Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease prevention, and health promotion. Physical therapist is the term used for such professionals in the United States, and physiotherapist is the term used in many other countries.
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC is responsible for credentialing as a CRT, or RRT,
Freedom from Torture is a British registered charity which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK. Since it was established in 1985, over 57,000 survivors of torture have been referred to the organisation for help and it is one of the world’s largest torture treatment centres.
A Doctor of Physical Therapy or Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) degree is a qualifying degree in physical therapy. In the United States, it is considered a graduate-level first professional degree or doctorate degree for professional practice. In the United Kingdom, the training includes advanced professional training and doctoral-level research.
The Union for International Cancer Control or UICC is a non-governmental organisation with some 1,180 member organisations in more than 170 countries.
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is a U.S-based individual membership professional organization representing more than 100,000 member physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students of physical therapy. The nonprofit association, based in Alexandria, Virginia, seeks to improve the health and quality of life of individuals in society by advancing physical therapist practice, education, and research, and by increasing the awareness and understanding of physical therapy's role in the nation's health care system.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the world's largest trade union federation.
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is an independent, international health professional organization that promotes and supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and works for the prevention of torture worldwide. Based in Denmark, the IRCT is the umbrella organization for over 160 independent torture rehabilitation organizations in 76 countries that treat and assist torture survivors and their families. They advocate for holistic rehabilitation for all victims of torture, which can include access to justice, reparations, and medical, psychological, and psycho-social counseling. The IRCT does this through strengthening the capacity of their membership, enabling an improved policy environment for torture victims, and generating and share knowledge on issues related to the rehabilitation of torture victims. Professionals at the IRCT rehabilitation centers and programs provide treatment for an estimated 100,000 survivors of torture every year. Victims receive multidisciplinary support including medical and psychological care and legal aid. The aim of the rehabilitation process is to empower torture survivors to resume as full a life as possible. In 1988, IRCT, along with founder Inge Genefke, was given the Right Livelihood Award "for helping those whose lives have been shattered by torture to regain their health and personality."
The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a global not-for-profit professional organization representing family physicians and general practitioners from all regions of the world. WONCA's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people of the world through high standards of care in general practice/family medicine.
FDI World Dental Federation, often shortened to FDI, is the largest organization representing the dental profession worldwide. Its mission is to lead the world to optimal oral health by promoting oral health as a fundamental human right and advancing the dental profession worldwide. FDI serves as the most prominent representative body for over one million dentists worldwide, developing health policy and continuing education programs, speaking as a unified voice for dentistry in international advocacy, and supporting member associations in oral health promotion activities worldwide.
The New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists (NZSP) is a professional body of physiotherapists in New Zealand. Membership of the society is optional, but demonstrates that a particular practitioner upholds certain standards including adherence to a code of conduct. Individuals who meet certain criteria may indicate their membership by using the letters MNZSP or FNZSP after their names.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) is the professional body and trade union for physiotherapists in the United Kingdom.
The aim of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is to help people with disabilities, by establishing community-based medical integration, equalization of opportunities, and Physical therapy (Physiotherapy) rehabilitation programs for disabled people. The strength of CBR programs is that they can be made available in rural areas, with limited infrastructure, as program leadership is not restricted to professionals in healthcare, educational, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy vocational or social services. Rather, CBR programs involve the people with disabilities themselves, their families and communities, as well as appropriate professionals. Some are doing their own works.
The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) is the national professional association representing Nigerian-trained physiotherapists as well as foreign-trained physiotherapists practicing in Nigeria. The society was inaugurated on 29 August 1959 at a meeting held the Physiotherapy Department of the University College Hospital, Ibadan by a group of Nigerian and British Physiotherapists.
Physical therapy education varies greatly from country to country. Worldwide, physical therapy training ranges from basic work site education in hospitals and outpatient clinics to professional doctoral degree and masters programs.
The history of physical therapy in the Philippines relates how physical therapy started in the Philippines and how it evolved as a profession through three significant phases in the history of the Philippines: from the American era leading to the Japanese occupation of the islands during World War II, and up to the modern-day time period of the independent Philippine Republics. It was introduced in the Philippines ahead of rehabilitation medicine.
The World Health Professions Alliance is an international organization which represents more than 31 million health care professionals worldwide. The Alliance unites dentistry, medicine, nursing, physical therapy and pharmacy through their representative international organizations, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), World Physiotherapy, the FDI World Dental Federation and the World Medical Association (WMA).
Nepal currently only has two physiotherapy programs, available through Kathmandu University and Pokhara University as a bachelor's degree. It is equivalent to four-and-a-half years of full-time study. The minimum level of education to start this program is upper secondary. While there were only around 30 graduates with a Bachelor in Physiotherapy degree in 2007, the total number of graduates have now proliferated over the years. In 2022, several Nepalese physiotherapists have now completed PhD from reputed universities around the globe. Nepal also has a three year Certificate level Physiotherapy degree which produces Physiotherapy Assistant who have limited scope of practice to Physiotherapists with a Bachelor or Master degree.
Sarah Elizabeth Lamb is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Exeter, and the Mireille Gillings Professor for Health Innovation. She is also an Honorary Departmental Professor at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford and was the Foundation Director of the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit.
Around 35,000 people in Belize have a disability. There are efforts to raise awareness about people with disabilities in Belize and counter social stigma. Several non-governmental organizations, including Special Olympics, help increase awareness and the government sponsors an annual Disability Week. Services for people with disabilities is limited and most areas of the country have limited accessibility.
