Thoughts and writings from Dr. Green
Our episode on Physical Therapy featured Dr. Hadiya Green. This is our page to provide resources on physical therapy issues. In addition to being an active practitioner, Hadiya also writes about various aspects of physical therapy. She considers issues for the therapy professional as well as its use as a tool to help our communities. For example how can physical therapy help people who suffer from chronic health conditions caused by racial disparities? If you enjoy the occasional academic article, you may want to read a study published in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Journal. During COVID, we stopped paying attention to the opioid crisis. But, Hadiya encourages doctors to think about physical therapy as a pain management tool to help reduce dependence on medications.
Racial disparities in Physical therapy is a real issue
Professional physical therapist organizations, such as APTA are now paying attention to the racial disparities in their field. As Hadiya mentioned, people of color tend to have worse outcomes when they are referred for therapy. A group of researchers are asking why we are seeing that outcome? Is it that there are fewer referrals, or are people of color not taking advantage of therapy. The answers are complicated and involve many factors. Some of those factors may be as a simple as whether there is a therapist near where the person lives. It could also be a complex analysis such as lack or referrals or lack of insurance or some combination of the two.The National Association of Black Physical Therapists (NABPT)
The stats on the number of Black PTs is not reassuring. But, there are ways to improve those numbers. Much like other professions getting young people in the pipeline is so critical. And, professional associations need to act purposely to diversify their profession. In the end, it will be better for the profession and certainly better for Black patients.