Physical Therapists’ Perceptions and Attitudes About Sleep: A Compilation and Comparison of Survey Data from Three Countries

Sleep is critical for health, well-being, and recovery after injury or illness. Recognizing sleep disorders as part of physical therapists’ (PT) roles is gaining traction. This secondary analysis compared PTs’ education, perceptions, and attitudes regarding sleep in the United States, Jordan, and Brazil. Means and standard deviations (SD) were calculated for continuous variables; frequency distributions for categorical data. Fisher’s exact tests assessed group differences at a <0.05, with post-hoc analyses using Bonferroni correction at a <0.017. Participants included 76 U.S. PTs (83% female, age 41.99 ± 10.94), 87 Jordanian PTs (57% female; age 28.13 ± 4.44), and 164 Brazilian PTs (82% female; age 36.03 ± 7.93). Over 90% agreed on the importance of sleep and that PTs should inquire about sleep issues. However, most lacked sleep education in PT school (64–79%) or after graduation (65-93%). Only 26–56% routinely assessed sleep, 21–43% educated patients on its importance, and 18–59% provided guidance on improving sleep quality. Differences existed in attitudes, education, and practices regarding sleep across countries. Despite recognizing sleep’s importance, PTs lack the necessary education to address it adequately. Equipping PTs globally to address sleep issues is a critical opportunity to enhance sleep health and mitigate health consequences of poor sleep worldwide.