# The Future of Physiotherapy Education: Evidence-based knowledge for teaching - Savonia AMK

> Description of the activities of the ENPHE research group regarding evidence-based physiotherapy education.

## ENPHE Research Group Contributions
During the ENPHE Forum held in Luxembourg from September 18–20, 2025, the ENPHE Research Group actively contributed to the event’s theme “The Future of Physiotherapy Education: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities” (European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education n.d.). The group presented development initiatives and results from its various sub-groups, focusing on advancing evidence-based physiotherapy (Äijö et al. 2025).

## Systematic Review: Assessing the "EBP Clinician Profile"
Following our scoping review published in 2023 (Boshnjaku et al. 2023) on the types of teaching sequences for EBP teaching, the question of using a relevant tool to assess an “EBP clinician profile” arises. 

We decided to conduct a systematic review to identify the best tool to assess an “EBP clinician profile” by building a method with the best possible methodological quality. This method was developed to track most of the AMSTAR-2 items and the report follows the PRISMA 2020 recommendations. After searching multiple databases (>18), more than 32,000 articles were identified. Removing duplicates reduced this number to more than 17,000. We have completed the first phase of article selection and have started critical reading of articles and data extraction for three tests: Fresno, Berlin questionnaire, and Evidence-based practice profile questionnaire. Preliminary results show varying qualities of evidence regarding the different docimological criteria and a lack of some assessments.

## Survey for Teachers
Within the ‘Survey for teachers’ group, we developed a data collection tool for university lecturers in Physiotherapy Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences in European countries to identify the curriculum contents of evidence-based physiotherapy.

The research journey has included:
*   Design of the research project.
*   Approval by the Ethics Committee of the University of A Coruña (Spain).
*   Design of a consensus survey developed within the research group.
*   Development of a Delphi procedure.

We have now completed the validation process and our next steps will be a pilot study and the development of the final study.

## Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)
A Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) on Evidence-Based Physiotherapy is a short-term, collaborative educational initiative designed to bring together students and staff from different countries within the Erasmus+ framework.

*   **Edition 1 (2023):** Held in Kuopio (Finland) with Savonia University, Karlova University, and Universidade da Coruña.
*   **Edition 2 (2024):** Held in Prague (Czech Republic) with the addition of Universidad Europea de Madrid and CERRFF.
*   **Next Edition (October 2025):** To be held at Universidade da Coruña (Spain), adding d´École D´Asass and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences as new partners.

The program aims to enhance participants’ skills and knowledge in Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in Physiotherapy. Students report a better understanding of EBP and an improvement in collaborative and communication skills.

## Future Directions
In the future, the research group aims to invest in evidence-based physiotherapy from both the teachers’ and students’ perspectives. These efforts will lay the foundation for developing evidence-based teaching practices, ensuring that graduating physiotherapists are better equipped to work in a client-centered manner.

## Writers
*   **Marja Äijö**, PhD, principal lecturer of gerontology and rehabilitation, Savonia University of Applied Sciences
*   **Adrien Pallot**, PT, MsC lecturer of physiotherapy (IFMK Assas, University of Picardie)
*   **Hugo Nabais**, physiotherapy student (University of Picardie)
*   **Simon Desmazières**, physiotherapy student (University of Picardie)
*   **Clémence Boucher**, physiotherapy student (IFMK Assas)
*   **Maxence Sicard**, physiotherapy student (IFMK Assas)
*   **Merita Qorolli**, PT, PhD, Prof. Ass., Department of Physiotherapy Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
*   **Verónica Robles García**, PhD, MSc, PT, OT. Lecturer at Department of Physical Therapy, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Physiotherapy and Researcher at the Neuroscience and motor control group, Universidade da Coruña and Biomedical Institute of A Coruña, Spain
*   **Zeltia Naia**, Prof, PhD, MSc, PT. Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of A Coruña, Spain

## References
*   Boshnjaku A, Arnadottir AS, Pallot A, Wagener M, Äijö M. 2023. Improving the Evidence-Based Practice Skills of Entry-Level Physiotherapy Students through Educational Interventions: A Scoping Review of Literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(16), 6605; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20166605
*   European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education (ENPHE) (n.d.). ENPHE official website. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from https://www.enphe.org/en
*   Äijö M, Wagener MN, Pavlů D, Pallot A, Qorolli M, Multanen J, Zeltia N. 2025. ENPHE – Eurooppalainen yhteistyö näyttöön perustuvan fysioterapiakoulutuksen kehittämiseksi. Fysioterapia 5, 52–53