Barriers in Oral Cancer Rehabilitation: A Physiotherapist’s Perspective

Background: Oral cancer has a significant long-term impact on survivors, especially with regard to their physical, mental, and social well-being, in addition to the immediate threat to their lives. The purpose of this study is to determine and investigate the challenges that physiotherapists encounter when assisting oral cancer survivors with their rehabilitation. Methodology: A total of 835 physiotherapists, selected through purposive sampling, participated in the survey. A Google form was distributed via professional networks, online physiotherapy forums, and email to capture information about the participants' demographic data, experience with oral cancer patients, and the specific challenges they encountered in providing effective rehabilitation. The responses were recorded and analyzed using the latest version of MS Excel. Results: The biggest barrier reported was psychological factors like lack of motivation, fear of recurrence, body image concerns, social isolation accounting for 64.42%. This was followed by caregiver burden limiting patient’s access to physiotherapy treatment/s (50%), pre-existing beliefs about exercise (40.29%) etc. Conclusion: Effective physiotherapy rehabilitation for patients with oral cancer in India is hampered by a number of factors, including knowledge, evidence, guidelines, budgetary limitations, psychological concerns, and systemic healthcare issues. Key words: barriers, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, oral cancer