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Finding the “Right-Size” Physical Therapy Workforce: International Perspective Across 4 Countries

Tiago S. Jesus, Gerald Koh, Michel Landry, Peck-Hoon Ong, António M.F. Lopes, Peter L. Green, Helen Hoenig
DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20160014 Published 1 October 2016
Tiago S. Jesus
T.S. Jesus, PhD, OT, Portuguese Ministry of Education, Aggregation of Schools of Escariz, 4540-320 Escariz, Portugal.
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Gerald Koh
G. Koh, MBBS, MMed(FM), FCFP, GDGM, MGer, PhD(FM), Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore/National University Health System, Singapore.
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Michel Landry
M. Landry, BScPT, PhD, Doctor of Physical Therapy Division, Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
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Peck-Hoon Ong
P-H. Ong, BAppSc(Phty), MPH, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore/National University Health System.
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António M.F. Lopes
A.M.F. Lopes, BScPT, MSc, Physiotherapy Department, Higher Education School of Health–Alcoitão, Estoril, Portugal.
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Peter L. Green
P.L. Green, DPT, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
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Helen Hoenig
H. Hoenig, MD, MPH, Duke University Medical Center and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, Durham VA Medical Center.
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Figures

Figure 2.
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Figure 2.

Influx of new national physical therapy graduates per year, per 10,000 people. Single point for Bangladesh for the aggregated value (1995–2014). For Portugal, there were no data for 2014. For all countries, the influx was adjusted for the respective countries' population of each year. (source for the adjustment: World Bank. Data. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL. Accessed November 15, 2015.)

Figure 1.
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Figure 1.

How the “right” physical therapist supply can be affected by variables on the physical therapy, national, and international contexts.

Tables

Table 1.
Table 1.

Country Descriptors Related to Population and Territory, Financial Indicators, and Health Care Financing

  • a The World Bank. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/all. Accessed November 15, 2014.

  • b United Nations. Demographic Yearbook. Table 3: Population by Sex, Rate of Population Increase, Surface Area and Density. UN Statistics Division. Available at: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012/Table03.pdf.

Table 2.
Table 2.

Supply of Current PTs, New PT Graduates, and Related Professions, All per 10,000 Peoplea

  • ↵a PT=physical therapist OT=occupational therapist.

  • b In Bangladesh, PTs are not registered. Nonetheless, the World Confederation for Physical Therapy website identifies 350 PTs in the country, and information from the Bangladesh Physiotherapy Association, cited by the local newspaper Dhaka Tribune of June 1, 2014 (http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/jun/01/no-regulatory-body-physiotherapy-graduates), refers for a total of 1,300 PTs ever trained in the country. In any case, the number is lower than 0.1 per 10,000 people.

  • c Portuguese Central Administration from the Health System. Number of registered PTs (ie, 8,192) in December 2014, when choosing “fisioterapeuta” (physical therapist) as a profession at: http://tdt-rhs.min-saude.pt/pages/entradaacss.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fAPP%2fUserProcess%2fDEFAULT.ASPX.

  • d Allied Health Professions Council. Number of PTs fully registered in Singapore (ie, 987). Available at: http://www.healthprofessionals.gov.sg/index.html. Accessed December 2014.

  • e American Physical Therapy Association. Workforce data. Number of fully licensed PTs in the US: 204,000. Available at: http://www.apta.org/workforcedata. Accessed November 2014.

  • f We assume the same figure as in footnote “b,” that is, a total of 1,300 PTs trained in that period. Nearly all of national training occurred after 1994 after a long absence of PT training in the country.

  • g From 2009: Portuguese General Direction of Statistics from Education and Science. Available at: http://www.dgeec.mec.pt/np4/235/. Accessed December 2014. Data not available for 2014. We assume the same value as in 2013 for the calculation of the aggregated value. Until 2008: Lopes M. Prospective Study of the Work Market for Physical Therapist Until 2030 [master dissertation]. Aviero, Portugal: Universidade de Aveiro. 2010. Available [in Portuguese] at: http://ria.ua.pt/bitstream/10773/3469/1/2011000030.pdf.

  • h Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). Number of PT graduates from 1995 to 2014. Information provided by the NYP Registrar's Office in May 2015.

  • i APTA Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. 2012–2013 Fact Sheet Physical Therapist Education Programs. PT graduates in the US for the years between 1995 and 2014 (projected for 2014). Available at: http://www.capteonline.org. Accessed November 2014. For 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002, data were not available, so we calculated the midpoint between the graduates from the previous and following years.

  • j World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). WFOT Human Resources Project 2014, Edited Version. 2014. Available at: http://www.wfot.org/ResourceCentre.aspx. Accessed November 2014.

  • k The World Bank. Physicians (per 1,000 people). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS. Accessed July 2015.

  • l The World Bank. Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.NUMW.P3. Accessed July 2015.

Table 3.
Table 3.

Need Indicators for Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

  • a The World Bank. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/all. Accessed November 15, 2014.

  • b Country-specific data: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington. Available at: http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/. Accessed January 2015. World data: Vos T, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M, et al. Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1,160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380:2163–2196.

Table 4.
Table 4.

Amount of Physical Therapy Education and Licensing and Emigration/Immigration Requirementsa

  • ↵a N=no; Y=yes; A=available, yet not mandatory for unrestricted practice; G=grandfathered, allowed to practice; V=varies by state; PT=physical therapist.

  • b A selected few are sent overseas for training under government scholarships.

  • c A 4-y physical therapy degree will commence in September 2016. Source: http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2014/11/new-allied-health-degree-programmes-at-singapore-institute-of-technology-to-meet-evolving-healthcare-needs-of-singaporeans.php.

Supplementary Data

eTable

Files in this Data Supplement:

  • eTable (PDF) (34 KB) - This PDF contains the following supplement:
    • eTable. Physical Therapy Scope of Practice in Relation to Other Professions
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Vol 96 Issue 10 Table of Contents
Physical Therapy: 96 (10)

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Finding the “Right-Size” Physical Therapy Workforce: International Perspective Across 4 Countries
Tiago S. Jesus, Gerald Koh, Michel Landry, Peck-Hoon Ong, António M.F. Lopes, Peter L. Green, Helen Hoenig
Physical Therapy Oct 2016, 96 (10) 1597-1609; DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20160014

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Finding the “Right-Size” Physical Therapy Workforce: International Perspective Across 4 Countries
Tiago S. Jesus, Gerald Koh, Michel Landry, Peck-Hoon Ong, António M.F. Lopes, Peter L. Green, Helen Hoenig
Physical Therapy Oct 2016, 96 (10) 1597-1609; DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20160014
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