Identifying metaphors towards physiotherapists

Durdubas R. T., Yildirim Y., YOSMAOĞLU H. B.

PLOS ONE, no.12, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311304
  • Journal Name: PLOS ONE
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Animal Behavior Abstracts, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Linguistic Bibliography, MEDLINE, Pollution Abstracts, Psycinfo, zbMATH, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify mental images that physiotherapists and student physiotherapists have regarding the concept of physiotherapist through metaphors. The study was a mixed-methods research that combined latent content analysis and categorical data analysis. Data were collected from 207 physiotherapists or physiotherapy students. Content analysis, a qualitative method, was performed on the raw data, which was composed of each participant's statement completing the following sentence "Physiotherapist is like & mldr; because & mldr;". Metaphors for physiotherapists were centered around 12 concepts. Most cited metaphor by student physiotherapists was "healer" (29.4%) and it was "guiding" (17.2%) for in-service physiotherapists. The rate of the "negative connotation" category in in-service physiotherapists (7.1%) was 2% higher than that of the student physiotherapists. Women mostly emphasized the "healer" (21.9%) category, while men mostly emphasized the "healer" and "supporter" (17.8%) categories. Participants aged under 25 and 26-35 age group were mostly in the "healer" category (26.4% and 18.8%, respectively) but the participants aged 36 years and over mostly opted for "guiding" and "supporter" (20.0%). There were fundamental differences between student physiotherapists and in-service physiotherapists in terms viewpoint regarding physiotherapy as a profession, and that these differences vary by gender and especially by age. During the undergraduate period, it will be beneficial to ensure that students have a realistic perspective with versatile training programs.