Differences in Perception of Continuing Education by Academic Background with Physical Therapists

Purpose : Various research studies are needed to raise the perception of the CE of Korean physical therapists. However, there are little studies have been conducted, and relatively few studies are available to read on online. The purpose of the study is to find out the differences in the perception of CE according to the physical therapist's academic background. In this way, this article intends to strengthen the perception of the CE of health-care workers, such as physical therapists and occupational therapists in the Republic of Korea so that contributing to the development of national health. Methods : Present study showed that 431 out of 563 people who participated in the two meetings of CE conducted by the Gwangju Metropolitan City of the Korea Physical Therapy Association responded in the survey in 2015. Among them, only 238 people were surveyed on the awareness of CE in 2014, excluding 181 questionnaires due to poor responses and 112 questionnaires that did not participate in CE in the previous year. Descriptive analyses were conducted to identify the perception among those who experienced CE, and simple linear regression analysis was performed using dummy variables to identify awareness of the education based on their academic background. Results : Question 3 (p=.000, R2=.067) was significant in the significance test of the regression equation for perception of the CE (p<.05). Question 1 (p=.687), 2 (p=.066), 4 (p=.430), 5 (p=.085), and 6 (p=.054), 7 (p=.111), 8 (p=.088), 9 (p=.213), 10 (p=.191) and 11 (p=. 169), the regression formula was not significant (p>.05). Conclusion : Physical therapists had a moderate perception of the need for a CE and had the idea that improvements were required in what was provided in that education. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference, although there was a greater awareness of CE in the Master of Science Course or higher than college or university graduates.