A snap-shot of attrition from the osteopathy profession in Australia

Osteopathic health care in aged care facilities: The experience of practitioners in an emerging practice setting

OBJECTIVES

Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) are an emerging practice setting for osteopaths in Australia. This study explored the experiences of osteopaths working in Australian RACFs, reviewed current trends and challenges and considers future developments.

METHODS

Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit osteopaths with experience working in RACFs. This was a qualitative descriptive study derived from verbatim interview transcripts. Data were analysed using a six-step thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Eight interviews were conducted during January 2023. Thematic analysis identified common experiences between participants. These included positive aspects of aged care, perceived challenges of working in aged care, exposure to age-specific conditions, benefits of working in multidisciplinary teams and perceived gaps in university education curricula in relation to geriatric populations.

CONCLUSIONS

Employment in RACFs may offer a satisfying employment experience for osteopaths, albeit hindered by policy and funding inadequacy. The respondents suggested enhancing pre- and postgraduate education to better prepare and encourage the profession to engage in this health service.

A workforce survey of Australian osteopathy: analysis of a nationally-representative sample of osteopaths from the Osteopathy Research and Innovation Network (ORION) project

Background

Limited information is available regarding the profile and clinical practice characteristics of the osteopathy workforce in Australia. This paper reports such information by analysing data from a nationally-representative sample of Australian osteopaths.

Methods

Data was obtained from a workforce survey of Australian osteopathy, investigating the characteristics of the practitioner, their practice, clinical management features and perceptions regarding research. The survey questionnaire was distributed to all registered osteopaths across Australia in 2016 as part of the Osteopathy Research and Innovation Network (ORION) project.

Results

A total of 992 Australian osteopaths participated in this study representing a response rate of 49.1%. The average age of the participants was 38.0 years with 58.1% being female and the majority holding a Bachelor or higher degree qualification related to the osteopathy professional. Approximately 80.0% of the osteopaths were practicing in an urban area, with most osteopaths working in multi-practitioner locations, having referral relationships with a range of health care practitioners, managing patients a number of musculoskeletal disorders, and providing multi-model treatment options.

Conclusions

A total of 3.9 million patients were estimated to consult with osteopaths every year and an average of approximate 3.0 million hours were spent delivering osteopathy services per year. Further research is required to provide rich, in-depth examination regarding a range of osteopathy workforce issues which will help ensure safe, effective patient care to all receiving and providing treatments as part of the broader Australian health system.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3158-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Work related musculoskeletal injuries sustained by Australian osteopaths: qualitative analysis of effects on practitioner health, clinical practice, and patient care

Background

There is limited literature that explores the experiences of osteopaths injured while engaging in clinical practice. Evidence from other similar health professions has described the numerous effects of work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WRMI). Work-related musculoskeletal injury refers to trauma to joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons resulting from injury sustained while undertaking work duties. This research aimed to gain a contextualised understanding of the experiences of osteopaths who have sustained a work-related musculoskeletal injury while performing clinical practice.

Method

This research used a descriptive qualitative design. Participants were recruited as part of a larger cross-sectional study. Thirteen Australian osteopaths who had sustained a work-related musculoskeletal injury consented to participate in semi-structured interviews during May and June 2016. Thematic analysis was used to elicit important themes from the interview transcripts that had been recorded and transcribed verbatim. The qualitative accounts provided by the participants were coded for the impacts of their injuries on work, home life and leisure activities.

Results

The participants provided detailed, contextual information about their injuries, including the contributing factors and the experience of living with a WRMI. The findings indicate that injured osteopaths often continue working because of financial commitments and their dedication to patient care. The participants offered insights into the challenges they faced due to the injury and the management strategies they used to deal with the impact on their work and personal life. The injuries were mostly unreported, the burden being carried by the participants and their families.

Conclusion

This is the first research that explores the experiences of osteopaths who have sustained a WRMI. We anticipate that this research will encourage a broad and constructive discussion within the profession of the issues associated with WRMIs, including risk minimisation and injury prevention. Further research is warranted to understand the relationship between osteopaths training in ergonomics and injury prevention. This would lead to the development of guidelines and educational curricula addressing safe work for osteopaths.