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Background: Health professionals develop their own approach to patient care based on education, experience and philosophical stance. Literature suggests that this practice approach informs patient care, and clinical outcomes. The Osteopaths' Therapeutic Approaches Questionnaire (Osteo-TAQ) is a novel 36-item instrument developed from qualitative grounded theory research with osteopaths in the United Kingdom. The aim of the study was to develop evidence for the structural and construct validity of the Osteo-TAQ in the Australian osteopathic profession and provide initial descriptive data about the therapeutic approaches of osteopaths in Australia., Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from registered osteopaths in Australia using the Osteo-TAQ and analysed with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The EFA utilised parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to extract and McDonald's omega calculated as the reliability estimation statistic., Results: 691 Australian osteopaths provided data for the study, representing 25% of the Australian osteopathic profession. Empirically the number of factors to extract based on the parallel analysis was seven. Two- and three-factor solutions were evaluated given the underpinning theory identifying two conceptions of practice and three interrelated therapeutic approaches. Both the two- and three-factor solutions were consistent with the underpinning theory with acceptable reliability estimations for each factor. Descriptive data suggested the most common element of the therapeutic approach of Australian osteopaths was establishing rapport, while the least common was 'only talking' with their patients., Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the structural, content and construct validity of the Osteo-TAQ in an Australian osteopathic practitioner population. The results support both a two- and three-factor structure for the Osteo-TAQ in an Australian osteopathic population, with each factor demonstrating acceptable reliability estimations supporting the items comprising each factor as measuring a single construct. From a theoretical and empirical perspective, it can be inferred that the Osteo-TAQ tool encapsulates an osteopaths' conception of practice (professional artistry and technical rational) and three main therapeutic approaches to patient care: Educator, Communicator and Treater. Further research is required to explore each of these therapeutic approaches to better understand how they relate to an individual osteopath's conception of practice, and their associations with other measures of practice including clinical outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: There is limited literature that explores the experiences of osteopaths injured while engaging in clinical practice. Evidence from other similar health professions has described the numerous effects of work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WRMI). Work-related musculoskeletal injury refers to trauma to joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons resulting from injury sustained while undertaking work duties. This research aimed to gain a contextualised understanding of the experiences of osteopaths who have sustained a work-related musculoskeletal injury while performing clinical practice., Method: This research used a descriptive qualitative design. Participants were recruited as part of a larger cross-sectional study. Thirteen Australian osteopaths who had sustained a work-related musculoskeletal injury consented to participate in semi-structured interviews during May and June 2016. Thematic analysis was used to elicit important themes from the interview transcripts that had been recorded and transcribed verbatim. The qualitative accounts provided by the participants were coded for the impacts of their injuries on work, home life and leisure activities., Results: The participants provided detailed, contextual information about their injuries, including the contributing factors and the experience of living with a WRMI. The findings indicate that injured osteopaths often continue working because of financial commitments and their dedication to patient care. The participants offered insights into the challenges they faced due to the injury and the management strategies they used to deal with the impact on their work and personal life. The injuries were mostly unreported, the burden being carried by the participants and their families., Conclusion: This is the first research that explores the experiences of osteopaths who have sustained a WRMI. We anticipate that this research will encourage a broad and constructive discussion within the profession of the issues associated with WRMIs, including risk minimisation and injury prevention. Further research is warranted to understand the relationship between osteopaths training in ergonomics and injury prevention. This would lead to the development of guidelines and educational curricula addressing safe work for osteopaths.