Statistics

2014 Health Manpower Survey

Summary of the Characteristics of Physiotherapists Enumerated

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I. Physiotherapists Covered

1.1  The physiotherapists covered in the 2014 HMS were physiotherapists registered with the Physiotherapists Board of Hong Kong under the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Chapter 359) as at the survey reference date - 31.3.2014.

1.2  The number of physiotherapists covered was 2 538.

1.3  Of the 2 538 physiotherapists covered, 1 386 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 54.6%. Among the respondents, 1 254 (90.5%) were economically active*† (active) in the local physiotherapy profession as at 31.3.2014 and 132 (9.5%) reported that they were economically inactive*‡ (inactive) in the local physiotherapy profession.

1.4  Of the 1 254 active physiotherapists, 1 248 (99.5%) were practising in the local physiotherapy profession, five (0.4%) were seeking jobs and one (0.1%) was expecting to return to the original job in the local physiotherapy profession during the 30 days before the survey. The survey results presented in paragraph 1.6 below were based on the 1 248 responding physiotherapists who were practising in the local physiotherapy profession as at 31.3.2014. As certain questionnaires contained missing information, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.

1.5  Of the 132 inactive physiotherapists, 46 reported practising overseas, 11 reported practising in the Mainland and 75 reported not seeking jobs in the local physiotherapy profession during the 30 days before the survey (Chart A). Among the 75 inactive physiotherapists who reported not seeking job, the main reasons reported for not seeking jobs included: 31 (41.3%) were working in the other professions, 16 (21.3%) were engaged in household duties, 15 (20.0%) were retired and seven (9.3%) wanted to take rest / had no motive to work / had no financial need.

*   In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive followed those recommended by the International Labour Organization, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.

†  "Economically active" physiotherapists comprised all "employed" and "unemployed" physiotherapists. "Employed" physiotherapists referred to those physiotherapists practising in the physiotherapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while "unemployed" physiotherapists referred to those physiotherapists who (a) were not practising in the local physiotherapy profession during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the local physiotherapy profession during the 30 days before the survey.

‡   "Economically inactive" physiotherapists comprised the physiotherapists who were not practising in the physiotherapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, excluding those who had been on leave during the survey period and who were economically active but "unemployed".

Chart A : Activity Status of Physiotherapists Covered

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1.6   Three physiotherapists did not indicate sex. Among the remaining 1 245 active physiotherapists enumerated, 532 (42.7%) were male and 713 (57.3%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 75. Apart from nine physiotherapists who did not indicate age, the median age of the remaining 1 239 active physiotherapists enumerated was 37.0 years. The median age of the active female physiotherapists enumerated was 36.5 years and that of their male counterparts was 38.0 years.

1.7   The responding active physiotherapists were requested to indicate the characteristics of their main jobs*. Distribution of the main job by sector showed that larger proportion (40.8%) of active physiotherapists were working in the private sector, followed by those working in the Hospital Authority (38.5%), the subvented sector (15.9%), the academic sector (3.4%) and the Government (1.3%).

1.8   The median age of the active physiotherapists enumerated was 44.0 years for those working in the Government, followed by 41.0 years for those working in the academic sector, 39.0 years in the Hospital Authority, 36.0 years in both the subvented sector and the private sector.

1.9   Of the 1 248 active physiotherapists enumerated, 87.6% spent most of their working time on rehabilitation, followed by 5.9% on administration / management, 3.1% on primary health care†, 2.5% on teaching and 0.5% on research.

1.10   The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 1 248 active physiotherapists enumerated was 44.0 hours. Among them, 90 (7.2%) physiotherapists were required to undertake on-call duty (excluding normal duty), with a median of 4.0 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week.

1.11   Of the 1 248 active physiotherapists enumerated, 65.5% held Bachelor’s Degree and 23.2% held Diploma / Professional Diplomas as their basic qualifications.

1.12   Of the 1 248 active physiotherapists enumerated, 1 121 (89.8%) received / were receiving additional training. Of the 1 121 active physiotherapists with additional training, 12 (1.1%) had not yet completed the additional training, 718 (64.0%) held Master’s Degree, 138 (12.3%) held Diploma and 100 (8.9%) held Certificate as the highest qualification.

*  Main jobs referred to the jobs in which the physiotherapists had spent most of their working time.

†  Primary health care referred to the work such as health education, health promotion, etc. or the work involving patient care in the primary care setting.

1.13  Among those active physiotherapists who received / were receiving additional training, some of them selected more than one field of additional training. The total number of count of active physiotherapists who received / were receiving additional training was 2 358, in which 31.0% were trained / receiving training in acupuncture, 15.4% in manipulative physiotherapy, 13.5% in sports physiotherapy / sports and health sciences, 9.6% in physiotherapy, 7.8% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 6.1% in health care management / health services management and 5.6% in gerontology.

1.14   Of the 1 121 active physiotherapists who received / were receiving additional training, 446 (39.8%) were trained / receiving training in one field. Among them, 35.9% were trained / receiving training in acupuncture, 17.5% in sports physiotherapy / sports and health sciences, 12.3% in manipulative physiotherapy, 7.8% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 7.0% in health care management / health services management, 6.5% in physiotherapy, 5.8% in rehabilitation and 4.5% in gerontology.

1.15   Regarding Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities, 799 (64.0%) of the active physiotherapists reported that they had participated in CPD activities in 2014, 423 (33.9%) had not participated in any CPD activities and 26 (2.1 %) did not report whether they had participated in any CPD activities or not. Among the 799 active physiotherapists who had participated in CPD activities, the distribution of CPD credits attained in the past 12 months was: 1 to 10 credits (27.9%), 11 to 20 credits (35.0%), 21 to 30 credits (19.5%), 31 to 40 credits (5.5%) and more than 40 credits (12.0%).

II.   Trend Analysis

2.1   Comparison of findings of the 2014 HMS with those surveys before 2004 should be made with caution as the survey methods and reference date had been changed.

2.2   Since the enactment of the Physiotherapists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Regulation (Chapter 359J) in July 1999, it is mandatory for a person practising physiotherapy in Hong Kong to hold a valid practising certificate. Between 1996 and 2014, the number of physiotherapists increased from 782 to 2 538 (Chart B) .

2.3   The sex ratio (males per 100 females) of active physiotherapists enumerated increased from 46 in 1982 to 82 in 1990 and then decreased to 75 in 2014 (Table A) .

Chart B :   Number of Physiotherapists Covered by Year (1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014)

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Note:

Figure of 1996 refers to the number of physiotherapists reported by the responding institutions as at the 1st of July 1996. Figure of 2000 refers to the number of physiotherapists registered with the Physiotherapists Board of Hong Kong as at the 1st of July 2000, whereas the figures of 2004 to 2014 refer to that as at 31st of March of the respective years.

2.4   The mean age of the active physiotherapists enumerated increased from 29.0 years in 1982 to 38.5 years in 2014.

2.5   From 1982 to 1990, the largest proportion of active physiotherapists was working in the Government, which accounted for about 50% and the remaining physiotherapists worked in the subvented, private and academic sectors. Since its setup in 1991 and up till 2011, the Hospital Authority had been the largest employer covering around 45% of active physiotherapists. During the same period, the proportion of active physiotherapists working in the academic and subvented sectors was at around 20%, and the proportion working in the Government was below 2%. The proportion of active physiotherapists working in the private sector gradually increased from 11.8% in 1996 to 40.8% in 2014, while the proportion of active physiotherapists employed in the Hospital Authority was 38.5% in 2014.

Table A : Selected Characteristics of Active Physiotherapists Enumerated (1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014)

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