Journal of Allied Health最新文献

In the Summer 2024 issue, in the paper by Esani et al. (p130), one of the listed authors was included incorrectly. Due to a conflict of interest, author Vicki S. Freeman chose to withdraw from the project and as an author of the paper, but this change had been overlooked. The corrected version of the paper was posted on the journal website on 17-September-2024.

Leadership style is crucial for developing organizational culture, achieving goals, and shaping relationships. The site coordinator of clinical education (SCCE) is an important leader for effective physical therapy clinical education, yet few studies examine the role. This study's purposes were to discern the SCCEs' self-rated leadership styles, utilization patterns, and relationship of leadership effectiveness based on three leadership outcomes. Fifty-eight SCCEs recruited from an APTA listserv answered the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form-5X (MLQTM-5X) that measures transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire behaviors and outcomes. All SCCEs rated their leadership as primarily transformational. Positive relationships (p <0.05) occurred between transformational leadership (TFL) style and leadership outcomes. ANOVAs indicated utilizing TFL behaviors significantly affected all three leadership outcomes: extra effort (p = 0.01), effectiveness (p <0.001), and satis¬faction (p <0.001). Corrected post hoc Bonferroni analyses indicated SCCEs who most frequently utilized TFL behaviors achieved best outcomes (p <0.001). SCCEs utilized all TFL behaviors as well as one transactional behavior, contingent reward. The TFL style positively correlated with all three outcomes, showing better outcomes with greater utilization of TFL behaviors. These findings elucidate leadership styles of experienced, successful SCCEs and may serve as a pathway for SCCE leadership development.

Students graduating from professional healthcare programs are expected to demonstrate competence in their area of study to enter the workforce and immediately start working with people. High expectations and a fast-paced environment are typical aspects of these professional positions and often result in higher rates of burnout, compassion fatigue, and lack of empathy, leading to an overall decrease in patient satisfaction. As a result, patients who face difficult situations may often feel as though their needs are not being addressed. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a shared educational module and simulated patient encounters on improving student confidence and competence engaging in difficult conversations with patients regarding intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Students in the social work (n=14), athletic training (n=7), and physician assistant degree programs (n=20) participated in a collective learning module focusing on patient-centered care (PCC) skills required for having difficult conversations with patients. After students completed the shared learning module and prior to the simulated experience, students were given the Inter-professional Teams in Difficult Conversations Self-Assessment survey, a self-assessment tool measuring level of competence in engaging in difficult conversations. Students were then assigned to one of three rooms at random and varied in topic from intimate partner violence, substance abuse, or suicidal ideation. After the simulation, students completed the Inter-professional Teams in Difficult Conversations Self-Assessment survey again. Standardized patients (SP) also completed the Patient-Professional Interaction Questionnaire (PPIQ) immediately after the simulated experience. As hypothesized, students self-reported very high confidence in their ability to engage in difficult conversations using PCC, but SPs reported feeling little empathy or understanding of their situation from the students. Findings from this research demonstrate the disconnect in transfer of knowledge from understanding what PCC skills are to implementing them during difficult conversations.

For many decades, academic cheating has been prevalent across many institutions and majors. This problem has been exacerbated by new technology that has increased opportunities for students to access and use information dishonestly. There is fear amongst faculty that dishonesty in the academic world could negatively impact professionals in their future careers. The greater prevalence of cheating may be related to students misunderstanding what constitutes cheating. To better understand students' perceptions of cheating, a group of faculty surveyed students across 11 academic programs at a college of health professions using a slightly modified version of a validated tool via an online platform. Data about cheating perceptions were collected from more than 400 students. Although most respondents agreed that cheating is wrong, some were open to explanations of innocence related to possible cheating scenarios. Also, most respondents did not agree that a person who cheats is an unethical person. These findings suggest that students believe cheating can occur unintentionally. Although the findings support that more education about academic dishonesty would be valuable, this study can inform efforts to develop more targeted education and interventions to reduce cheating behaviors.

Background: Data management (DM) systems represent an opportunity for innovation in education and data-driven decision-making (DDDM) in allied health education. Understanding clinical education (CE) DM systems in entry-level physical therapy (PT) education programs could provide valuable insight into structure and operation and may represent opportunities to address CE challenges. The purpose of this study is to describe how PT programs are using CE DM systems to inform recommendations for CE DM and support knowledge sharing and DDDM.

Subjects: CE faculty and administrators were recruited from entry-level PT education programs to participate in a cross-sectional survey.

Methods: The authors designed a novel survey which included demographics and use of CE DM systems. Descriptive statistics and content analysis of narrative data were used to examine responses.

Results: The survey was distributed to 220 academic PT programs in June 2021 with 111 respondents (50% response rate). Respondents use multiple systems to complete CE tasks (e.g., placement process, on-boarding, agreement tracking, as a CE site database). Forty-three percent (n=47) use one system, 76% (n=35) of those use the same Software as a Service vendor. Eighty-six percent (n=96) are satisfied with their current CE DM system. Respondents enter data related to CE site information, CE environment, length of the CE experience, and accreditation-required clinical instructor information. Ninety-four percent (n=93) and 70% (n=70) extract data to make decisions about the placement process and curriculum, respectively.

Conclusion: While variability across CE DM systems presents a challenge, survey respondents indicated common practices related to functionality, data entry, and extraction. Clinical education DM systems house critical data to address challenges in CE. Strategies to improve accessibility and use of this data to support DDDM should be explored.

Background: Range of motion (ROM) measurement is an important part of physical therapy assessment and patient progress. Smartphones are user-friendly instruments and if proven to be reliable and valid, clinicians can use them for a variety of tasks including ROM measurement.

Objectives: To determine concurrent validity and intra- and inter-rater reliability of the PhysioMaster application in measuring cervical ROM in both Android and iOS operating systems.

Methods: Forty-five healthy individuals (age 31.75 ± 11.94 yrs; 18 men, 27 women) completed this study. Two raters measured cervical ROM, three times each, using an Android phone for intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. With an interval time of 1-7 days after the first session, measurements were repeated by one of the raters once to measure intersession reliability. Validity was estimated by one of the raters using iPhone and Android phones one at a time while 3D motion analysis (3DMA) recorded cervical movements simultaneously. For reliability, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and for validity, Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman plots were used.

Results: ICC values of ≥0.76 and ≥0.84 demonstrated excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability, respectively. For concurrent validity, correlation between each phone and 3DMA was nearly perfect for all movements (0.93 ≤ r ≤ 0.97).

Conclusion: PhysioMaster appears to be a valid and reliable application for measuring cervical ROM in healthy individuals.

Background: Patient education can increase patient engagement and positive outcomes with physical therapy treatment. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a physical therapy patient education questionnaire.

Methods: Candidate items were developed and evaluated by an expert panel for content validity. The resulting items were administered to 350 patients in physical therapy treatment, and the reliability and validity of the scale's subscales were evaluated.

Results: The final version of the questionnaire consists of 36 items that assess six education domains for patients receiving physical therapy: 1) assessment and information provision (10 items), 2) hygiene and safety (9 items), 3) patient empowerment (8 items), 4) emergency and infection control (3 items), 5) adverse event prevention (4 items), and 6) identity confirmation (2 items). The internal consistency of the subscales ranged from 0.69 to 0.92, and support for the six-domain structure of the items was supported via factor analysis.

Conclusions: The questionnaire was successfully developed and evidenced good psychometric properties for the assessment of the perceived importance of six physical therapy education domains. Research is needed to evaluate potential gaps between patients' perceived education needs and therapist education activities during physical therapy treatment.

Aims: Concerted, effective, and sustainable change in healthcare education programs is a critical step towards creating more diverse, inclusive, and equitable professions. This commentary demonstrates how one entry-level physical therapist education program, through a process of reflection, prioritization, and action, is taking steps to increase diversity, equity, and inclusivity within their program.

Rationale: This article highlights initiatives that are leveraging existing partnerships and creating new ones to reach and mentor students from diverse communities, steps taken towards a more holistic and equitable admissions process, implementation of curricular changes to intentionally discuss the social determinants of health, and engagement of faculty and students to foster personal and professional development on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics. Outcomes to track the effectiveness of the strategies being used by each initiative are shared.

Conclusion: To create active agents of change, education programs must create a diverse and equitable space for students and guide them to become leaders who can transform society. Steps taken by an entry-level physical therapist education program to implement strategies to promote diversity, equity and inclusion can serve as a road map for other healthcare professional programs.

Introduction: Doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students who experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic are now entering the workforce. This study compared burnout and grit scores of DPT graduates who completed their education prior to the pandemic (Group A) with those who completed all DPT education during the pandemic (Group B).

Methods: This is a cross-sectional comparison of burnout and grit among two cohorts of graduates of an entry-level DPT program. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS); grit was measured using the 12-Item Grit Scale.

Results: Burnout was significantly higher in Group B, as indicated by MBI-HSS subscales for Emotional Exhaustion, (H(1)=14.130, p<0.001) and Personal Accomplishment (H(1)=6.781, p=0.009). There were no significant differences in grit scores between the two groups (H(1)=3.286, p=0.07).

Conclusion: Pandemic-trained physical therapists in this study were no less gritty than those who graduated prior to the pandemic but were significantly more burned out.

Impact: Pandemic-trained clinicians and their hiring managers/mentors should screen and support employee mental health.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex condition, and individuals living in rural areas often face challenges accessing the specialized care they require. To better understand the specific healthcare needs of individuals with PD in Eastern North Carolina (ENC), the present study investigated three key areas: access to a multidisciplinary care team, access to PD-specific resources, and access to resources for establishing telemedicine services. Participants were recruited through email invitations to Parkinson's Foundation members and the distribution of postcards in the region, and 106 individuals with PD in ENC completed the online survey. Only 28.3% of respondents reported access to an interdisciplinary care team, with approximately 50% stating that their healthcare provider had not informed them of the availability of such a team. Nevertheless, the quality of care received was generally perceived as high, and 41.5% of participants were part of a PD support group. Approximately half of the respondents expressed a willingness to have telemedicine appointments with a movement disorder specialist. These findings offer valuable insights for healthcare providers and policymakers in rural areas to better understand the needs of people with PD. Several strategies, including community building and increased access to telemedicine, are recommended to address these needs.