Freely available, online videos to support neurological physiotherapists and students in task-specific training skill acquisition: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Videos to support learning of clinical skills are effective; however, little is known about the scope and educational quality of the content of freely available online videos demonstrating task-specific training (TST). This review aimed to determine the extent, characteristics of freely available online videos, and whether the content is suitable to guide skill acquisition of task-specific training for neurological physiotherapists and students. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted. Google video and YouTube were searched in December 2022. Videos that met our eligibility criteria and were explicitly designed for (TST) skill acquisition were included in the report. RESULTS: Ten videos met the inclusion criteria and were difficult to find amongst the range of videos available. Most were presented by physiotherapists or occupational therapists, originated from the USA, featured stroke as the condition of the person being treated, and involved a range of interventions (upper limb, constraint induced movement therapy, balance, bicycling). Most videos were created by universities or private practices and only two used people with a neurological condition as the participant. When the content of videos and their presentation (instruction and/or demonstration), was assessed against each key component of TST (practice structure, specificity, repetition, modification, progression, feedback), five of the videos were rated very suitable and five moderately suitable to guide skill acquisition. Most videos failed to demonstrate and provide instruction on each key component of TST and were missing at least one component, with feedback most frequently omitted. CONCLUSIONS: There are many freely available online videos which could be described as demonstrating TST; very few are suitable to guide skill acquisition. The development of a standardised and validated assessment tool, that is easy to use and assesses the content of TST videos is required to support learners to critically evaluate the educational quality of video content. Guidelines based on sound teaching theory and practice are required to assist creators of online videos to provide suitable resources that meet the learning needs of neurological physiotherapists and students.

Challenge Level Contributes to the Efficacy of Treadmill Interventions after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Intervention parameters such as the challenge, amount, and dosage (challenge × amount) have the potential to alter the efficacy of rehabilitation interventions after stroke. This systematic review investigated the effect of intervention parameters of challenge, amount, and dosage on improvements in walking outcomes following treadmill training (TT) and comparison interventions in people with stroke. Randomized controlled trials were included if they: (i) investigated interventions of TT or bodyweight-supported TT (BWSTT); (ii) made comparisons with other physiotherapy interventions, other types of TT, or no intervention; (iii) studied people with stroke; (iv) reported sufficient data on challenge and amount parameters; and (v) measured walking speed or endurance. Completeness of reporting was evaluated using the TIDieR-Rehab checklist and risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. The review included 26 studies; 15 studies compared TT or BWSTT with other physiotherapy interventions and 11 studies compared different types of TT. Meta-analyses provided evidence with low to moderate certainty that greater differences in challenge and dosage between treadmill and comparison physiotherapy interventions produced greater effects on walking endurance (p < 0.01). However, challenge and dosage did not influence walking speed outcomes. The analysis of intervention amount was limited by the lack of studies that manipulated the amount of intervention. Overall, the findings indicate that, after stroke, some of the efficacy of TT on walking endurance can be explained by the challenge level during training. This supports the implementation of TT at higher challenge levels in stroke rehabilitation practice.