17 September marks World Patient Safety Day, which in 2026 is dedicated to the theme set by the World Health Organisation: “Safe care for non-communicable diseases”, under the slogan “Safe care for life!” (“Safe care for life”). The campaign highlights the need to ensure safe care throughout the entire journey of people living with non-communicable diseases, from prevention to diagnosis, intervention, rehabilitation and self-care.
Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and other non-communicable diseases require long-term management and often involve different healthcare professionals and levels of care. In this context, preventing avoidable harm means placing the individual at the centre of care, fostering a genuine partnership between healthcare professionals, patients and carers.
The Portuguese Physiotherapists’ Association is joining this international campaign, promoting a culture of safety in which everyone plays an active part in developing safer physiotherapy care that is centred on their needs.
Physiotherapists support people with chronic conditions over a period of months or years, promoting functionality, independence, social participation and quality of life. Every clinical assessment, every therapeutic decision, every prescribed exercise and every intervention must be underpinned by the principles of patient safety, evidence-based practice, and risk assessment and management. This contributes to more effective, safer and higher-quality care.
In physiotherapy, safety doesn’t end when the session is over.
Adherence to the physiotherapy programme, carrying out the prescribed exercises, understanding the objectives, and actively participating in clinical decisions are key to achieving better results and reducing avoidable risks.
When a person stops a physiotherapy programme prematurely, fails to follow the agreed plan or fails to incorporate the advice they have been given into their daily life, it is not just the effectiveness of the treatment that is at stake. The safety of physiotherapy treatment may also be at stake.
Promoting adherence to the physiotherapy programme means communicating more effectively, improving health literacy, involving patients and, where applicable, carers and family members, and building a relationship of trust that fosters shared, sustainable and informed decision-making.
It is through this commitment that physiotherapy makes a difference: by recognising each person as an active and central part of their physiotherapy process and by encouraging their involvement, keeping them informed and empowering them to manage their own health condition.
On this World Patient Safety Day, the Portuguese Physiotherapists’ Association emphasises that safe care is also achieved through the active participation of the patient, shared decision-making and partnership between physiotherapists, patients, carers and family members.
More participation. More involvement. More security.
Safe physiotherapy care for non-communicable diseases
As part of this initiative, the Portuguese Physiotherapists’ Association is offering a Checklist to risk mitigation in relation to non-communicable diseases, which brings together recommendations on person-centred care, health literacy, risk assessment and management, infection prevention and control, adherence, and self-care education. An awareness-raising video is also available, highlighting some of the key messages relating to the promotion of safer physiotherapy care.
