<i>“You can only change what you can change</i> ”: a qualitative study of new-graduate physiotherapists’ experiences navigating the care of patients influenced by health misinformation

BACKGROUND: Health misinformation is prevalent in healthcare, posing unique challenges for physiotherapists. Current literature highlights healthcare professionals' concerns toward the impact of health misinformation on patient care, yet the perceptions of new-graduate physiotherapists in this area remain unknown. PURPOSE: To understand Australian new-graduate physiotherapists' experiences navigating the care of patients influenced by health misinformation in clinical practice and their perspectives on training and support needs. METHOD: A qualitative general inductive approach was undertaken. Sixteen new-graduate physiotherapists participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview data were subject to reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes were generated: 1) Misinformation is ubiquitous and entrenched; 2) Balancing professional responsibility with patient autonomy; 3) Knowing versus implementing a biopsychosocial approach; and 4) The help or hindrance of the healthcare system. CONCLUSION: New-graduate physiotherapists encounter patients influenced by health misinformation and recognize its impact on physiotherapy and healthcare more broadly. Patient education emerged as a key strategy to mitigate misinformed beliefs, requiring clinical knowledge and development of therapeutic relationships. New-graduates report challenges navigating these biopsychosocial interactions and emphasize the value of pre-clinical and workplace training. Findings highlight the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration for a coordinated response to misinformation in healthcare.