Controversial Issues in Healthcare Policy: A Survey of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students in a Public University.

BACKGROUND: The recently passed legislation and proposed policy changes governing the healthcare system have been met with extensive debate and controversy.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of the study was to determine the attitudes of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students towards some of these controversial issues. The secondary objective was to determine the demographic factors, including number of years in a physical therapy program, that contribute to their attitude formation.

METHODS: The research design was a cross-sectional non-experimental survey. Purposive sampling was used to recruit subjects in a public university. Subjects took the survey including nine Likert scale questions/statements on controversial issues inspired from legislative efforts and news media sources and one open-ended question.

RESULTS: Of the 111 recruited, 106 students agreed to participate as subjects and completed the survey. Only 18.9% agreed or strongly agreed that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a positive solution for the healthcare system in America. Political affiliation, class level, and developmental environment were associated with a few questions/statements.

CONCLUSIONS: DPT students in the sample had very diverse attitudes towards controversial issues in healthcare policy. Some of these attitudes revealed very different paradigms from the results found among medical students and the general public.