{"title":"Views from Australian osteopaths and industry stakeholders about the profession: A qualitative study","authors":"C. Mastronardo, L. Muddle, A. Fazalbhoy","doi":"10.1016/j.ijosm.2023.100676","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The future health and longevity of the osteopathy<span> profession relies heavily on its practitioners and industry stakeholders to support it. Possessing a deeper understanding of practitioner and stakeholder views of the profession may provide crucial insights into the wellbeing of the workforce and their perceived skills and expertise in the wider healthcare landscape.</span></p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To provide a review of current and emerging attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Australian osteopaths and supportive external stakeholders towards the profession.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A qualitative approach using grounded theory explored the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Australian osteopaths and supportive external stakeholders. Purposive sampling identified 18 practitioners (Victoria 10, Western Australia 5, and New South Wales 3) and 6 external stakeholders. All participated in semi-structured focus groups. A constant comparative method followed data collection whereby repeated ideas formed the extraction of the emerging themes presented.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Central themes for each group included: 1) practitioner wellbeing and 2) osteopathic skills and expertise. Subthemes included: 1) career sustainability and longevity for practitioners, and 2) osteopathy within the broader context of allied healthcare in Australia.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Threats to practitioner wellbeing included lack of early career support, limited career pathways, and uncertainty surrounding the future of the profession. External stakeholders echoed similar concerns regarding the future of the profession, acknowledging whilst osteopathy may play a sustainable role in managing the health and wellbeing of Australians, their skills and expertise are not unique nor exclusive to the profession, are under-evidenced, and undervalued by other healthcare professionals. Fostering a healthy and fulfilled workforce lies in securing a sustainable role for the profession by addressing these limitations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51068,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1746068923000202","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
The future health and longevity of the osteopathy profession relies heavily on its practitioners and industry stakeholders to support it. Possessing a deeper understanding of practitioner and stakeholder views of the profession may provide crucial insights into the wellbeing of the workforce and their perceived skills and expertise in the wider healthcare landscape.
Objective
To provide a review of current and emerging attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Australian osteopaths and supportive external stakeholders towards the profession.
Methods
A qualitative approach using grounded theory explored the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Australian osteopaths and supportive external stakeholders. Purposive sampling identified 18 practitioners (Victoria 10, Western Australia 5, and New South Wales 3) and 6 external stakeholders. All participated in semi-structured focus groups. A constant comparative method followed data collection whereby repeated ideas formed the extraction of the emerging themes presented.
Results
Central themes for each group included: 1) practitioner wellbeing and 2) osteopathic skills and expertise. Subthemes included: 1) career sustainability and longevity for practitioners, and 2) osteopathy within the broader context of allied healthcare in Australia.
Conclusion
Threats to practitioner wellbeing included lack of early career support, limited career pathways, and uncertainty surrounding the future of the profession. External stakeholders echoed similar concerns regarding the future of the profession, acknowledging whilst osteopathy may play a sustainable role in managing the health and wellbeing of Australians, their skills and expertise are not unique nor exclusive to the profession, are under-evidenced, and undervalued by other healthcare professionals. Fostering a healthy and fulfilled workforce lies in securing a sustainable role for the profession by addressing these limitations.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal that provides for the publication of high quality research articles and review papers that are as broad as the many disciplines that influence and underpin the principles and practice of osteopathic medicine. Particular emphasis is given to basic science research, clinical epidemiology and health social science in relation to osteopathy and neuromusculoskeletal medicine.
The Editorial Board encourages submission of articles based on both quantitative and qualitative research designs. The Editorial Board also aims to provide a forum for discourse and debate on any aspect of osteopathy and neuromusculoskeletal medicine with the aim of critically evaluating existing practices in regard to the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders and somatic dysfunction. All manuscripts submitted to the IJOM are subject to a blinded review process. The categories currently available for publication include reports of original research, review papers, commentaries and articles related to clinical practice, including case reports. Further details can be found in the IJOM Instructions for Authors. Manuscripts are accepted for publication with the understanding that no substantial part has been, or will be published elsewhere.