Physiopedia:About

Our mission is to improve global health through universal access to rehabilitation knowledge.

We are a charity, a not-for profit organisation. We educate rehabilitation professionals all over the world. We build rehabilitation community. We advocate for the rehabilitation profession. We help those in need of rehabilitation knowledge. We have an impact on people's lives!

The first ever Physiopedia (and perhaps rehabilitation) Hackathon in 2017

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The Physiopedia team at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy International Congress in Paris 2022

We are a charity

Physiopedia is a charity registered in the United Kingdom. Charities in the UK are rigorously monitored and we are proud to meet the required standards. All funds that we raise, everything that you give, goes directly into achieving our mission. Find out more here and read how we translate our mission to a global scale.

We Educate

The Physiopedia charity provides an evidence-based and continually updating knowledge resource that is free for anyone to access - some people call us "Wikipedia for the rehab profession". The website is the largest available rehabilitation knowledge resource and is used by people in every corner of the world.

Every month, over 3 million individuals from nearly every country in the world learn from the Physiopedia website.

In addition to the open knowledge resource the Physiopedia charity also provides free online courses which make education and professional development accessible where ever a person is in the world.

"The team at Physiopedia is doing an excellent job. Information which may not otherwise be available to myself and others is readily available as a result of Physiopedia. I feel like a better prepared physiotherapist as a result of Physiopedia". ~ Claron O’Neale, Physiotherapist, Grenada.

The impact of these courses is un-paralleled in the rehabilitation professions:

Date	Course topic	Articles created	Pageviews	Course participants	Number of countries represented	Participants from LMICs*
2013	Professional Ethics	n/a	n/a	88	8	52
2014	Spinal Cord Injuries	n/a	n/a	3,500	110	95
2015	Amputee Rehabilitation	26	129,899	7,639	150	421
2016	Physical Activity	44	82,647	8,482	157	191
2016	Cerebral Palsy	25	193,299	14,010	179	651
2017	Clubfoot	25	36,243	6,000	156	387
2018	Wheelchair Service Provision	25	57,718	5,559	143	601
2019	Traumatic Brain Injury Programme	33	91,221	4,028	185	821
2020	Coronavirus Disease Programme	19	358, 611	166,870	214	n/a
2021	Understanding Rehabilitation	38	91,221	10,703	107	823
2022	Understanding the Rehabilitation Needs of Displaced Persons	24	31,972	12,604	107	383
2023	Understanding Basic Rehabilitation Techniques	22	170,692	11,331	111	571

*LMICs = low and middle income countries

We build community

Physiopedia is a living, community built website. Any rehabilitation professional anywhere in the world can contribute their knowledge to the site and share it with the world. This community of over 5,500 editors values the importance of sharing knowledge to empower rehabilitation professionals all over the world to enhance patient care and the resulting health people in need. In addition our international team of volunteers who formally contribute are from many different contexts of our profession, their contribution is key and also an amazing professional experience.

Physiopedia team meet up in London July 2022

The global Physiopedia team sharing knowledge in one of the many monthly meetings

"Caution, joining the team at Physiopedia could irreversibly change your professional life. I would strongly recommend to do the same for supporting the development of our global rehabilitation community". ~ Andrea Sturm, Physiotherapist, Austria.

Read about:

• our volunteers
• the partners we work with
• the projects that we support

We advocate for the profession

Physiopedia is the largest rehabilitation resource in the world and has the largest social reach of the profession. It is therefore well placed to raise awareness of the amazing contribution that rehabilitation can make to health and well being. By sharing this knowledge all health care professionals we will have a better understanding of interdisciplinary care and individuals in need can understand how rehabilitation can help them achieve good health and well being.

20% of Physiopedia visitors are other health care professionals or the health seeking public wanting to learn more about rehabilitation.

The Physiopedia Story

In 2007 the e-learning community was going mad for wiki's and it was at an e-learning conference that Rachael was inspired to build a 'Wikipedia for the physiotherapy profession'.  The reach of this wiki has now grown and is visited by all professions involved in rehabilitation as well as members of the public!

"Wouldn't it be great if all physiotherapists around the world were constantly creating and updating content to build one constantly evolving online textbook for our profession". ~ Rachael Lowe, Co-Founder and Trustee.

In 2008 Rachael and Tony set about implementing this idea as a small side project along side the e-learning work that they were doing together. The project launched quietly in January 2009 with three pages of content that Rachael had written herself. It wasn't long before universities around the world were engaging their students to contribute content to grow the resource. Now it is not only individual physiotherapists and physical therapists taking part in building this resource, it is all allied health professionals.

"We have proved that Physiopedia is a globally valued resource so we invite members of this profession to help us make it a sustainable project for the future". ~ Rachael Lowe, Co-Founder and Trustee.

Keeping Physiopedia non-commercial and finding a sustainable way to do this that the profession was happy with was important to Rachael and Tony. Partnerships with educational institutions, professional organisations and NGOs became the focus of attention and many groups engaged to contribute content and provide financial support.

Through the unique combination of clinical, educational and technical skills that Rachael and Tony have, in 2014 they launched Physiopedia Plus (previously Physioplus). This related premium content area provides equitable online continuing education and professional development opportunities in exchange for an annual modest contribution. The annual subscription income from this service contributes to funding the Physiopedia charity.

Physiopedia is now the largest rehabilitation knowledge resource in the world, it is the largest provider of related online education, and it is a community driven project for all rehabilitation professions and everyone is invited to get involved. 

Vision

A world where every person recognises the value of rehabilitation and has access to quality rehabilitation care.

Mission

To provide universal and equitable access to all rehabilitation knowledge.

Values

• Passion - We demonstrate commitment in heart and mind in all that we do.
• Excellence - We go above and beyond to exceed expectations.  We pursue quality and promote leadership and growth.
• Innovation - We are curious to discover.  We relentlessly pursue creative solutions to improve our work and our services for our community
• Impact - We are a small team with big ambitions. In everything that we do we aim to achieve compelling  results.
• Altruism - We all have something to give. We are devoted to the well-being of others.
• Collaboration - We respect all rehabilitation stakeholders. We believe in the power of working together to leverage collective expertise.
• Community - We value sharing. We encourage connection and communication to strengthen positive relationships.
• Integrity - Do no harm. We respectfully and ethically interact with each other and those we serve.

Goals

Gather the sum of all rehabilitation knowledge and make this freely available to all.

Everyone has knowledge to share.  All allied health professions are invited to participate in the collaborative building of a continually evolving, evidenced based knowledge resource that is free to access for everyone. Through this collaborative effort we aim to be the leading independent resource for the rehabilitation profession.

Reach and involve all rehabilitation professions in the world.

Using technology we will create channels to extend the Physiopedia project to reach every rehabilitation professional in the world, regardless of their context or geographical location.

Foster international collaboration to empower the global rehabilitation profession.

We invite rehabilitation professionals and related organisations from all over the world to collaborate to maintain and evolve the content of the Physiopedia knowledge resource.

Lead in providing educational opportunities to rehabilitation professionals throughout the world.

Physiopedia content will provide the basis for educational initiatives and professional development opportunities for rehabilitation professionals globally.

Improve health care and therefore make a positive contribution to global health.

Physiopedia will contribute to advancing professional knowledge which will translate into improved health care provision. This is our contribution to improving global health.

Promote the allied health and rehabilitation to the wider health care community and the public globally.

As the leading international professional resource, Physiopedia promotes the value of the rehabilitation professions to others, including other health care professionals and the public.

We will make a difference! We invite you to join us.

Governance

Physiopedia is registered with the Charity Commission (registration number 1173185) and complies with the Charities Act 2011. The objects of the charity are, for the public benefit, to improve health globally by advancing education in relation to rehabilitation and improving access to rehabilitation knowledge.

Under UK law, the Physiopedia Charity is subject to section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and operates as a company limited by guarantee and not having share capital (registration number 08530802). Physiopedia’s constitution is set out in the Articles of Association which are filed at Companies House.

The Physiopedia Trustees have responsibility for the control and direction of the affairs of the charity. The Trustees are supported in their governance function by the Advisory Council. The Trustees and Advisory Council receive no remuneration for their duties.

Detailed objectives are set to deliver against these goals in a strategic plan that is reviewed every two year period. The objectives are decided by the Trustees with priorities and aims incorporated from the Advisory Council.

Annual Reports

Trustees Annual Report 2022-2023

Trustees Annual Report 2021-2022

Trustees Annual Report 2020-2021

Trustees Annual Report 2019-2020

Trustees Annual Report 2018-2019

Trustees Annual Report 2017-2018