Healthcare Needs in an Underserved Population: Physical Therapy Needs Assessment

Objective. To determine the need for physical therapy (PT) services in an underserved population of migrant health workers and dependents with incomes 150% below the poverty line. Background. According to the APTA Code of Ethics: A Physical Therapist shall endeavor to address the health needs of society. Based on observations and referrals during a finite period, although need was recognized, few clients were referred for PT. Methods. A primary care clinic, averaging 15,000 - 20,000 free client visits annually was used. Four senior PT students performed retrospective and concurrent data collection under supervision of a PT faculty instructor. The APTA Guide to Physical Therapist Practice was used to determine diagnoses appropriate for services. Medical diagnoses were retrospectively reviewed from 1220 randomly selected active (January 2002 through March 2003) medical records. Concurrent data was collected based on the number of clients referred relative to total clinic client visits. Results. Services were deemed appropriate in 681/1220 or 56% of the cases in the records reviewed. Concurrently, the volunteer physicians and physician assistants referred 87 or 6.2% clients out of 1403 total clinic visits to the PT students for intervention. Conclusions. Based on data collected, a high number of migrant farm workers and dependents that could benefit from PT services was determined. Actual referral rates were far lower than the review indicated. This study demonstrates the need for PTs to deliver services to this population and educate other health care professionals, including physicians, about the benefits of physical therapy and the breadth of services. Grants. Study was made possible through an American Physical Therapy Association Grant to Study A Hybrid Method of Clinical Education