Current attitudes and knowledge towards physical therapy

Currently, the public\u27s attitudes and knowledge towards physical therapy appear to be undocumented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to gather demographic information from individuals, information regarding attitudes and knowledge towards physical therapy, and opinions about referral and choice of services. This study consisted of a non-experimental research design utilizing a survey questionnaire. Two hundred questionnaires were mailed out via a provided mailing list for Clackamas Town Square mall Walk Program participants and twenty-three questionnaires were handed out on an individual basis at an additional mall walk program at Lancaster Mall in Salem. Analysis of data was performed on seventy-seven respondents of the survey questionnaires. Of the seventy-seven respondents, 14.3% were male, 83.1% were female and 2.6% gave no response for gender. Age ranged from 25 to 82 years of age with a mean age of 61.38 and a standard deviation of 11.69. No statistically significant relationship could be found between variables. Further research is needed to help determine attitudes and knowledge towards physical therapy