ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the integration of medicine and exercise in China in rehabilitation therapists practitioners. Methods:From May to June, 2019, rehabilitation therapists in provincial and municipal medical institutions, health management centers and rehabilitation institutions nationwide were surveyed with Wenjuanxing online questionnaires, which included basic information, geographical distribution, nature of work units, occupational characteristics, educational background, years of working and awareness of exercise prescriptions. Results:A total of 2935 rehabilitation-related employees were involved, which included 1387 male and 1548 female in 31 provinces. In all the respondents, 1505 of them (51.28%) worked in tertiary hospitals and 1015 (34.58%) in secondary hospitals; 2182 (74.34%) worked on physical therapy, 947 (32.27%) on occupational therapy, 553 (18.84%) on speech therapy, 141 (4.80%) on rehabilitation engineering, and 846 (28.82%) on exercise rehabilitation; 2218 (75.57%) were with junior title and 592 (20.17%) with intermediate title; 24 (0.82%) were with secondary school education, 724 (24.67%) with junior college degree, 2011 (68.52%) with bachelor's degree, and 160 (5.99%) with master's degree or above; 785 (26.75%) fully understood, 1025 (34.92%) understood and 1009 (34.38%) basically understood the concept of exercise prescription. Conclusion:Rehabilitation therapy is widely spread in China, however, the geographical distribution is uneven. Rehabilitation related practitioners are diversified in professional direction, and full-time job is not top-notch. The level of education is generally low, and talent cultivation needs to be strengthened. The integration of medicine and exercise is developing, and exercise prescriptions are widely available. It is necessary to cultivate a considerable number of high-quality professionals to coordinate the integrated development of medicine and exercise, to improve the quality of rehabilitation services and promote the development of medicine and exercise integration.