.0, a value that indicates no difference between these groups, and it is possible that some associations found between sociodemographic variables and behaviors were primarily due to the large sample size in this study.
Smoking.
More than 98% of participants in this study reported that they do not smoke. In 2009, 82% of the adult population in the United States reported that they currently do not smoke.46 The high percentage of nonsmokers in the physical therapy profession is similar to or higher than the percentage of nonsmokers found in other professional groups.12,13,19,20,23 There was no statistical difference between physical therapists and physical therapist students in this behavior. In the general adult population, higher education is associated with lower rates of smoking.33 Perhaps the comparably high level of education of both physical therapist students and physical therapists may explain why the groups are similar in their high levels of abstaining from smoking. Physical therapists' and physical therapist students' behaviors related to smoking places them in the position of being excellent role models for abstaining from smoking.
Healthy weight.
In this study, 21.3% of the physical therapists and physical therapist students reported that they do not maintain a healthy weight. Although there is evidence from previous studies that younger adults are more likely to maintain a healthy weight than older adults,28 in this study there was no difference found between physical therapists and physical therapist students. Fewer men reported that they maintain a healthy weight, and this finding is similar to findings at a national level reporting more men than women at an unhealthy weight.52 In 2009, more than 63.1% of the general adult population in the United States was either overweight or obese.47 The percentage of participants reported to be overweight in studies conducted with other professional groups19–22 ranges from 29.7% to more than 56%. Although the majority of physical therapists and physical therapist students maintain a healthy weight, there is room for improvement.
Fruit and vegetable consumption.
The health behavior with the lowest level of adherence to CDC recommendations for both the physical therapist group and the physical therapist student group was the behavior of adequate fruit and vegetable consumption. In this study, 60.4% of participants reported that they eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Men were found to have statistically significant lower odds of fruit and vegetable consumption. National studies also have shown a lower level of fruit and vegetable consumption by men.53 However, the percentage of participants in this study who consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day is much higher than the general adult population's reported adherence of 23.3%.48 Few research data are available to allow comparison with other professional groups. In their study of female physicians, Frank et al22 found that on average, participants consumed 3.5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Improvement in this behavior would serve not only to improve the health of physical therapists and physical therapist students but also could lead to physical therapists being more apt to engage their patients in discussions about healthy eating.
Attitudes Toward Role Modeling
The majority of physical therapists and physical therapist students agreed with all 10 statements on the role-modeling attitudes questionnaire. More than 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the 2 general statements that role modeling is a powerful teaching tool and that physical therapists must “practice what they preach.” Physical therapists' and physical therapist students' general attitudes toward role modeling are similar to the general role-modeling attitudes reported for several other health and fitness professionals.24,54
The role-modeling questionnaire included questions about how strongly participants agreed that the particular behavior was a desirable behavior for physical therapist professionals. Participants believed it was important for physical therapist professionals to abstain from smoking, manage their weight, engage in regular physical activity, and consume adequate fruits and vegetables, in that order. However, the questions on the role-modeling questionnaire that asked which behaviors physical therapist professionals should actually role model had slightly different results. The behavior that respondents most strongly believed that it was important for physical therapist professionals to role model was maintaining a healthy weight (89.6%), followed by abstaining from smoking (88.6%). Role modeling physical activity was third, at 87.6%. For a profession that has as its brand motto “Move Forward. Physical Therapy Brings Motion to Life,”55 it was surprising that respondents felt more strongly about the importance of physical therapist professionals maintaining and role modeling a healthy weight and abstaining from smoking than engaging in and role modeling physical activity, although the percentage differences were not large among the 3 behaviors. It could be, as one respondent suggested, in an unsolicited comment written underneath the role-modeling questionnaire, that behaviors related to smoking and weight management are more visible to patients and, therefore, are more important to role model than the behaviors of engaging in physical activity and consuming fruits and vegetables. It also is possible that these responses reflect the respondents' perceptions of the social stigma associated with being overweight and smoking.56,57
Close to a quarter of physical therapists and physical therapist students did not agree with the 2 fruit and vegetable consumption statements—neither the CDC recommendation, nor the need to role model the behavior. Given that adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with weight management and prevention of disease, perhaps physical therapists and physical therapist students should be made more aware of the importance of engaging in this behavior and recommending it to their patients.
The logistic regression identified a statistically significant difference in 2 role-modeling attitudes between male participants and female participants. Both attitudes related to fruit and vegetable consumption, which in turn may be related to the difference found in the actual behavior of male and female participants in fruit and vegetable consumption.
The second hypothesis of this study was supported: that there would be a statistically significant difference in role-modeling attitudes of physical therapists and physical therapist students. The reasons for the differences in role-modeling attitudes between physical therapists and physical therapist students in this study are unclear. As previously suggested, it is possible that different or increased content in health promotion and behavior change theory in the academic curriculum is responsible for this difference in attitudes toward role modeling. It also is possible that this difference is due to discussions in class about professional behaviors and professional responsibilities as they relate to recent professional association initiatives and documents such as Vision 20206 and Core Values.58 As previous research has shown, patients who are aware of the healthy behaviors of their health professionals are more motivated to change their own behaviors.17,18 With this greater awareness of the importance of role modeling, physical therapist students may be more likely to discuss their personal health behaviors with their patients and may be more effective in promoting healthy behaviors among their patients.
Limitations
There are a number of limitations of this study. With self-report surveys, there is a potential for response bias and social desirability bias. Cause and effect and temporality of the variables of health behaviors and role-modeling attitudes cannot be determined because of the cross-sectional study design. This study included only members of APTA. Therefore, results cannot be generalized to physical therapists and physical therapist students who are not members of that professional association. The weight management question was developed specifically for this study and may not have been a valid measure for this behavior. The required sample size to detect a 10% difference in proportions of physical therapists and physical therapist students engaging in the 4 behaviors was 413 per group. This sample size was not achieved, and the actual power of the study was 76%, raising the possibility that a true difference between groups was not detected as the result of inadequate power. The CDC physical activity recommendations have changed since 2008, with a strengthening exercise recommendation added to the aerobic exercise recommendation, and this study did not measure adherence to this additional recommendation. Future research should examine patients' attitudes toward physical therapists discussing health behaviors with them and the impact that role modeling may have on the success of these discussions.
Summary
A majority of physical therapists and physical therapist students engage in regular physical activity, consume sufficient fruits and vegetables, abstain from smoking, and maintain a healthy weight, although there is room for improvement. The importance of role modeling is understood by physical therapists, but more so by physical therapist students. Continuing education in behavior change theory, role modeling, and patient-related factors associated with successful behavior change may be beneficial to physical therapists who did not have academic preparation in this area in their professional program and are not aware of the motivational benefit of discussing their own behaviors with patients. Physical therapists, as key members of the health professional community, should recognize that they have an important role in health promotion. Physical therapists have the educational background, the opportunity, and the credibility, as evidenced by their own behaviors, to successfully engage in discussions about healthy behaviors with their patients.
Appendix.
Survey Instrument Used in the Studya
aPT=physical therapist, PTA=physical therapist assistant, SPT=physical therapist student, SNF=skilled nursing facility, ECF=extended care facility, ICF=intensive care facility, CDC=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Footnotes
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All authors provided concept/idea/research design, data analysis, and consultation (including review of manuscript before submission). Dr Black provided writing, data collection, project management, and fund procurement. Dr Black was a student at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Provo, Utah, at the time this research was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for her Doctor of Science degree in Health Promotion and Wellness.
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This study was supported by an Oakland University Physical Therapy Program research grant.
- Received July 11, 2012.
- Accepted February 5, 2012.
- © 2012 American Physical Therapy Association
References
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