Physiotherapists' understanding and approach to health promotion work in compulsory school: perceiving and supporting coherence.

Gaining knowledge in the field of health promotion may help physiotherapists acquire a new understanding of the way movement promotes health, as related to environmental influences. The aim of the present study was to describe how physiotherapists working in a programme of health promotion in compulsory school understand and approach their work. Seven physiotherapists in primary care, working partly with health promotion in compulsory school, were interviewed. A descriptive design of qualitative content analysis was chosen to analyse interviews that had already been conducted in a local evaluation of the programme. This resulted in a main theme, described as Perceiving and Supporting Coherence. This understanding and approach were discussed in relation to challenges of a historically embedded constitution of physiotherapy when entering the area of health promotion in compulsory school.