Year: 2026 | Month: April | Volume: 16 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 167-175
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260421
Assessment of Awareness of Geriatric and Pediatric Rehabilitation Approaches Among Physiotherapy Students and Interns: A Cross-Sectional Study
Dhruv Taneja1, Arun Chougule2, Waribam Ranjeeta3, Yash Prajapati4, Anamika Jain5, Tabish Aziz6
1Principal, Swasthya Kalyan College of Physiotherapy, Jaipur, Rajasthan
2Dean, Swasthya Kalyan Group of Institutions, Jaipur, Rajasthan
3Professor, JPTC MVGU, Jaipur, Rajasthan
4Assistant Professor, Swasthya Kalyan College of Physiotherapy, Jaipur, Rajasthan
5Assistant Professor, Swasthya Kalyan College of Physiotherapy, Jaipur, Rajasthan
6Professor, Swasthya Kalyan College of Physiotherapy, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Corresponding Author: Dr. Anamika Jain
ABSTRACT
Background: Awareness of age-specific rehabilitation approaches is essential for effective physiotherapy practice. Despite the growing demand for both geriatric and paediatric rehabilitation services, limited evidence exists regarding physiotherapy students’ awareness of these domains. Understanding such awareness is important to identify potential educational gaps in physiotherapy training.
Objective: To assess and compare the level of awareness regarding rehabilitation approaches in geriatric and paediatric physiotherapy among physiotherapy students and interns, and to examine the relationship between domain-specific and total awareness scores.
Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among physiotherapy students and interns (N = 515). Demographic information including age, gender, and year of study was collected. Awareness of geriatric and paediatric rehabilitation approaches was assessed using a structured questionnaire developed based on relevant literature and underwent content validation by a panel of five physiotherapy experts holding doctoral qualifications, who reviewed the items for clarity, relevance, and domain representation before final administration. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee prior to data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics and awareness scores. As the awareness scores were normally distributed, parametric tests were applied. A paired t-test was used to compare geriatric and paediatric awareness scores, while Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between domain-specific awareness scores and total awareness score. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean awareness score for geriatric rehabilitation was 7.74 ± 2.78, while paediatric rehabilitation awareness was 7.90 ± 4.41, indicating a moderate level of awareness in both domains. Paediatric rehabilitation awareness was statistically higher than geriatric awareness (p < 0.05). The total awareness score was 19.35 ± 5.82. Significant positive correlations were observed between geriatric awareness and total awareness scores (r = 0.72, p < 0.05) and between paediatric awareness and total awareness scores (r = 0.76, p < 0.05). Most participants were aged 20–22 years, predominantly female, and from senior academic years or internship.
Conclusion: Physiotherapy students and interns demonstrated a moderate level of awareness regarding rehabilitation approaches in both geriatric and paediatric physiotherapy. Although awareness of paediatric rehabilitation was statistically higher, the findings suggest the need forgreater emphasis on geriatric rehabilitation within physiotherapy education to ensure balanced knowledge across age-specific rehabilitation domains.
Key words: Awareness, Physiotherapy education, Geriatric rehabilitation, Paediatric rehabilitation.