Teaching and Assessing Advocacy in Canadian Physiotherapy Programmes.

Area of Science:

• Physiotherapy education
• Professional advocacy competencies

Background:

• Advocacy is crucial in physiotherapy (PT) practice.
• Universities must integrate advocacy teaching and assessment into PT curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current educational practices for teaching and assessing advocacy in Canadian PT programs.
• Identify barriers to advocacy education and assessment.
• Propose solutions for enhancing these educational practices.

Main Methods:

• Convergent parallel mixed-methods design.
• Online surveys for PT program teachers and coordinators.
• Telephone interviews with clinical supervisors.
• Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses.

Main Results:

• Advocacy competencies are broadly included in Canadian PT curricula.
• Unequal assessment of all advocacy competencies was observed.
• Barriers include lack of role clarity, suitable teaching/assessment strategies, time, and practice opportunities.
• Student motivation and personal experiences influence advocacy development.

Conclusions:

• Clarify the definition of advocacy in PT.
• Provide guidance for explicit and concrete teaching and assessment of advocacy.
• Implement a staged approach to advocacy education throughout the curriculum.
• Normalize advocacy as a core PT domain.