Investigating awareness of the sustainable development and ecological footprint among physiotherapy and rehabilitation students

Abstract

Abstract The term environmental physiotherapy is now widely used, and it is emphasised that raising awareness of the environment and health from university education will be important for the transfer of knowledge on this subject into clinical practice in the future. Thus the aim of our study was to determine the awareness of Sustainable Development (SD) and Ecological Footprint (EFP) among students of physiotherapy and rehabilitation department (DPR; 512 − 76.19%). The socio-demographic data and the students’ views on the concepts of SD (8 questions) and EFP (7 questions), and the level of SD and EFP awareness (with SD and EFP Awareness Questionnaires) were recorded. Participants felt that they had insufficient knowledge of these concepts (SD (0–10): 1.65 ± 2.13-EFP (0–10): 2.64 ± 2.34). Although more than 50% of the students had heard of both concepts and had higher awareness scores, they were insufficiently able to define the relationship with their professions (SD: 10.7% and EFP: 12.3%). Physiotherapy students’ awareness of SD and EFP concepts in relation to their professional roles should be improved. It is also important to ensure that they have access to reliable sources of information via social media and the internet, as well as courses to be included in the curriculum.