Looking back at Physiopedia in 2018

Over 9 million people from every country in the world viewed over 23 million pages on Physiopedia in 2018! As the runaway train continues we are still clinging on to guide it in the best direction for our global physiotherapy and physical therapy  profession.

2018 was the year that we discovered that Physiopedia was a mainstream resource in many clinics and hospital departments around the world.  One user told us that “Physiopedia is always on one of the computers in our department”, another told us about the “dedicated Physiopedia computer” they have access to when ever they need it.

Students continue to tell us how useful Physiopedia is to their studies and how they use it as a summary of relevant knowledge and as a secondary source of evidence to find useful resources and primary sources of evidence. We love the way that Physiopedia can ease the burden on students and have made a t-shirt especially for them this year which they loved! Even faculty staff were mildly amused!

The Physiopedia team work extremely hard to build this valued professional resource for our profession, and everyone is a volunteer.  They monitor and update content, they act as a sounding board for ideas and provide advice and feedback from the front line. They help us to share Physiopedia with the world.  The team has grown significantly this year to around 50 people representing around 20 countries making for a fun and professionally rewarding team to be a part of.  We cannot thank them enough for joining us on the ride and if you get the chance you should thank them too, for without them Physiopedia would disappear!

In 2018 we were excited to inspire many with our #JustKeepMoving campaign. Activity is a key component of health for any human being – young and old, in sickness and in health, and wherever you may be in the world.  With this in mind Physiopedia started a new campaign to ask the world to “just keep moving” and we invited everyone to get involved. Not only was it successful in promoting physical activity but it also became a mantra for our personal and professional lives. You can read the personal stories of people that became inspired here.

Our 2018 free annual online course, developed in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Humanity & Inclusion,  delivered knowledge on wheelchair service provision to thousands of people from over 150 countries, in both French and English.  This course was accredited in the USA, South Africa and Australia and we have already heard about several follow up in person practical skills training courses that have taken place as a local follow up. It’s always difficult to manage a course of this size but the feedback that we receive highlights the impact that these annual free online courses make around the world and we would like to thank all those that participated in 2018.

2018 was also the year that Physiopedia became involved in several international projects with NGOs.  The Erasmus funded PREP project with a group of universities will produce a course to provide appropriate knowledge to physiotherapists working with refugees. With Humanity & Inclusion and the AO Foundation, a course will be developed to train physiotherapists working in situations where there is a need for early trauma rehabilitation during conflict and disaster. In collaboration with the World Health Organisation we are developing an online training resource for all health care workers to effectively provide assistive technology.

physiopedia collaborating with the world health organisation

Physiopedia is a charity and, in addition to voluntary content contributions, relies on the global professional community for financial contributions to keep it going.  To aid this we added clear information about how you can get involved as well as other options to make a financial contribution that also  comes with other benefits such as items from our shop and/or online CE/CPD at Physioplus – profits from both of these related sites go directly to supporting Physiopedia. If you are interested please take time to read our first annual report that covers the 2017/18 fiscal year and if you value Physiopedia please consider making a financial contribution in 2019.

As we conclude our first full year as a UK registered charity organisation we cannot help but be overwhelmed and excited by the growing impact that Physiopedia has all over the world. As we enter 2019 at full speed, with your help, long may this continue!  Join us for the ride!!