# Mental health content in the physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum in South Africa

## TL;DR

This study examines how mental health is taught in South African physiotherapy programs and finds variation in content across universities.

## Contribution

The study provides the first exploration of mental health content in South African physiotherapy curricula and highlights the need for consistency.

## Key findings

- Seven of eight universities included mental health content in their curricula.
- There is significant variation in mental health content across institutions.
- Stakeholders agree mental health education is crucial for physiotherapy students.

## Abstract

Knowledge about mental health in physiotherapy practice is essential as mental health can impact physical health. Little is known about the mental health content in the South African physiotherapy undergraduate programme.

Our study explored the mental health content in the undergraduate physiotherapy programme at eight universities and the perceptions of academic staff at an identified training institution in South Africa and stakeholders about the relevance of mental health in the undergraduate physiotherapy programme

Our study employed a concurrent-mixed method design, which consisted of: (1) the administration of a survey to academic leaders or lecturers undertaking mental health teaching at universities and (2) an online interview that included stakeholders and a focus group to gauge perceptions of academic staff at an identified institution in South Africa.

Seven of eight universities participated in our study. All the universities had a psychology module and agreed that it is crucial to have mental health content in the curriculum. There is diversity in the mental health content between the universities.

There is a need for consistency in the mental health content at all universities to ensure that all students receive the same skill set to have an impact on the quality of care.

There is a need to include mental health content at universities offering theoretical and practical undergraduate programmes.