Table 2. Participant’s characteristics.
| CPG with SDM | CPG | SDM | ||
| (N=42) | (N=42) | (N=42) | ||
| Gender (N) | Male | 31 | 34 | 26 |
| Female | 11 | 8 | 16 | |
| Age (years) | Mean (SD) | 28.1 (4.2) | 27.3 (6.2) | 28.6 (5.2) |
| Academic history (N) | Three-year professional school graduate | 8 | 14 | 10 |
| Four-year professional school graduate | 20 | 19 | 14 | |
| Junior college graduate | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| College graduate | 11 | 6 | 16 | |
| Master’s degree | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Doctoral degree | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Years of experience | Mean (SD) | 6.1 (4.2) | 5.4 (5.7) | 6.3 (4.5) |
| License (N) | PT/OT (with national qualification) | 40 | 41 | 40 |
| Certified PT/OT | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Specialized PT/OT | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stage of principal disease according to the hospital where the participants worked (N) | Acute | 21 | 19 | 21 |
| Subacute | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Maintenance (including outpatient) | 18 | 16 | 15 | |
| Other | 2 | 7 | 4 | |
| Primary disorder, according to the patients who the participants charged (N) | Orthopedic disease | 10 | 6 | 8 |
| Developmental disorder | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sports disorder | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spinal cord injury | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| Post-amputation | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Psychiatric disorder | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Neuromuscular disorder | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 27 | 30 | 29 | |
| Respiratory disease | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Employment status (N) | Full-time | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Part-time | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Weekly duty hours | Mean (SD) | 40.0 (0.0) | 41.8 (5.3) | 40.5 (2.6) |
| Number of PTs/OTs at the hospital (N) | <3 therapists | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3–5 therapists | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 6–10 therapists | 2 | 5 | 5 | |
| 11–15 therapists | 7 | 10 | 7 | |
| >16 therapists | 30 | 24 | 28 | |
| Number of occupied beds at the hospital | 164.4 (69.5) | 134.2 (81.9) | 149.8 (100.7) | |
| Number of patients per day | 1–10 patients | 17 | 24 | 18 |
| 11–15 patients | 25 | 14 | 23 | |
| >16 patients | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| None | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Participation in research activities (N) | Yes | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Partially | 6 | 9 | 12 | |
| Not at all | 36 | 33 | 30 |
SDM: Shared decision making; CPG: Clinical practice guideline; PT: Physio therapist; OT: Occupational therapist; SD: Standard deviation.
*Certified or specialized physio/occupational therapist is a qualification that licensed therapists can acquire after completing the prescribed training/examinations. This qualification is established by the Japanese Physical Therapy Association (JPTA).