Journal of Allied Health最新文献

Background: Falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults and are often preventable. Of particular concern, is a lack of universally utilized guidelines for assessing the risk for falls within the physical therapy field.

Purpose: To explore home health physical therapists' (PTs) perceptions regarding fall risk assessment and their awareness, comfort, utilization, education, and interest in the CDC STEADI initiative.

Methods: A 27-question survey collected data from home health PTs.

Results: A total of 131 responses were analyzed. Respondents (84.7%) believed it is important to assess the risk for falls in patients regardless of setting and diagnosis. Less than half (48.1%) were aware of the CDC STEADI initiative available to PTs. Respondents (36.0%) reported being taught the CDC STEADI initiative in their PT program. Respondents (92.1%) reported an interest in utilizing the initiative.

Conclusions: The CDC STEADI initiative may be underutilized in home health secondary to decreased awareness, comfort, and education.

Background: Educational debt continues to increase across the health professions. Assessment tools for financial self-efficacy and social support have not been evaluated for reliability among any group of health professions students, though research suggests they may mitigate financial anxiety. This study assesses the reliability of tools measuring financial anxiety, financial self-efficacy, and general social support in a graduate health profession student population.

Methods: The Financial Anxiety Scale (FAS), Financial Self-Efficacy Scale (FSES), and General Social Support Scale (GSSS) were completed by 510 physical therapist students. Item response theory was used to assess reliability and item fit for each assessment.

Results: All studied measures are reliable and demonstrate good item fit among the population of physical therapist students in the United States. The analysis showed that the three scales meet the conditions for a good fit with the data, that their general factors explain a sufficient proportion of the variance, and that the psychometric properties of individual items are acceptable.

Conclusions: The FAS and FSES provide a large amount of test information for physical therapist students. The GSSS, by contrast, may be best utilized as a screening tool for those who have very low levels of general social support.

Aims: During the pandemic, health professional programs shifted to virtually deliver the various components of their curricula including interprofessional education (IPE) offerings. An urban public College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences moved its interprofessional pain management workshop to virtual delivery. This workshop focused on preparing its participants to embrace the interprofessional competencies of roles/responsibilities, ethics/values, effective communication, teamwork, and the core concepts of safe and equitable pain treatment to address the complex needs of patients in pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of this virtual interprofessional pain management workshop over multiple years.

Methods: Professional students from medical laboratory science, nurse anesthesia, occupational therapy, pathologists' assistant, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, radiologic technology, and radiation therapy technology programs (n=1,047) were included. The workshop consisted of a presentation reviewing the roles and responsibilities of represented professions in pain management, a small group case-based activity, and an interprofessional panel of experts' discussion of pain management. To achieve the purpose of this study, the impact of the interprofessional education workshop on the students' learning was captured via multiple assessment tools including changes in 1) knowledge acquisition, 2) interprofessional behaviors and skills (Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey, ICCAS), and 3) post-workshop achievement of learning objectives and evaluation of workshop activities.

Results: It was found that a virtual interprofessional pain management workshop was consistently effective in enhancing health professional students' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions related to collaborative pain management. Participants showed a statistically significant improvement in knowledge about other professions from pre- to post-workshop for the entire group. Significant improvements were observed across all measured ICCAS subscales, including communication, collaboration, roles and responsibilities, patient-centered care, and conflict management/team functioning. Overall, participants perceived significant improvements in the learning objectives for within group comparisons. Notably, the virtual delivery format resulted in sustainable gains over 3 years, highlighting the potential of virtual IPE to overcome logistical barriers and provide an accessible and effective platform for interprofessional learning.

Conclusion: A virtual interprofessional workshop was effective in enhancing students' knowledge and skills in collaborative pain management.

Background: Assessing the delivery of medical screening content in entry-level doctor of physical therapy (DPT) educational programs is essential to inform curricula as physical therapists (PTs) are called upon to fill broader roles in the healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to survey clinical instructors (CIs) across three DPT programs as a practice analysis regarding beliefs toward medical screening, the frequency performing medical screening skills, and the importance placed on the skills for their clinical students.

Methods: CIs from three DPT programs were recruited via e-mail to participate in this survey study over a total duration of 4 weeks. Respondents completed an anonymous 24-item electronic survey that assessed medical screening skill performance and beliefs. Content areas in the survey included the frequency that clinical instructors included aspects of medical screening in their practice, their perceived importance of emphasizing aspects of medical screening skills with students, CI qualifications and perceived competence to medically screen patients/clients, and the role of medical screening in entry-level PT clinical practice.

Results: 269 CIs responded to the survey. 93% felt competent to medically screen patients via referral and 94% via direct access, although 37% felt direct access PT was an advanced skill set. CIs placed greater emphasis on medical screening skills with students compared to what they reported for their own medical screening practices. There were statistically significant differences between CI performance of mental status assessment and vital sign collections in orthopedic/sports vs other settings and for those who are residency/fellowship trained vs not (all p<0.05). Significantly more PTs in other settings emphasized vital sign collection for all patients than those CIs within orthopedic and sports settings (p<0.05).

Conclusion: PTs continue to provide care to direct access patients and are broadening their roles in the military and civilian healthcare systems to be first contact providers. It is imperative to assess and potentially standardize medical screening content taught in DPT programs. Considerable variability exists between medical screening practices of CIs and in what CIs emphasized with students during clinical rotations. The current study may serve as a benchmark for faculty to assess existing practices of CIs regarding medical screening. The authors suggest there is a need for guidelines to emphasize medical screening for CIs.

Background: Stigma, lack of knowledge, and personal biases of healthcare providers contribute to negative healthcare experiences in the LGBTQ+ population. Targeted education improves provider knowledge and awareness of personal biases resulting in self-perceived improvements in readiness to provide competent care. There has been minimal investigation into healthcare curricula and provider personal factors such as cognitive flexibility (CF) related to competent care of the LGBTQ+ population. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between CF and perceived LGBT competence in student physical therapists (SPT) and student physical therapist assistants (SPTA).

Subjects: 166 SPT and 49 SPTA.

Methods: Anonymous Qualtrics survey including demographic information, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS), and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS).

Results: No significant relationship between LGBT-DOCSS and CFS scores in SPT (P=0.424), but a positive relationship in SPTA (P<0.001). Overall LGBT-DOCSS scores were significantly different among SPT (P=0.005), but not between SPTA (P=0.757).

Conclusion: LGBT competence improves with knowledge acquisition as demonstrated by SPT. Health professions education should include more population-specific content to improve LGBT competence. Further exploration of non-cognitive factors is needed to fully understand their impact on LGBT competence.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relationship between physician assistant (PA) students' perceived stress and diet quality.

Methods: PA students answered an anonymous survey that included demographics, the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, two-tailed independent samples t-test, and ANOVA (p < 0.05).

Results: 342 participants completed the survey. Mean score of REAP-S was 28.6 (SD 4.7), and mean score of the PSS-10 was 18.7 (6.5), indicating that students are experiencing moderate stress. Additionally, female students (mean 19.3, 6.4) were significantly more stressed than male students (mean 16.2, 6.5) (p < 0.001). A significant relationship was seen between REAP-S and PSS-10. Specifically, a statistically significant negative correlation was found, indicating that the more stressed a student is, the worse their diet quality (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: PA students are experiencing a moderate degree of stress, which is negatively impacting their diet and lifestyle behaviors.

Background: Maternal and child health (MCH) education shapes practices that support health outcomes for parents, pregnant individuals, and children. Traditional "sexed" language may exclude or marginalize certain groups like transgender populations. Since most current health profession instructors were trained in the context of traditional language, preparing future health professionals to address healthcare needs for gender-identity diverse individuals remains a challenge. Our objective was to assess whether health professional instructors provide gender-identity content in MCH courses and to understand what types of support instructors may need.

Methods: Ten MCH instructors participated in a semi-structured interview focused on how they included gender-identity content, perceived students' readiness with diverse patients, and what support they need to teach gender-identity inclusive content. Interviews were audio-video recorded, transcribed, and thematically coded.

Results: Generally, instructors incorporated gender-identity content into their courses. They acknowledged the complexity of these concepts and had a range of readiness to teach these topics. Instructors indicated additional guidelines and training would enhance their preparedness to integrate gender-identity concepts into their courses.

Conclusions: A determinant of preparing health professional students for encountering gender-identity diverse patients is faculty preparedness. MCH instructors are integrating gender-identity content but would benefit from targeted training and following published guidelines.

Aims: In a time of declining applications in health professions programs, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs are challenged to identify students who will be successful in the DPT program and on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). The purpose of this study was to directly compare success between early assurance (EA) and post-baccalaureate (PB) students across three variables: grade point average (GPA), graduation rate, and NPTE success.

Subjects: Student data from the graduating classes of 2017-19 from the University of the Sciences/Saint Joseph's University were included in this study (n = 216; EA = 128, PB = 88).

Methods: Data variables included entry pathway, first (P1) and third (P3) professional year GPA, graduation status, first-time NPTE pass status (NPTE-1) and ultimate NPTE pass status (NPTE-U), and NPTE scores (highest of all reported scores if taken more than once). Independent t-test was performed to examine the difference between EA and PB with respect to P1 and P3 GPA. Chi-square test was performed to examine the differences in rates of graduation, and NPTE-1 and NPTE-U pass rate. Stepwise regression models were performed to predict NPTE-1 and NPTE-U scores. All significance levels were set at p = 0.05.

Results: Data show that PB students earned a higher P1 and P3 GPA relative to their EA peers. EA students graduated at higher rates than PB students. There was no significant difference in NPTE-1 or NPTE-U passing rate between the groups. Regression analysis demonstrated P1 and P3 GPA as strong predictors of first and ultimate NPTE scores.

Conclusion: EA and PB students were each found to have strengths in the pro¬gram and do equally well on the NPTE. The EA pathway appears to be a viable alternative to the traditional PB admission route.

During the first one-third period of calendar year 2025, this periodical of the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) attracted 51 new manuscripts that were submitted. Annualizing this figure suggests that the total could be in the 150-160 range for a full chronological year, which compares favorably with other recent 1-year periods. The Journal of Allied Health relies on having papers submitted to it undergo peer review, a process that is easier said than done. The peer review system's supply-demand aspect is critical for the sustainability of the entire scientific ecosystem, but is rarely explored.

Early identification of students at risk for academic challenges in a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program may allow for timely intervention and support. Little is known about the ability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to predict academic success in first-year courses in a DPT program. Participants were 33 first-year DPT students from a single cohort. Student demographics, previous academic performance, and responses to the MSLQ for Anatomy and Biomechanics courses were collected early in each semester. Spearman correlations determined associations between undergraduate grade point average (GPA) or MSLQ responses and grades for Fall and Spring semesters. Self-reported undergraduate GPA was moderately correlated (r = 0.42) with Anatomy grades in the Fall semester. MSLQ responses were poorly predictive of course performance except for the test anxiety component, which was inversely associated with grades in Fall Anatomy (r = -0.34) and Biomechanics (r = -0.35) courses. Grades in both courses were strongly correlated in Fall (r = 0.83) and Spring (r = 0.60) semesters. DPT programs may consider assessing test anxiety from the MSLQ in the first semester to identify students potentially needing additional resources for academic performance. Early communication between instructors of different courses may assist in meeting student needs.