If a physical therapist fails to address social determinants of health, why might a patient's lack of progress be misattributed?

• A. The PT has focused on physiological limitations while ignoring environmental barriers like housing instability or lack of transportation
• B. The patient lacks motivation
• C. Environmental barriers are irrelevant in rehabilitation
• D. Noncompliance is always the correct conclusion

Answer: (A)

Social determinants of health shape how well someone can engage in rehabilitation, not just their physical impairments. If a physical therapist focuses only on body mechanics and ignores outside barriers, progress may stall because the patient can’t attend sessions, get to home exercises, or access necessary resources. For example, housing instability or lack of transportation can prevent consistent attendance or safe practice at home, making improvements look slower or impossible even when the body could respond with proper therapy. When these environmental barriers aren’t addressed, it’s easy to misread the situation as the patient lacking motivation or being noncompliant, rather than recognizing the real external obstacles. The correct approach is to acknowledge and mitigate those barriers—coordinate care, adjust scheduling, or connect the patient with support services—so progress can reflect true rehabilitation potential.