Educators' Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Type 2 Diabetes Content in Physiotherapy Programmes across Canada.

PURPOSE

This qualitative descriptive study researched educators' perspectives of type 2 diabetes (T2D) Teaching and learning, in physiotherapy (PT) programmes across Canada.

METHODS

Faculty members and clinical instructors from the 15 PT programmes in Canada were contacted. Online surveys collected data on the educators' professional background and perspectives on T2D in the PT curriculum. One-on-one telephone interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was used to generate themes and codes from the interview transcripts.

RESULTS

Ten educators from 10 universities completed the survey. Seven of the 10 educators also participated in a telephone interview. Survey responses revealed that T2D content is taught predominantly through case studies and lectures. Of the 10 respondents, six reported that the curriculum does not devote adequate time to T2D content, and nine reported they "strongly agree" or "agree" that T2D is an essential component of the PT curriculum. The interviews revealed that T2D content varies across PT programmes. The educators agreed that T2D is a common condition seen in practice, there is a role for PT intervention, and T2D content is limited by classroom time.

CONCLUSIONS

Educators noted challenges integrating more T2D content in the curriculum and said that PT clinical contributions for people living with T2D are underutilized. Additional evidence-informed rationale is needed to explore optimal integration of T2D content in PT programmes.