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Purpose: This study's aim was to characterize the nature of students' research conducted for a Master of Science in Physical Therapy (MScPT) degree programme at a Canadian university and evaluate the lead advisors' perspectives of its impact on their research capacity, education, clinical practice, knowledge translation, and health policy. Methods: We conducted a quantitative, cross-sectional, retrospective review of research reports from 2003 to 2014 to characterize the MScPT students' research and a quantitative, cross-sectional e-survey of lead research advisors to evaluate the impact of this research. Results: Data were abstracted from reports of 201 research projects completed between 2003 and 2014. Projects were conducted primarily in university-affiliated hospitals (41.6%) or the university's physical therapy department (41.1%), and the majority (52.5%) had a clinical focus. Of the 95 lead advisors of 201 projects, 59 advisors (response rate 62.1%) of 119 projects completed the survey questionnaire. The respondents most frequently identified clinical practice (45.1%) and advisors' research capacity (31.4%) as areas positively affected by the students' research. Conclusions: The MScPT students' research projects facilitate the conduct of extensive research internally and across affiliated hospitals. This research appears to advance not only clinical practice but also the ability of lead advisors to undertake research.

Purpose: To explore communication-related experiences with accessing and participating in community-based exercise programmes from the perspective of adults with post-stroke aphasia. Methods: Adults with mild to severe post-stroke aphasia were recruited from the Aphasia Institute (AI), Toronto, Canada, for a qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured, in-depth one-on-one interviews. Participants were asked to identify facilitators of, barriers to, and strategies for joining and participating in exercise programmes. Interview data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Ten adults with mild (40%), moderate (40%), or severe (20%) aphasia participated in this study. The majority of participants were men (60%) aged 60–69 years (40%). Participants experienced a combination of communication, environmental, and personal facilitators of and barriers to accessing and participating in community-based exercise programmes. Strategies to enhance participation can be applied at both programme and individual levels. Conclusions: Findings may inform clinical practice and programming to optimize access to and participation in community-based exercise programmes for adults with post-stroke aphasia.

Purpose: This article provides an overview of factor analysis from the perspective of measurement in clinical research. Summary of Key Points: Factor analysis is a statistical technique that identifies interrelationships among a set of items in an instrument and/or questionnaire and groups them into homogeneous domains. Exploratory factor analysis can be used to reduce the number of items in a questionnaire and identify its underlying domains. Confirmatory factor analysis can be used to test a hypothesis about the domain structure of a questionnaire. Principal component analysis and common factor analysis are the most common techniques and differ based on the amount of variability that is analyzed among items. Steps of the factor analytical process include assessing correlation matrices, factor extraction, choosing the number of factors to retain, assessing the factor loading matrix, factor rotation and factor interpretation. Because no standardized method exists, factor analysis involves decision-making at each step. Conclusions: The different techniques and methods of factor analysis each have unique strengths and limitations. Clinicians and researchers reviewing articles on factor analysis should ensure that authors state a priori their purpose, conceptual approach, preferred technique and methods that will guide their decision-making.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the results of a systematic review that investigated the effects of aerobic exercise interventions in people living with HIV/AIDS and to discuss the implications for physical therapy practice, education, and research. Summary of Key Points: A systematic review was conducted based on the Cochrane Collaboration protocol. Eleven randomized trials of HIVpositive adults who performed aerobic exercise three times per week for at least four weeks were identified. Thirteen meta-analyses were performed. The main results indicated that aerobic exercise was associated with significant improvements in some outcomes of cardiopulmonary status (maximum oxygen consumption) and psychological status (depression-dejection symptoms). Conclusions: Performing continuous or interval aerobic exercise or a combination of continuous aerobic exercise and progressive resistive exercise for at least 24 minutes three times per week for at least five weeks appears to be safe and may be beneficial for adults living with HIV. These findings should be interpreted cautiously owing to small sample sizes and high withdrawal rates within individual studies. The results of this review support the role of exercise and, more broadly, the role of rehabilitation practice, education, and research in the care and treatment of persons living with HIV.