ODIN, MATTHEW

Background: Physiotherapists are part of the multidisciplinary health care team (MDT) and are essential in providing mental health education to patients and, when necessary, making referrals for additional customized therapy. However, there is a little or no studies on the knowledge, attitudes and perception of clinical students on the roles of physiotherapy in mental health. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perception of final clinical students of the university of Benin on the roles of physiotherapy in mental health. Methods: This was a cross sectional design study where 256 participants were recruited via convenience sampling technique from final year clinical class at University of Benin. Data was summarized using frequency, percentages, mean, median and interquartile range as appropriate. Inferential statistics such as Chi-square was used to test for the association between the variables and Mann Whitney u-test was used to test for the level of differences. The level of significance will be set at p < 0.05. Results: Majority of the participants 221 (86.3%) had adequate knowledge of the role of physiotherapy, 131 (51.2%) had positive attitude and 218 (85.2%) had good perception towards the role of physiotherapy in mental health. There was no significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice between male and female (p = >0.05). However, there was a significant difference in attitude between various departments. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude (X2= 4.627, p=0.031). Conclusion: The study revealed there was an adequate knowledge on the role of physiotherapy, attitude towards mental health and a good perception of the role of physiotherapy in mental health among the respondents.