Abstract
Purpose: The study aim was to clarify professional university students’ consciousness of physical therapy
research through a questionnaire. Methods: The participants were 39 fourth-year physical therapy students. A
questionnaire consisting of six items was used to assess current interest in physical therapy research and future
plans for its implementation. The presence or absence of interest and implementation plans were compared.
In addition, the relationship between interest and implementation plans was examined. Statistical analyses
were conducted using the chi-square goodness-of-fit and Fisher’s exact tests. All analyses were performed
using R version 4.3.2 (CRAN, freeware), with the significance level set at p<0.05. Results: The proportion of
students expressing interest in physical therapy research was 33.3%, and 28.2% indicated plans for future
implementation. Significant differences were observed between the presence and absence of current interest
and future implementation plans. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between current interest and
implementation plans. Conclusion: This study confirmed a significant correlation between current interest in
physical therapy research and future implementation plans. These findings suggest that fostering interest in
physical therapy research during university education is crucial.
