DEMOGRAPHY OF PHYSIOTHERAPISTS PRACTICING IN FRANCE

¹French National Council of Order for Physiotherapists, Demography Observatory, Paris, France

Background: Globally, approximately 2.4 billion people are currently living with a health condition for which rehabilitation is beneficial. Due to the changing health and population characteristics of the world, these rehabilitation needs will only increase in the coming years. This observation is also true in France. In order to meet these needs, it is essential to know the available rehabilitation care offer, in particular physical therapy.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to provide updated data on the demography of physiotherapists in France.

Methods: The law requires that physiotherapists be registered with the Order to be authorized to practice in France. We extracted the personal data of all physiotherapists currently working in France in order to meet our objective.

Results: Over 100 000 physiotherapists are registered with the French Order, the majority of which (50,6%) are women. Exclusive salaried practice concerns less than 15% of the professionals, while the others practice in the liberal or mixed sector. On a national level, the density of physiotherapists per 100 000 inhabitants is 147, which places France close to the average of the European Union. However, the distribution of the density of physiotherapists on the national territory is not homogeneous. The most densely populated regions show more than twice the density of the least endowed regions. Concerning the national training policy, the number of students authorized to register in physiotherapy training in France is 3031 per year, and is increasing by about 1% per year. Concerning the mobility of professionals, we note that 1 out of 4 physiotherapists practicing in France obtained their diploma in another European Union country. Of these professionals who have graduated abroad, 60% are of French nationality. The majority of foreign nationals are Spanish, Belgian, Polish or Romanian.

Conclusions: The demography of physiotherapists practicing in France is extremely dynamic, making it the first rehabilitation and the 4th health profession in terms of number of professionals. This demography worries the public authorities because of the health expenses it could induce. The control of the number of professionals that they are trying to put in place by a numerus clausus of entry into studies in France is proving to be ineffective because of European mobility rules. However, reasoning only in terms of health expenses is nonsensical since rehabilitation should be seen as an investment. Thus, the aimed target density of professionals in a country depends mainly on the missions entrusted to them.

Implications: In a context where the covid19 health crisis has shown the limits of our health systems, the redefinition of the professionnals' roles and missions to meet the populations' needs will also have to take into account their demography.

Funding acknowledgements: This work was unfunded

Keywords:
Demography
Care offer

Topics:
Globalisation: health systems, policies & strategies

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: This work does not involve the human person, and French regulations state that no ethical advice should be sought for this type of study.