Toward the development of a training program that promotes a "social model of disability" for physical therapists: a discussion on experiential learning surrounding the use of "acceptance of disability" by physical therapists.
Akiko Tajima, Koji Ikeda, Kenichi Ota and 3 others
PMID 37266364WHAT IT FOUND
Experienced PTs stopped labeling patients with 'acceptance of disability' because it hid small changes and imposed values.
They shifted to listening to the person’s actual life and needs, trusting relationships over rigid outcomes, and seeing change as possible beyond the acute phase.
Key findings
01Therapists with more than five years of experience were significantly more likely to proactively stop using the term 'acceptance of disability' compared to those with less experience.
02Participants reported that the term acted as a label that made small, positive changes in a patient's mindset invisible, leading them to abandon it in favor of observing the person's actual life.
03Clinical practice changed from forcing patients to overcome difficulties to building trust, identifying actual needs, and maintaining a belief that change is possible even after the standard recovery period.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (11 therapists) and recruited via social media and lectures, creating potential bias toward those already interested in this topic. The study reports the views of therapists who had already changed their practice; it does not prove that this change leads to better patient outcomes. Findings are based on self-reported narratives and may not reflect actual clinical behavior in all situations.
Declared interests
The study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that abandoning the term 'acceptance of disability' improves patient outcomes. The study describes the subjective experiences of therapists who already made this change; it does not measure clinical efficacy.