USE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY-RELATED SMARTPHONE APPLICATIONS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE AMONG PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN INDIA – A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY STUDY

Purpose: The rapid evolution of smartphone applications has transformed healthcare delivery worldwide. However, despite this growing trend, there is limited information on how Indian physiotherapists specifically utilize these mobile applications and their perspectives on integrating them into clinical practice. This gap in knowledge underscores the need for a comprehensive examination of the attitudes of practitioners toward their incorporation into clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross sectional descriptive survey study, the self-administered questionnaire was distributed to over 2,500 working physiotherapists across India through social media platforms. Questionnaire consists of 4 parts including demographics, knowledge, perceptions and barriers to adoption with current application functionalities. Data were obtained from 456 physiotherapists . Descriptive data analysis was conducted which included calculating the frequencies and percentages of participants. Results: Findings indicated that while 65.6% of respondents were aware of physiotherapy-related smartphone applications, only 35.1% reported using them in clinical practice. The majority of participants (79.5%) perceived these applications as beneficial. Key barriers included a lack of knowledge about appropriate applications (49.78%) and lack of technical support (40.35%). A statistically significant association was found between designation and use of physiotherapy-related smartphone applications at (p