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Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the physiotherapists' lived experiences of providing pain education (PE), to people living with non-specific low back pain (NSLBP). In previous studies, PE has been associated with positive clinical outcomes within the physiotherapeutic management of NSLBP. However, the meaning of providing PE, as experienced by physiotherapists, has not been specifically explored. Methods This study adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore PE experiences. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted, interviews were transcribed and analysed in line with the 'interpretative phenomenological analysis' framework. Results Five main thematic meaning structures emerged: Experienced significance of assessment in understanding NSLBP, PE as explaining the nature of NSLBP, Experienced challenges in providing PE, individualisation as key to PE for NSLBP and Reassurance as central to PE for people living with NSLBP. Conclusions The significance of subjective assessment, was a key component of PE, as experienced by participants. However, differences were noted between participants in addressing the sense of assessment; in seeking a physiotherapeutic understanding of the NSLBP, and in seeking to understand the situation of those who are in pain. Within the participant experience, the significance of 'patient' reassurance was highlighted, related to the individualisation and outcome of PE. Reassurance, as described by participants, was emotive and practically grounded and linked with physical activity promotion. Individualisation in PE was meaningfully related to language modification and developing positive therapeutic relationships. Physiotherapists described PE particularly challenging related to pain chronicity and psychosocial factors, which may have significant implications to practice.

This hermeneutic phenomenological study was undertaken in response to the recent re-organization of stroke unit provision in the United Kingdom. Through the analysis of four acute stroke unit practitioners' subjective accounts, the acute stroke unit emerged as a dynamic, meaningful space, where they experienced authenticity and belonging. The findings showed how these practitioners navigated their way through the space, thriving, and/or surviving its' associated vulnerabilities. They offer a different gaze on which to attend to the complexity and challenge that is interwoven with health professionals’ flourishing, the spatiality of healthcare practice, and perhaps other demanding places of work.

To explore the conceptions of patients with persistent low back pain (LBP) of undergoing physiotherapy delivered in Finnish primary healthcare by physiotherapists who had participated in brief training in Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT).As part of a feasibility implementation study exploring CFT in management of LBP in the Finnish primary healthcare system, we interviewed nine patients from four geographical areas in Finland after receiving care. We used a phenomenographic approach to explore the variation in their conceptions.The analysis revealed four descriptive categories: "hung out to dry," "stuck," "making sense and taking control," and "holistic approach to care and living," that varied based on six themes.Although the participants accepted this approach to care well, there was significant variation in patients' conceptions. Restricted access to care within the healthcare system and a lack of social support led some of them to feel they had been left alone to suffer with their pain. On the other hand, based on the results of this study, positive experiences of physiotherapy and good collaboration with the physiotherapist, wider social support outside of physiotherapy, a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of pain and the acquisition of self-management skills were reported as positive aspects of undergoing physiotherapy that may be related to positive treatment outcomes.Implications for rehabilitationThe participants of this study saw undergoing physiotherapy delivered within biopsychosocial framework as different from their previous physiotherapy experiences and for some the process ended with feeling empty-handed and for others it could be a turning point in their lives.This study encourages the health care providers to create flexible care pathways and ongoing support for more vulnerable individuals so that they don't feel abandoned by the system.Professionals could also pay attention to building strong therapeutic alliance, help patients understand pain in biopsychosocial framework, take into consideration social support networks of the patients, and support patients toward effective self-management strategies.

Conceptual discussions related to clinical reasoning and decision making have evolved over the years from biomedical to incorporating more holistic approach to reasoning. Empirical studies exploring clinical reasoning and decision making in physiotherapy practice have mostly focused on aspects of managing persons with low back pain, such as exercise prescription, education and communicating diagnosis. There is a paucity of studies exploring decision making in whiplash‐associated disorder (WAD); thus, the aim of this study was to explore the physiotherapists' lived experiences of decision making related to treating persons with WAD. A qualitative research design based on hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used in this study. Five participants (physiotherapists) were purposefully recruited, and data are collected via semistructured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used as a method for analysing the data. Emergent, superordinate and master themes emerged from the data to illuminate the lived experiences under exploration. Three master themes were identified: (1) sense of collaboration; (2) sense of being out of control; and (3) sense of emotional engagement (subthemes: feeling of satisfaction and feelings of distress and uncertainty). A sense of collaboration revealed varied meaning related to the role of persons receiving care, suggesting a lack of conceptual clarity related to shared‐decision making. A perceived loss of a sense of being in control was related to experienced emotions, such as feelings of distress and uncertainty. The findings of this study highlight the importance of providing space for reflection and mentoring in the workplace. peerReviewed

Objectives To investigate the use of outcome measures for children with cerebral palsy (CP) by paediatric physiotherapists (PTs) who are based in the United Kingdom, as limited research exists regarding their use in this population, and to explore therapists' use of measures within different Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels and for different types of CP. Methods A six-item online survey was advertised through two paediatric therapy special interest groups inviting physiotherapists to participate. Descriptive statistics (range, frequencies, and percentages) were used to analyse survey data. Results Two hundred and seven physiotherapists returned completed survey questionnaires. One hundred and seventy-six (85%) therapists reported using a wide variety of outcome measures (57). Eighty-one per cent of therapists' responses for having "most difficulty" in identifying responsive outcome measures were for children with impaired mobility at GMFCS Levels IV-V and children with more significant body involvement (76%), for example, spastic quadriplegia or dyskinesia. Eighty-six per cent of therapists' responses for having "greatest ease" of identifying responsive outcome measures were for children within GMFCS Levels I-III and for children with less significant body involvement (72%), for example, hemiplegia. The variety of outcome measures used by therapists with children within GMFCS IV-V was less (16). Conclusions The majority (85%) of the PTs surveyed used outcome measures with children with CP, but 81% perceived a difficulty in identifying responsive measures for children with more severe impairments who are classified as GMFCS IV-V. The reasons for this perceived difficulty warrant investigation and may suggest a need for training regarding relevant measures and/or a need to develop new measures for this group of children.

Despite advocates for aesthetic forms of presentation in qualitative enquiry, for going beyond thin description, to share evocative forms of representation that resonate with that (Todres, 2008; Todres & Galvin, 2008), qualitative research in the health care field continues to favor conventional methods. This article adds to existing knowledge by articulating the innovative creation and value of aesthetic offerings in the unique form of visual maps to evoke the lived experience of being on an acute stroke unit, drawn from phenomenological interview findings. The maps helped embody the meaningful lived space and conveyed the complexity, spatiality, and holistic understanding being developed. They embodied the researcher’s involvement, position, and place as she imaginatively lived through the space of the acute stroke unit and proceed to invite others to join the dialogue. This article articulates the methodical alignment of creative mapmaking within three stages, for the development of phenomenological understanding, dialogue in-between, and ongoing life of dialogue for future projections toward practice and within the phenomenological project. This article illustrates the underutilized potential of mapmaking for the human sciences, understanding health care spaces, other meaningful lived spaces, and qualitative research methods.

This chapter will illustrate a combination of problem-based learning (PBL), information and communication technologies (ICT), and leadership in the context of health care education. It is argued that they form a coherent alliance that meets the challenges of education and leadership in health care. The topic and the research questions have emerged from expanding criticism against traditional educational programmes, and our own experiences of the research and development work in the context of problem-based pedagogy and the use of information and communication technologies in Finnish higher education.