Perceptions of an international interprofessional education experience: Findings from students based in Europe and North America.

The globalisation of healthcare is changing the demands placed on health professionals. It requires different skills and thought processes across national borders. Thinking in an innovative manner may provide healthcare workers with some of the necessary tools to facilitate international change by increasing students' mental flexibility and ability to apply solutions in multiple contexts. We created the International Innovation Program for health profession education students to learn about and implement the innovation process. The programme provides students the opportunity to learn in interprofessional, international teams and apply didactic knowledge to community problems using the innovation process. The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions across 4 years of programme implementation. Through analysis of closed-ended survey data, we found that students who participated in the programme reported improvements in collaboration and teamwork, project management, interprofessional teamwork, professional growth and development, thinking in an innovative manner, research and development skills, information seeking, and willingness to work on international projects. Analysis of the open-ended questions revealed five themes: language, teamwork and collaboration, cultural awareness, innovation process, and personal growth and self-improvement. The long-term, follow-up data indicate that these attributes can be transferred into a clinical context which have implications for improved collaboration and patient care.

Does single-event multilevel surgery enhance physical functioning in the real-life environment in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP)?: patient perceptions five years after surgery.

Orthopedic procedures are a method of treating gait deviations and musculoskeletal pathology that develop with age in cerebral palsy (CP). Recently single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS) has become common practice. Although there is evidence that SEMLS could improve gait, it is unclear whether it will enhance overall physical functioning and coping strategies in the real-life environment. It is unclear how improved walking capacity affects actual functioning and enables greater independence. The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of adolescents concerning the results of surgery on personal physical functioning in the environment five or more years after SEMLS. In this study, qualitative data were gathered by open interviews and analyzed using phenomenographic approach, which aims to study variation in human understanding and perceptions of the phenomenon in question. Gait Profile Score (GPS) was used to describe the objective change. The results indicate that SEMLS had a clear positive effect on the participants' physical functioning capacity, particularly experienced as better walking ability. GPS improved by 3.5° five years postoperatively. Surgery could enhance physical activity and the motivation to maintain mobility in the future. The perceptions of the effect of surgery on physical functioning in the real-life environment varied from a challenge-avoiding, support-seeking agency to a highly active, independent agency in daily life. Our rehabilitation practice after multilevel surgery should be more focused on enhancing active agency in collaboration with adolescents with CP and their families.

[Quantitative analysis of gait in children]. / Lasten kvantitatiivinen kävelyanalyysi.

Quantitative analysis of gait yields precise numerical data about gait. It includes three-dimensional modeling of joint movements (kinematics), analysis of reaction forces directed to the body (kinetics) as well as measurements of activation of major groups of muscles (EMG), energy consumption and pressure load on the foot. Quantitative analysis of gait and the associated clinical examination complement each other, enabling a precise and objective evaluation of gait abnormalities. Quantitative analysis of gait is suitable for patients who are more than five years old, walk independently or with walking aids, and are able to cooperate.

[Multi-level surgery of a limb improves walking ability of a CP child]. / Alaraajojen monitasokirurgia parantaa CP-vammaisen lapsen kävelykykyä.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND. Correction of the deformities of the lower limbs in CP children is currently attempted in one go by using multi-level surgery in one operation involving multiple procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We examined from patient records the surgical outcomes and operative harms of 40 CP children operated in the HUS Department of Gynecology and Pediatrics in 2000 to 2010. Clinical examination and analysis of gait were the most important methods of assessment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Most CP children benefited from the operation, with a considerable improvement in their walking posture.