Background: Hydrotherapy, another name for aquatic therapy, is a type of rehabilitation that uses the physical properties of water to enhance recovery and functional outcomes. It is still unknown how many healthcare professionals are aware of it and how to use it, despite the fact that its benefits are well known. Objective: To develop and validate a reliable and standardized questionnaire aimed at evaluating healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to aquatic therapy to identify existing gaps and training interventions. Materials and Methods: The study was split up into two sections. Phase 1 involved ten experts validating a 26-item KAP questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to select 210 heathcare professionals from Belagavi for phase 2. To collect data on aquatic therapy KAP, a Google Form was used. Results: A total of 210 healthcare professionals participated (mean age 38.2 ± 10.1 years; range 22–66), with 51.9% females and 48.1% males. Doctors formed the largest group (58.1%), followed by nurses (12.4%), consultants (8.6%), and physiotherapists (6.7%). High awareness was noted for benefits such as pain relief (96.7%), circulation (97.1%), and pediatric use (99%), while knowledge of neurological applications was lower (71.4%). Most participants showed positive attitudes, though barriers included water safety (62.4%) and limited facilities (72.9%). In practice, 78.6% recommended aquatic therapy, 83.3% supported integration into rehabilitation, and 96.7% endorsed referrals. KAP exhibited a strong positive association ( P < 0.001), and the questionnaire reflected good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.853). Conclusion: Healthcare professionals showed favorable KAP toward aquatic therapy, although gaps remain in specific areas such as neurological applications and access to infrastructure. Expanding training and improving facility availability may encourage broader clinical utilisation.
Chivate et al. (2025) studied this question.