Oceans of opportunity – Perspectives on beach-based therapy for people with disability: A survey of Australian physiotherapists and occupational therapists

Aim: To determine physiotherapy and occupational therapy practices, barriers, and facilitators of implementing beach-based therapy for people with disability. Design: Anonymous online cross-sectional survey. Method: A 30-item survey (categorical, ordinal, and open response data) was developed to explore beach accessibility awareness and current practices, barriers, and facilitators of beach-based therapy. Descriptive statistics were used to report findings. Results: 171 therapists completed the survey (63% physiotherapists; practice experience range 0-46 years (mean=16). The principal work setting was private practice (46%), with most (81%) respondents managing clients with disability three to five days/week. 93% of respondents were familiar with beach accessibility, though only 40% had used the beach for therapy. The most frequently reported barriers to beach-based therapy were limited general beach accessibility (95%) and specialised mobility equipment (98%), and additional costs (91%). Most (92%) respondents were willing to support future accessible beach initiatives. The most frequently reported facilitators of beach-based therapy included clinical guidelines (89%) and evidence to support the implementation of accessible beach initiatives (90%). Therapists do/would use the beach for prescribing self-directed interventions (84%) and conducting individual (70%) and group (39%) interventions for physical (89%), mental (92%), and social (90%) health goals. Conclusion: Use of the beach as a therapeutic setting is widely accepted though currently limited primarily due to inadequate beach accessibility and increased costs. Key Practice Points: • Therapists recognise the health value of the beach but are not currently equipped to provide beach-based therapy. • High quality evidence is needed to support beach-based therapy implementation.