Swedish physical therapists' beliefs on what makes therapy work

The purpose of this study was to find out what practicing physical therapists believe to be the most important factors in successful treatments.

A national random sample of 187 Swedish physical therapists received the survey instrument by mail. The response rate was 76%.

On the basis of a pilot interview study and literature review, a survey instrument was constructed consisting of 22 Likert-type items and various demographic variables.

The findings indicated that a majority of the respondents believed that the patient's own resources and the patient-therapist relationship rather than the treatment techniques are the most important factors in explaining why physical therapy works. Most physical therapists endorsed a holistic view of treatment (pertaining to the whole person, not just body parts), although significantly more women than men supported this viewpoint. Other background factors had no relationship to the beliefs and attitudes expressed.

The findings are discussed within the framework of attribution theory, and in the context of viewing physical therapy as an applied biomedical science or a caring profession. In this study, the view of physical therapy as a caring profession prevailed among the majority of the physical therapists.