Iranian Physiotherapists’ Perceptions of the Ethical Issues in Everyday Practice

Considering the significant role of physiotherapists in the process of rehabilitation, their ethical commitment is essential to successful interaction and care provision. However, investigations on the medical professional ethics ​​in Iran are limited. Generally, research in this regard is rare in Asia. Thus, such studies could improve the moral knowledge of the Iranian physiotherapy community. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore professional ethics issues in physiotherapy to provide a platform concerning the challenges of professional ethics in physiotherapy in Iran.

This qualitative study was conducted in 2016-2017 using the content analysis method. The study samples were recruited through purposive sampling approach until data saturation (12 physiotherapists). The required data were gathered by an in-depth semi-structured interview. All of the interviews were transcribed and analyzed, inductively.

Physiotherapists in Ahvaz and Tehran cities, Iran experienced challenges in 6 different categories during daily practice. These aspects included the following: therapists’ self-interest-craving, observing patients’ rights, maintaining professional competence, the effect of workplace on ethical conduct, personal ethical outlook, and insufficient professional ethics education. This study implicated the existence of a trend of kick-backs in the physiotherapy community; a problematic trend in the medical community, i.e. addressed by physicians in several articles. Additionally, the lack of receiving ethical education leads to ethical judgments based on personal values rather than ethical codes. According to the current research findings, it To increase the visibility of the article as well as to increase the citation of your article, we suggest that Latin keywords be based on the MeSH list. See: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search was problematic for practitioners. 

Three subcategories of the incompetence of the healthcare system, the lack of supervision on ethical principles, and the impact of poor insurance system on patient admission are related to the endemic conditions of the health system of the country. These issues require serious interventions from executive powers.