{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:14:13Z","timestamp":1785406453914,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Physiotherapy clinical education in South Africa faces persistent challenges related to equity, relevance and sustainability, compounded by resource constraints and workforce pressures. Policy, as a tool for shaping undergraduate clinical training, remains underutilised despite its potential to drive transformative educational practices.\nObjectives:\u00a0This study explores how policy can inform and strengthen undergraduate physiotherapy clinical education, drawing on findings from a doctoral evaluation of the Framework and Strategy for Disability and Rehabilitation (FSDR) in South Africa.\nMethod:\u00a0An explanatory mixed-methods design was employed, guided by implementation science frameworks, to evaluate barriers, enablers and outcomes of FSDR implementation. Data were analysed to identify implications for clinical education, including curriculum design, clinical placements and supervisory practices.\nResults:\u00a0Key barriers identified included limited funding, insufficient resources, weak intersectoral collaboration and workforce shortages. Enablers included active disability advocacy, alignment with international rights-based frameworks and community-based rehabilitation initiatives. Applying these findings to clinical education highlighted strategies for optimising clinical placement resources, building supervisor capacity, integrating disability-inclusive and community-based approaches and developing robust monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure training is relevant and socially accountable.\nConclusion:\u00a0Policy-driven transformation of physiotherapy clinical education is essential to equip graduates with the competencies required to meet societal and health system needs.\nClinical implication:\u00a0Embedding policy into clinical training fosters socially accountable graduates who can advance disability rights, contribute to equitable rehabilitation services and translate national health priorities into practical clinical practice.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajp.v82i2.2317","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T07:01:08Z","timestamp":1773903668000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Policy in undergraduate physiotherapy clinical education: Lessons from the implementation of the framework and strategy for disability and rehabilitation"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"82","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1979-8318","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naeema A.R.","family":"Hussein El Kout","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rp50x72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Witwatersrand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0606-9669","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sonti I.","family":"Pilusa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rp50x72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Witwatersrand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8017-6708","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalie","family":"Benjamin-Damons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rp50x72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Witwatersrand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Amosun, S., Jelsma, J., & Maart, S., 2019, \u2018Disability prevalence \u2013 Context matters: A descriptive community-based survey\u2019, African Journal of Disability 8(1), 1\u20138. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/ajod.v8i0.512","DOI":"10.4102\/ajod.v8i0.512"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Banks, L.M., Davey, C., Shakespeare, T., & Kuper, H., 2021, \u2018Disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19: Lessons from social protection research in low- and middle-income countries\u2019, World Development 137, 105178. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.worlddev.2020.105178","DOI":"10.1016\/j.worlddev.2020.105178"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Caves, K.M., Baumann, S. & Renold, U., 2019, \u2018Getting there from here: a literature review on vocational education and training reform implementation\u2019, Journal of Vocational Education & Training 73(1), 95\u2013126, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13636820.2019.1698643.","DOI":"10.1080\/13636820.2019.1698643"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z.A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., et al., 2010, Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. 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