PMID- 38231542
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20240118
LR  - 20240203
IS  - 2292-9495 (Electronic)
IS  - 2292-9495 (Linking)
VI  - 11
DP  - 2024 Jan 17
TI  - Characteristics, Opportunities, and Challenges of Osteopathy Based on the 
      Perceptions of Osteopaths in Austria: Qualitative Interview Study.
PG  - e45302
LID - 10.2196/45302 [doi]
LID - e45302
AB  - BACKGROUND: There are no uniform regulations for the osteopathic profession in 
      Europe. It is subject to country-specific regulations defining who shall be 
      allowed to practice osteopathy and which qualification shall be required. In 
      recent years, legal regulations have been established in several European 
      countries for the profession of osteopathy; however, these are also still pending 
      for Austria. Currently, physiotherapists and physicians with osteopathic training 
      are practicing osteopathy in Austria. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the 
      characteristics, challenges, and opportunities of osteopaths in Austria. METHODS: 
      Guideline-based interviews with osteopaths (N=10) were conducted. The different 
      research questions were examined using a qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: 
      The study provided a differentiated insight into the professional situation of 
      osteopaths in Austria. The most important result was that all interviewees 
      unanimously supported a legal regulation of their profession. However, owing to 
      their different professional self-image-on the one hand, individuals working on a 
      structural basis, and, on the other hand, individuals working on a cranial or 
      biodynamic basis-they were able to imagine a uniform professional regulation only 
      to a limited extent. Additional topics for the interviewed osteopaths in Austria 
      were the quality assurance of training and the urgent need for scientific 
      research. Furthermore, the study also dealt with the influence of the COVID-19 
      pandemic on daily practice and on education and training in osteopathy. 
      CONCLUSIONS: This study is a pioneering study with regard to systematic basic 
      research on osteopathy in Austria. The obtained results and the newly acquired 
      research questions not only have the potential to serve as a basis for further 
      studies but also provide insight into the working and professional situation of 
      osteopaths in Austria for universities, schools, professional associations, 
      politics, and-last but not least-all interested parties. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED 
      REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/15399.
CI  - (c)Jonas Manschel, Jan Porthun, Ulrike Winkler, Jean Marie A T Beuckels, David 
      Martin. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors 
      (https://humanfactors.jmir.org), 17.01.2024.
FAU - Manschel, Jonas
AU  - Manschel J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8980-0765
AD  - Institute of Integrative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Health Faculty, 
      University Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke, Germany.
FAU - Porthun, Jan
AU  - Porthun J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4100-4361
AD  - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Campus Gjovik, Gjovik, Norway.
FAU - Winkler, Ulrike
AU  - Winkler U
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3307-245X
AD  - Bundeswehr University Munich, Neubiberg, Germany.
FAU - Beuckels, Jean Marie A T
AU  - Beuckels JMAT
AUID- ORCID: 0009-0005-8569-1385
AD  - Institute of Integrative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Health Faculty, 
      University Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke, Germany.
AD  - Department of Osteopathy, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hochschule 
      Fresenius, Munich, Germany.
FAU - Martin, David
AU  - Martin D
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4279-3032
AD  - Institute of Integrative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Health Faculty, 
      University Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke, Germany.
AD  - Tubingen University Children's Hospital, Tubingen, Germany.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20240117
PL  - Canada
TA  - JMIR Hum Factors
JT  - JMIR human factors
JID - 101666561
SB  - IM
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Osteopathic Physicians
MH  - Austria
MH  - Pandemics
MH  - *Bone Diseases
MH  - *Physical Therapists
MH  - Qualitative Research
PMC - PMC10831693
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Austria
OT  - health care system
OT  - osteopath
OT  - osteopathic profession
OT  - osteopaths
OT  - osteopathy
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
EDAT- 2024/01/17 12:44
MHDA- 2024/01/18 06:43
PMCR- 2024/01/17
CRDT- 2024/01/17 11:53
PHST- 2022/12/23 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/11/27 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/11/27 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2024/01/18 06:43 [medline]
PHST- 2024/01/17 12:44 [pubmed]
PHST- 2024/01/17 11:53 [entrez]
PHST- 2024/01/17 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - v11i1e45302 [pii]
AID - 10.2196/45302 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - JMIR Hum Factors. 2024 Jan 17;11:e45302. doi: 10.2196/45302.