Caregiver Perceptions of an Interdisciplinary Intensive Therapy Program: A Qualitative Study.

PURPOSE: To explore perceptions of caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental conditions participating in an interdisciplinary intensive therapy program. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were completed with caregivers. The intensive program consisted of occupational, physical, and/or speech therapy 3 to 6.5 hours/day, 3 to 5 days/week, for 4 weeks. Team-based collaborative goal setting was used to determine each child's plan of care. Reflexive thematic analysis identified interview themes. RESULTS: Thirteen caregivers participated. Children ranged in age from 6 to 13 years; diagnoses included cerebral palsy (n = 10), spina bifida (n = 1), ataxia (n = 1), and stroke (n = 1). An overarching theme of Immersive was identified; other themes included Everybody's Empowered , Principles of Neuroplasticity , Progress Across the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health) Framework , It Takes a Team , and Benefits Outweigh the Challenges . CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers valued interdisciplinary intensive therapy. For children with complex rehabilitation needs, an interdisciplinary, intensive therapy program may be a viable alternative to traditional therapy models for service delivery.

Pediatric Physical Therapists' Perceptions of Telehealth Continuation Post-pandemic: A Thematic Analysis of Open-Ended Survey Responses.

PURPOSE: To explore pediatric physical therapists' (PTs) perceptions about continuing telehealth services post-pandemic. METHODS: Two open-ended questions from a larger survey were analyzed using a pragmatic application of thematic analysis. RESULTS: Two hundred two pediatric PTs in the United States responded. Themes included Telehealth During COVID-19, Benefits, Drawbacks , and Recommendations . Telehealth During COVID-19 acknowledged adopting and providing telehealth during a global pandemic was likely different than at other times. Benefits described perceived positive aspects of telehealth for children, families, and PTs, which support continuation of telehealth post-pandemic. Drawbacks described perceived negative aspects of telehealth for children, families, and PTs, which may dissuade continuation. Recommendations described respondents' recommendations for the continuation of telehealth. Ultimately respondents recommended a hybrid model of telehealth and in-person services going forward. CONCLUSIONS: A hybrid model of telehealth and in-person services may have the benefits of increasing access, flexibility, efficiency, communication, and home programming across pediatric practice settings.

Adoption of Telehealth by Pediatric Physical Therapists During COVID-19: A Survey Study.

PURPOSE: To describe the characteristics of pediatric physical therapy telehealth practice during COVID-19. METHODS: An anonymous, online survey was distributed to pediatric physical therapists (PTs) in the United States who transitioned to telehealth during COVID-19. RESULTS: Two hundred five respondents completed all quantitative questions. Ninety-six percent reported never providing telehealth previously and only 14.6% had formal training. More than 35% reported 76% to 100% of their caseload transitioned to telehealth. Most respondents perceived that telehealth was somewhat or very effective for caregivers (90.3%) and children (77.1%) and felt somewhat or very confident providing telehealth (73.2%). However, those practicing in school-based settings rated perceived effectiveness and confidence lower than PTs in other settings. Ultimately, 76.1% of respondents would consider providing telehealth in the future. CONCLUSION: The forced transition of pediatric PTs to the telehealth model during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in positive experiences for many, supporting wider adoption in the future.

Pediatric Physical Therapy Telehealth and COVID-19: Factors, Facilitators, and Barriers Influencing Effectiveness-a Survey Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the important factors, facilitators, and barriers for telehealth effectiveness as described by pediatric physical therapists, transitioning from in-person to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Pediatric physical therapists' responses to 3 open-ended questions and 1 multipart Likert Scale question from an anonymous survey were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Three overarching themes (Caregiver Engagement, Technology, and Resilience) were identified and accompanied by 3 subthemes (Personal Attributes, Equity, and COVID-Specific Considerations). Themes were supported by the Likert Scale question with Child/Caregiver Interaction, Internet Connection, and Family Factors identified as the most important factors related to telehealth effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: High caregiver engagement and access to stable technology were most important for telehealth effectiveness. The telehealth service model met a need during the pandemic; however, emerging evidence suggests that it could be considered as an effective service delivery mode postpandemic.

Association of dual task gait performance with cognitive outcomes among older adults: Piloting an inexpensive, portable assessment platform.

Motor assessment has emerged as complementary evidence for the detection of late life cognitive disorders. Clinicians lack inexpensive, accurate, and portable tools for this purpose. To fill this void, the current study piloted measures from the Mizzou Point-of-care Assessment System a multimodal sensor platform. We examined the ability of these motor function measures to distinguish neurocognitive status and assessed their associations with cognitive performance. Data came from 42 older adults, including 16 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Participants performed dual task gait, pairing walking with serial subtraction by sevens, along with aa neuropsychological test battery. T-tests revealed that individuals with MCI demonstrated slower stride times (d = .55) and shorter stride lengths (d = .98) compared to healthy older adults. Results from hierarchical regression showed that stride time and stride length predicted cognitive performance across several domains, after controlling for cognitive status and demographics. Cognitive status moderated this relationship for global cognition and attention, wherein gait measures were significantly related to these outcomes for the cognitively normal group, but not the MCI group. Evidence from the current study provided preliminary support that MPASS measures demonstrate expected associations with cognitive performance and can distinguish amongst those with and without cognitive impairment.

Objective Clinical Measurement Tools for Functional Evaluation of the Surgical Patient.

Following knee surgery, clinicians have traditionally used visually rated or time-based assessments of lower extremity movement quality to measure surgical outcomes, plan rehabilitation interventions, and measure success. These methods of assessment are prone to error and do not fully capture a patient's inefficient movement patterns post surgery. Further, currently available systems which objectively measure kinematics during these tasks are expensive and unidimensional. For these reasons, recent research has called for the development of objective and low-cost precision rehabilitation tools to improve clinical measurement of movement tasks. The purpose of this article is to highlight two such tools and their applications to knee surgery. The systems highlighted within this article are the Mizzou Point-of-Care Assessment System (MPASS) and the Mizzou Knee Arthrometer Testing System (MKATS). MPASS has demonstrated high levels of agreement with the gold-standard Vicon system in measuring kinematics during sit-to-stand (R > 0.71), lateral step-down (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.55, apart from ankle flexion), and drop vertical jump tasks (ICC > 0.62), as well as gait (R > 0.87). MKATS has been used to quantify differences in tibiofemoral motion between groups during lateral step-down, step-up-and-over, and step-up/step-down tasks. Objective measurement of clinical tasks using portable and inexpensive instruments, such as the MPASS and MKATS, can help clinicians identify inefficient movement patterns and asymmetries which may damage and wear down supporting structures within the knee and throughout the kinetic chain causing pain and discomfort. Identifying these issues can help clinicians to plan interventions and measure their progress at a lower cost than currently available systems. The MPASS and MKATS are useful tools which have many applications to knee surgery.

The effect of an ankle-foot orthosis on tibiofemoral motion during step-up and step-down in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Solid ankle-foot orthoses (SAFOs) are frequently prescribed in conditions such as cerebral palsy and stroke. Although gait is improved in the short term, long-term effects of limiting ankle and foot motion during functional activities on joints such as the knee have not been investigated. Our study purpose was to compare tibiofemoral (TF) motion in shoe and SAFO conditions in healthy adults to inform future studies in clinical populations. METHODS: A custom-made device using electromagnetic sensors was used to collect three-dimensional TF rotation data while 29 healthy adult participants (female participants = 19, age = 24.4 ± 4.5 years) performed step-up/step-down in shoe and SAFO conditions. RESULTS: In the SAFO condition during step-up, extent of motion was greater in frontal and transverse planes and less in the sagittal plane. Discrete values at 0%-10% of the cycle in sagittal, 50%-100% in frontal, and 40%-100% in transverse planes were statistically different, producing more abduction and external rotation. In the SAFO condition during step-down, extent of motion was significantly greater in the frontal and transverse planes. Discrete values were statistically different in 40%-60% of the cycle in sagittal, 0%-30% and 70%-90% in frontal, and 0%-30% and 70%-90% in transverse planes, producing more abduction and external rotation in the first half of the cycle and more adduction and internal rotation in the second half of the cycle. CONCLUSIONS: An SAFO affects triplanar TF kinematics in healthy adults during step-up/step-down. Future investigations into ankle-foot orthosis prescription and TF motion in clinical populations will facilitate optimal ankle-foot orthosis prescription and knee function in the long term.

Comparison of Azure Kinect overground gait spatiotemporal parameters to marker based optical motion capture.

BACKGROUND: Instrumented measurement of spatiotemporal parameters during walking can provide valuable information on an individual's overall function and health. Efficient, inexpensive, and accurate measurement of overground walking spatiotemporal parameters would be a critical component of providing point-of-care assessments of gait function, concussion recovery, fall-risk, and cognitive decline. Depth cameras combined with skeleton pose tracking algorithms, such as the Microsoft Kinect with body tracking software, have been used to measure walking spatiotemporal parameters. However, the ability of the latest generation Microsoft Kinect sensor, the Azure Kinect, to accurately measure overground walking spatiotemporal parameters has not been evaluated in the literature. RESEARCH QUESTION: The purpose of this work was to compare overground walking spatiotemporal parameters measurements from a 12 camera Vicon optical motion capture system to measurements of a single Azure Kinect with body tracking SDK (software development kit). METHODS: Spatiotemporal parameters of overground walking were simultaneously collected on twenty young healthy participants. Stride length, stride time, step length and step width were derived from ankle joint center locations and measurements from the two instruments were compared using descriptive statistics, scatter plots, Pearson correlation analyses, and Bland-Altman analyses. RESULTS: Pearson correlation coefficients were greater than 0.87 for all spatiotemporal parameters with most parameters demonstrating very strong (> 0.9) agreement. The mean of the differences for stride length between measurements was 35.6 mm for the left limb and 39.1 mm for the right limb, both of which are less than 3% of average stride length. Mean of the differences for step width and stride time were less than 2% and 1% of their averages respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: A single Microsoft Azure Kinect with body tracking SDK can provide clinically relevant measurement of walking spatiotemporal parameters, providing accessible and objective measurements that can improve clinical decision making across a variety of patient populations.

Comparison of Azure Kinect and optical retroreflective motion capture for kinematic and spatiotemporal evaluation of the sit-to-stand test.

BACKGROUND: The sit-to-stand test (STS) is commonly used to evaluate functional capabilities within a variety of clinical populations. Traditionally STS is a timed test, limiting the depth of information which can be gained from its evaluation. The Azure Kinect has the potential to add in-depth analysis to STS. Despite these potential benefits, the recently released (2019) Azure Kinect has yet to be evaluated for its ability to accurately assess STS. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Purposes of this work were to compare data captured during STS using both a 12 camera Vicon motion capture system and the Azure Kinect; and to calculate kinematic and spatiotemporal variables related to the four phases of the STS cycle. METHODS: Spatiotemporal and kinematic measures for STS were simultaneously collected by both devices for 15 participants. Cycle waveforms were compared for right and left hip and knee flexion/extension angular displacement, right and left hip and knee flexion/extension angular velocity, and knee-to-ankle separation ratio. Evaluated discrete outcome variables included: phase time points, maximum knee extension velocity from phases 3 to 4, medial-lateral pelvic sway range, and total time to completion. Waveform summary data were compared using R, R2, and RMSE. Discrete variables were analyzed using Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: R and R2 values between the two systems indicated high levels of correlation (all R values > 0.711, all R2 values > 0.660). Although there was an overall high level of agreement between waveform shapes, high RMSE values indicated some minor tracking errors for Kinect within the STS cycle. Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient indicated high levels of correlation between the systems for discrete variables (all R values > 0.89), with the exception of medial-lateral pelvic sway range. SIGNIFICANCE: The Azure Kinect provides valuable insight into STS movement strategies allowing for improved precision in clinical decision making across multiple clinical populations.

Qualitative Exploration of the Continuation of a Journal Club Experience by DPT Graduates in Their First Year of Practice.

PURPOSE: To explore the experience of doctorate of physical therapy (DPT) graduates participating in a journal club (JC) during their first year of practice after completing a JC intervention in the last didactic semester of their entry-level program. PARTICIPANTS: n=7 DPTs participating in a JC during the first year of practice. METHODS: A qualitative approach including semi-structured interviews and guided by a conceptual model for first-year PT practice was used. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic data analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Six themes were identified: 1) sense of community, 2) maintaining accountability, 3) variety of perspectives, 4) informed clinical practice, 5) facilitated professional role adoption, and 6) challenges. Participants also provided recommendations for other recent graduates interested in beginning a JC. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to a JC experience during the didactic phase of PT education may encourage graduates to embrace this professional behavior. Timing and meaningfulness of the JC intervention may be important factors to consider during implementation. New graduate participation in a JC may provide important support during the first year of practice. Most importantly, participation in a JC with an established community, such as fellow DPT graduates, may increase the salience and impact of this experience.