Abstract
Objective: To look into the perceived health and state
of wellness of professional physical therapists in six
dimensions of wellness, and compare them on the
basis of gender and qualification.
Methodology: This cross sectional survey was
performed from February to July 2017 on graduates
and postgraduates working physical therapists. A total
of 386 participants of both gender aged 24 and above
were included in the study via convenience sampling.
Undergraduates, non-working graduates and graduates
with illnesses were excluded from the study. Perceived
wellness survey (PWS) questionnaire was used. T-test
and one way ANOVA was applied for statistical
analysis of the data using SPSS 20.
Results: The mean scores of the participants for
psychological, physical, emotional, spiritual, social
and intellectual dimensions of wellness were 3.9 ± 0.6,
4.3 ± 0.7, 4.2 ± 0.7, 4.3 ± 0.7, 4.4 ± 0.7 and 4.3 ± 2.2,
respectively. A significant difference was observed
between males in females only in terms of physical
and spiritual dimensions of PWS, with males scoring
higher as compared to females (p < 0.05). No
statistically significant differences were observed
among all the dimensions of wellness in terms of
qualification of the participants (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Male professionals had better sense of
self perceived wellness in terms of physical and
spiritual dimensions as compared to females, however
qualification had no effect in terms self-perceived
health.
Keywords: Holistic health, physical therapist,
wellness.
