Erik J Ehlers, Franziska Feldmann, Judith Gartmann, Carolin Kraushaar, Annalena Paus, Isabelle Stickdorn, Susanne G R Klotz
INTRODUCTION: German university hospitals, with their three pillars of research, teaching, and care, enjoy a special status in the health care and science system. Alongside care and teaching, the research pillar has also become increasingly relevant for physiotherapy at university hospitals. Nevertheless, there has been no comprehensive study to date of the status of physiotherapy research activities at German university hospitals. This study aims to provide an overview of research activities and their framework conditions.
METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among the heads of physiotherapy departments at all 36 German university hospitals in order to collect data on physiotherapy research activities. The questionnaire used for this purpose was developed in advance with the help of a systematic literature review and an expert survey. The survey was analyzed descriptively.
RESULTS: With a response rate of 58%, eight of the 21 university hospitals included in the survey have been conducting physiotherapy research, in some cases for over a decade. The most frequently reported obstacles to research are lack of financial resources (n = 10) and lack of interest or appreciation from other professions (n = 7). Most frequently, research projects are conducted in the medical specialties of orthopedics and trauma surgery (n = 10), intensive care medicine (n = 8), pediatrics (n = 6), and the outpatient sector (n = 6). Clinical research accounts for 58% (n = 18) of research activities. Interprofessional research is more common (n = 13, 72%) than intraprofessional research (n = 5, 28%). In addition to the CRediT roles of resources (n = 6) and investigation (n = 6), the role of conceptualization in the research process (n = 6) is also among the most common. Over the two-year period, a median of three articles was published with first or last authorship assigned to physiotherapists.
CONCLUSION: The online survey shows that there is little physiotherapy research activity at German university hospitals. In order to strengthen physiotherapy research, changes in professional and scientific policy and financial support are needed.
