An Investigation Study on the Role and Performance Ability of Physical Therapists in the Community Care System for Elderly

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#A survey was conducted to investigate the role, priority, and awareness of physical therapists in the community care system for the elderly. @*Methods@#Nine hundred ninety-three physical therapists were invited to an online survey from 1st to 30th June 2020. @*Results@#While the awareness of physical therapists for the community care system for the elderly was found to be low, the role priority and performance ability were found to be high. Fall training scored the highest for the job duties of physical therapists, and functional training scored the highest for the performance ability of physical therapists. For the role priority by the education status regarding the community care system, the participants who received the education program showed higher scores in the performance ability than those who did not. For the role priority and performance ability according to the education levels, higher education levels resulted in higher scores in both outcomes. Regarding the clinical experience, low scores were found in the participants with less than five years of experience. @*Conclusion@#Physical therapy establishes itself as an essential area of expertise in the community care system for the elderly. Therefore, these results can be utilized in developing a model for Korean community care for the elderly.