Exploring differences in technology readiness in the workplace between highly expe-rienced physiotherapists and 4th year physiotherapy students using Technology Readiness Index: a cohort study.

Abstract

Question: Are 4th year physiotherapy students more technological ready than highly experienced physiotherapists who have been in the workplace for 20 years or over? Is technological readiness related to age? Design: observational cohort design. Participants: eighty-five eligible participants, 29 (34.1%) 4th year students and 56 (65.8%) highly experienced physiotherapists completed the survey. Intervention: Participants completed either a paper or online questionnaire of the technological readiness index (TRI). The questionnaire consists of 16-item with its questions focusing primarily on technology readiness within the workplace. The TRI consists of four main themes: innovativeness, optimism, discomfort and insecurity. Results: No statistical difference in overall TRI scores was found between 4th year physiotherapy students and highly experienced physiotherapists (95% CI, p= 0.095). 4th year physiotherapy students scored significantly higher in the innovative (95% CI, p = 0.019) and insecurity (95% CI, p= 0.02) domain respectively. No correlational relationship was found between overall TRI score and age. Conclusion: Overall, both groups indicated a 'neutral' belief and TRI score toward the use of technology in the workplace. Closer analyses of individual themes, showed that 4th year physiotherapy students may be more innovative at the prospect of using technology in the workplace to contribute to clinical practice, yet they show higher levels of insecurity compared to the highly experienced physiotherapists. The results may be of interest to both universities and physiotherapy managers in providing the right training and support to facilitate the adoption of technology in the workplace.