Estudio del grado de conocimiento sobre fisioterapia en atención primaria en alumnos de 3.° de la diplomatura de fisioterapia y en la población general

This article has three objectives: 1) To assess the knowledge of senior students on the role of Physical Therapy in Primary Health Care, both before and after coursing the official subject on this theme. 2) Compare it with that of a random sample of the population. 3) Detect which factors condition the degree of knowledge. We used a test based on essential notions of physical therapy in Primary Health Care, filled by the students both the first day they attended the subject and four months after it finished. Additionally, it was answered by a control group of 24 persons chosen randomly among standard people. In general, the degree of knowledge was low, and showed no differences between the control group and the senior students at the beginning of the course, nonetheless, four months after the end of the classes the level of the students overcame that of the standard people. Between the variables taken into account, only the age had a significant effect when all the sample was considered: the mark obtained by the younger groups was very low, and when just this group was analysed having a relative or a friend at the Health Care system increased considerably the mark. A rather low knowledge about physical therapy in Primary Health Care among the standard people is evidenced and among the senior students as well, only to be improved by educational strategies: like including Physical Therapy in Primary Health Care in the Study Plans and carrying out specific Health Education Programs aimed to standard people.