Mixed methods study: a one-week international service project enhances healthcare competencies.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies are widely accepted as a guide to prepare healthcare professionals. Two competency domains, values/ethics and roles and responsibilities, have specific relevance when investigating the effectiveness of a transcultural interprofessional experience. Participants were University of South Alabama students from the Colleges of Allied Health Professions, Medicine, and Nursing, who volunteered for a 7-day service learning experience in Trinidad. A convergent mixed methods research design was used. Students completed two Likert scale surveys, the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Survey (IPECC) and the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool- Multidisciplinary Healthcare Provider Version (TSET-MHP), prior to and following the experience. A Wilcoxon Sign Test was used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data, guided by the Critical Incident Technique, was obtained from diary entries during the trip and a selected member focus group post-trip. There was a significant improvement in all three cultural competency domains of the TSET-MHP (p < .001). The most frequently reported IPEC sub-competencies were the ability to work in cooperation with those who receive, provide, and support care; and the ability to engage diverse healthcare providers to complement one's own professional expertise. Based on participant report, an international interprofessional clinical experience appears to be effective in enhancing health care competencies.

Kinematic head and trunk strategies used by hemiplegic stroke patients crossing over obstacles of different heights.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare kinematic data regarding the head, trunk, and pelvis strategies used by individuals with hemiplegia when crossing over obstacles of different heights. [Subjects and Methods] Nine adults with hemiplegia from stroke (7 males and 2 females) participated in this study. A motion analysis system with six infrared cameras was used to measure the kinematic data of the head, trunk, and pelvis while the subjects crossed over obstacles of different heights. Repeated measures ANOVA analysis was performed to compare the resulting kinematic data. [Results] An increase in the magnitude of the kinematic data of the head, trunk, and pelvis of the hemiparetic stroke patients was observed when the height of the obstacles, which they crossed over, increased. [Conclusion] This study described the kinematic strategies, with regard to the head, trunk, and pelvis, used by hemiplegic patients crossing over obstacles of different heights. The results indicate that these kinematic strategies primarily change when the obstacle height was 20% of the height of the subjects.

Determining where physical therapists get information to support clinical practice decisions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the information sources utilised by physical therapists (PTs) to support clinical decisions. METHODS: Physical therapists in the United States were invited via professional listservs and electronic newsletters to participate in an online survey. RESULTS: Journal articles were the most frequently utilised source of information, followed by databases (PubMed was most frequent). The frequency of utilising evidence-based resources was not significantly affected by the number of years of experience as a physical therapist (PT), working in a state that allows direct access to PT services or doctoral vs masters/bachelors degree. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with a previous study (1994), there has been a transition in physical therapy information seeking, with greater reliance on evidence-based information.

Mapping the core journals of the physical therapy literature.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify (1) core journals in the literature of physical therapy, (2) currency of references cited in that literature, and (3) online databases providing the highest coverage rate of core journals. METHOD: Data for each cited reference in each article of four source journals for three years were recorded, including type of literature, year of publication, and journal title. The journal titles were ranked in descending order according to the frequency of citations and divided into three zones using Bradford's Law of Scattering. Four databases were analyzed for coverage rates of articles published in the Zone 1 and Zone 2 journals in 2007. RESULTS: Journal articles were the most frequently cited type of literature, with sixteen journals supplying one-third of the cited journal references. Physical Therapy was the most commonly cited title. There were more cited articles published from 2000 to 2007 than in any previous full decade. Of the databases analyzed, CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for Zone 1 2007 publications. CONCLUSIONS: Results were similar to a previous study, except for changes in the order of Zone 1 journals. Results can help physical therapists and librarians determine important journals in this discipline.

The effect of contralateral training: Influence of unilateral isokinetic exercise on one-legged standing balance of the contralateral lower extremity in adults.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of unilateral isokinetic exercises on the one-legged standing balance of the contralateral lower extremity. SUBJECTS: A volunteer sample of 32 healthy adults (12 men and 20 women) was randomized to training and control groups. METHODS: The training group received unilateral hip isokinetic exercises of the dominant leg for two weeks. Contralateral single-limb balance was measured before and after intervention, including three stability index scores of balance using Biodex Stability System: Anterior-Posterior Stability Index (APSI), Medio-lateral Stability Index (MLSI), and Overall Stability Index (OSI) scores. RESULTS: Comparison of pre-test and post-test data revealed significant improvements in APSI, MLSI, and OSI scores in the training group (p<0.05), but not in the control group. The gains of stability scores from pre- to post-test, were also significantly greater (p<0.05) in the training group than the control group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that contralateral training with unilateral isokinetic exercises increases the one-legged standing balance of the contralateral limb following a short duration of training.

Review for librarians of evidence-based practice in nursing and the allied health professions in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: This paper provides an overview of the state of evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing and selected allied health professions and a synopsis of current trends in incorporating EBP into clinical education and practice in these fields. This overview is intended to better equip librarians with a general understanding of the fields and relevant information resources. INCLUDED PROFESSIONS: Professions are athletic training, audiology, health education and promotion, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assisting, respiratory care, and speech-language pathology. APPROACH: Each section provides a description of a profession, highlighting changes that increase the importance of clinicians' access to and use of the profession's knowledgebase, and a review of each profession's efforts to support EBP. The paper concludes with a discussion of the librarian's role in providing EBP support to the profession. CONCLUSIONS: EBP is in varying stages of growth among these fields. The evolution of EBP is evidenced by developments in preservice training, growth of the literature and resources, and increased research funding. Obstacles to EBP include competing job tasks, the need for additional training, and prevalent attitudes and behaviors toward research among practitioners. Librarians' skills in searching, organizing, and evaluating information can contribute to furthering the development of EBP in a given profession.