2026-10-07T05:20:09Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34072388 2026-10-05T17:36:13Z category_7 category_15 category_21 category_61 category_106 category_132 portal_5 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

<p>Sociodemographic characteristics by group.</p> David Zarka (12190754) Christian Denaeyer (25316975) Ludivine Lahaeye (25316978) Walid Salem (25316981) Ana Bengoetxea (62313) Medicine Neuroscience Biotechnology Developmental Biology Science Policy Infectious Diseases year curriculum intended universit &# 233 time since graduation socio &# 8209 six &# 8209 primary care management personalized institutional emails libre de bruxelles important regional disparities functional musculoskeletal pain full &# 8209 french &# 8209 concurrent workplaces decreased based osteopathy program 156 graduates responded speaking regions leads university &# 8209 ulb &# 8209 perceived professional achievement equivalent university education 4 %) institutions contactable ulb graduates osteopaths reported meeting 6 %), working graduates practice professional profile 5 %), 3 %), 9 %) 7 %) 2 %) xlink "> worked abroad twenty years study describes sectional survey private offices predominantly female osteopathic practice multidisciplinary teams multidisciplinary settings international standard descriptive statistics april 2024 5 %). <div> <p>Background</p><p>In 2004, the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) launched Europe’s first comprehensive university‑based osteopathy program, a six‑year curriculum intended to set an international standard for training osteopaths in the primary care management of functional musculoskeletal pain and disorders. This study describes the socio‑professional profile of ULB‑trained osteopaths in Belgium by graduation cohort.</p> <p>Methods</p><p>All contactable ULB graduates (n = 277; 83.9%) were invited to complete a voluntary, online cross‑sectional survey (49 items) disseminated via cohort‑personalized institutional emails between February and April 2024. Descriptive statistics were produced, and associations with time since graduation were examined.</p> <p>Results</p><p>A total of 156 graduates responded (56.3%), of whom 148 (94.9%) reported currently practicing as osteopaths. Respondents were predominantly female (60.9%) and aged 25–34 years (77.5%). Most practiced in French‑speaking Belgium (75.5%), while 17.6% worked abroad. The majority were full‑time self‑employed (92.6%), working in private offices (66.7%) and in multidisciplinary settings (68.6%), including private (53.2%) and public (15.4%) institutions. With increasing time since graduation, the number of concurrent workplaces decreased (p < 0.01), whereas financial independence (p < 0.01) and perceived professional achievement (p < 0.001) increased. Most osteopaths reported meeting their objectives within five years of practice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>This first socio‑professional profile of university‑trained osteopaths in Belgium details where graduates practice and how career trajectories evolve across graduation cohorts. While the ULB program fosters integration of osteopaths in multidisciplinary teams, the absence of equivalent university education in the Dutch-speaking regions leads to important regional disparities. These findings may inform stakeholders and policy makers considering future regulation of osteopathic practice in Belgium and other countries.</p></div> 2026-10-05T17:36:06Z Dataset Dataset 10.1371/journal.pone.0359658.t001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_p_Sociodemographic_characteristics_by_group_p_/34072388 CC BY 4.0