Barriers to Nonwhite Potential Students of Physical Therapy

Abstract

Physical therapy lags behind other comparable health care professions in its ability to attract nonwhite students to its academic programs. Because there is no evidence to support the assumption that nonwhites are excluded from the applicant pool, there is a need to identify other factors that contribute to the low application rate. A target population ofnonapplicants is difficult to identify and locate. One sector of the nonapplicant physical therapy pool is the accessible population of nonwhite students currently enrolled in physician assistant, chiropractic, and nursing programs. These programs were used because of similarities in admission and curricular standards. Seventeen programs in California were contacted; however, only 6 (35%) were willing to participate. Within those 6 programs, 195 questionnaires were distributed to nonwhite students, and 175 were returned (89.7%). According to this study, nonwhite students were not discouraged from considering physical therapy as a profession for academic, curricular, or minority faculty considerations. The most discouraging factors were the perception by nonwhites that physical therapy would not satisfy their interests in science and helping others and their desire for professional autonomy. They also found some job duties unattractive. Recruitment strategies and future research concerns are discussed.