Patients’ experience of a workplace dialogue in physiotherapy practice in primary care: an interview study

Abstract

Purpose: To describe how patients with acute/subacute back pain and/or neck pain experienced a workplace intervention, conducted as a structured workplace dialogue (convergence dialogue meeting, CDM) within physiotherapy practice in primary care. Materials and methods: Semi-structured interviews were performed with 10 patients who took part in the CDM. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the data. Results: Three categories emerged from the analysis: physiotherapist (PT) as a facilitator, the employer as a key stakeholder and lack of transparency and concrete changes. Conclusion: This study describes patients’ experiences of a workplace dialogue in physiotherapy practice. Even though few patients experienced concrete changes at the workplace, they were supportive for the intervention as well as how the PTs conducted the CDM. The patients expressed trust in the PTs who were seen as someone who could facilitate changes at the workplace, being proficient and supportive. The CDM could be a method to facilitate communication between stakeholders and support work ability.