The project aims to develop new knowledge about physiotherapy for young adults with long-term health disorders, to contribute insights into how physiotherapists best can help this group of patients.
A growing number of young adults report pain and mental health issues. Many young adults seek psychomotor physiotherapy in primary health care for such health disorders that persist over time.
Long-term health disorders among young adults are commonly understood as complex and are often linked to stress and performance pressure. However, we know little about how young people themselves understand their health problems and about the physiotherapy treatment that is offered.
This project explores the illness experiences of young adults engaged in psychomotor physiotherapy, the experiences of psychomotor physiotherapists who treat them, and the dynamics of their clinical encounters.
The aim is to develop new knowledge about young adults’ long-term health disorders and to contribute insights into how physiotherapists can provide the best possible treatment to this patient group.
Participants
More about the project
Methods
The study has a qualitative design, using observation and interviews as methods. Observations have been conducted of clinical encounters between psychomotor physiotherapists and young adults in treatment, as well as interviews with both.
The sample consists of young adult patients aged 16 to 25 and psychomotor physiotherapists in primary health care in Norway. The data material consists of interview transcripts and field notes from observations. The material is analyzed using narrative theory and methods.
Results
The project’s results will provide new knowledge about the complexity of young adults’ health problems and their needs, as well as the effective elements of psychomotor physiotherapy for this group.
This knowledge will be relevant not only to psychomotor physiotherapists, but to other physiotherapists and health care professionals who encounter this patient group in their practice.
In the short term, the study may have implications by contributing insights that can improve treatment approaches for young adults with long-term health disorders, and in the long term by providing knowledge that can help prevent young people’s health problems from persisting into adulthood.
