{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T12:45:26Z","timestamp":1791895526829,"version":"4.3.4"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.180139.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000}}],"reference-count":15,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>Objectives This narrative review examines differences in research visibility and professional recognition between academic and clinical physical therapists. It specifically distinguishes among structural barriers to traditional research production, clinicians\u2019 contributions to implementation and evidence translation, and the potential value of clinician-led research within the profession\u2019s evidence base. Methods A narrative synthesis was undertaken using published literature on scholarly productivity, bibliometric performance, research participation, evidence-based practice, and research barriers among physical therapy academics and clinicians across multiple international contexts. Relevant papers were identified from major health and bibliographic databases and by screening reference lists of eligible articles. Results Academic physical therapists consistently demonstrate higher measurable bibliometric output than clinicians, although performance varies across institution type, region, and research infrastructure. In contrast, clinicians across several countries report recurring barriers to traditional research engagement, including heavy workload, limited protected time, inadequate research training, and insufficient institutional support. Clinicians also perform essential evidence implementation, outcome monitoring, auditing, quality improvement, and service evaluation activities that support patient care and service development. These activities should not be treated as identical to traditional research outputs, but they represent clinically valuable professional contributions that are often under-recognised. Clinician-scholars also serve an important bridging role between knowledge generation and clinical application. Conclusion Research visibility in physical therapy depends on structural factors, not just scholarly interest. Traditional bibliometric metrics favour academic settings and overlook clinicians\u2019 practical contributions, such as audits and quality improvement. Broader approaches are necessary to recognise these efforts while distinguishing research productivity, evidence translation, and clinical service.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.180139.2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T09:34:08Z","timestamp":1783676048000},"page":"673","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Research Visibility in Physical Therapy: A Narrative Analysis of Academic and Clinical Contributions"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Vivek","family":"Ramanandi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Rehabilitation & Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences Nizwa Ad Dakhiliyah \u200dGovernorate 616 University of Nizwa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aparna","family":"Bachkaniwala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurological Physiotherapy, SPB Physiotherapy College, Surat Gujarat 395005 Veer Narmad South Gujarat University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"172-178","DOI":"10.1097\/JTE.0000000000000139","article-title":"Scholarly productivity among doctor of physical therapy Faculty in the United States.","volume":"34","author":"B Myers","year":"2020 Jun 1","journal-title":"Journal of Physical Therapy Education."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1368849","DOI":"10.1080\/10872981.2017.1368849","article-title":"Research productivity of doctor of physical therapy faculty promoted in the southeastern United States.","volume":"22","author":"M Littman","year":"2017 Jan 1","journal-title":"Medical education 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Fafolahan","year":"2022 Mar 15","journal-title":"Archives of Current Research International."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.53389\/JRCRS.2023110213","article-title":"Knowledge, Attitude and Barriers of Research Among Post-Graduate Physical Therapists.","volume":"11","author":"A Younis","year":"2023 Jul 5","journal-title":"Journal Riphah College of Rehabilitation Sciences."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-018-1121-6","article-title":"Training programmes to improve evidence uptake and utilisation by physiotherapists: a systematic scoping review.","volume":"18","author":"J Stander","year":"2018 Jan 15","journal-title":"BMC medical education."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-022-07480-x","article-title":"Exploring research capacity and culture of allied health professionals: a mixed methods evaluation.","volume":"22","author":"T Cordrey","year":"2022 Jan 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status","group":{"name":"current-referee-status","label":"Current Referee Status"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.205594.r500190, Mark Elkins, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 20 Jul 2026, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/15-673\/v2#referee-response-500190","order":0,"name":"referee-response-500190","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"<b>Vivek Ramanandi<\/b>; \n<i>Posted: 20 Jul 2026<\/i>; Dear Reviewer,  Thank you for your positive report.  Best Regards.","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/15-673\/v2#referee-comment-16714","order":1,"name":"referee-comment-16714","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.205594.r501181, Hari Babu, P P Savani University, Dhamdod, Gujarat, 24 Jul 2026, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/15-673\/v2#referee-response-501181","order":2,"name":"referee-response-501181","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"<b>Vivek Ramanandi<\/b>; \n<i>Posted: 24 Jul 2026<\/i>; Dear Dr Hari Babu  Thank you for your expert opinion and suggestions for improvement.  Best Regards.","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/15-673\/v2#referee-comment-16745","order":3,"name":"referee-comment-16745","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work","order":4,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}