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Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physiotherapists' mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physiotherapists' mental health in Belgium. A total of 115 physiotherapists from 12 general hospitals in Brussels, working in COVID-19 care units (CCU) or non-COVID-19 care units (NCCU), participated in an electronic survey including validated measurement tools for PTSD, anxiety, insomnia and burnout. Descriptive analyses were performed to assess differences in mental health outcomes between physiotherapists who worked in a CCU and those who worked in an NCCU. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were also performed to assess risk factors for burnout. Results showed significant levels of PTSD (9.6%), anxiety (33.9%), insomnia (40%) and burnout (33.9%) among participants. However, no significant differences were found between the 2 groups. It was also found that being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic was a risk factor for burnout. Although no significant differences were found between the two groups, this study highlights a concerning rate of psychopathological symptoms among participants. Hospitals should therefore invest more time and resources into actions aiming at preserving the mental health of physiotherapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalisation of higher education institutions is mainly focused on mobility programs. Increasingly programs try to improve the intercultural learning of their students through internationalising their curriculum and assessing their intercultural experiences. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the acquisition of intercultural competence and professional skills of higher education students during a specific short Erasmus+ mobility program. Thirty-two students came from four different countries and fields of study: Spain, Belgium, France, and China. A specific teaching methodology was used to promote the development of intercultural and professional competencies. A mixed methods approach was developed to collect data. The results showed that the students acquired intercultural competence and important professional skills. They improved their awareness of the importance of working in multicultural teams and settings; for 100% of them, this was just the first step in a developmental process. The participants reflected on their intercultural learning experiences and learned how to reflect and learn about intercultural and professional misunderstandings using coping mechanisms to face these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The "process-model" of self-control proposes that the ego-depletion effect is better explained by a switch between interest in "have-to" labor and cognitive "want-to" leisure, rather than being mainly due to a decrease in cognitive resources, as advanced by the "strength-model" of self-control. However, it is currently difficult to disentangle the "process-model" from the "strength-model" of self-control. Here, we employed a stepwise approach, featuring three studies, for testing the process model of self-control. Methods: In Study 1, we created a list of 30 self-control events for characterizing "have-to" conducts in the daily life. In Study 2, mental visualization of effortful self-control events ("have-to") and monetary risk-taking ("want-to") were employed for testing the strengthmodel of self-control. In Study 3, to test the process-model of self-control, participants were simply required to read self-control (or neutral) sentences. Results: Study 1 provided evidence regarding external validly for the list of selfcontrol events. Study 2 showed that mental visualization of effortful self-control events increases subsequent monetary risk-taking. Study 3 highlighted that the brief apparition of a self-control-related sentence was sufficient for increasing risk-taking. These patterns were evidenced in the trial with the less advantageous gain/loss ratio. Discussion: Altogether these findings support the process-model of self-control in showing that triggering the semantic content of a "have-to" conduct, without its actual execution, is sufficient for modulating subsequent "wantto" activity. Conclusion: These findings could contribute to advancing current knowledge on how the high availability of ready-to-consume rewards in modern environments is redefining humans' self-control ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined proactive (early restraint in preparation for stopping) and reactive (late correction to stop ongoing action) motor response inhibition in two groups of participants: professional athletes (n=28) and nonathletes (n=25). We recruited the elite athletes from Belgian national taekwondo and fencing teams. We estimated proactive and reactive inhibition with a modified version of the stop-signal task (SST) in which participants inhibited categorizing left/right arrows. The probability of the stop signal was manipulated across blocks of trials by providing probability cues from the background computer screen color (green=0%, yellow=17%, orange=25%, red=33%). Participants performed two sessions of the SST, where proactive inhibition was operationalized with increased go-signal reaction time as a function of increased stop-signal probability and reactive inhibition was indicated by stop-signal reaction time latency. Athletes exhibited higher reactive inhibition performance than nonathletes. In addition, athletes exhibited higher proactive inhibition than nonathletes in Session 1 (but not Session 2) of the SST. As top-level athletes exhibited heightened reactive inhibition and were faster to reach and maintain consistent proactive motor response inhibition, these results confirm an evaluative process that can discriminate elite athleticism through a fine-grained analysis of inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study protocol, which aims to explore and describe the feasibility of a mobile-phone application for initiating intuitive eating and intuitive exercising in patients who are following an ambulatory treatment for obesity. Intuitive eating refers to one's ability to make food choices based on one's awareness of his/her body's response. Intuitive exercising encourages people in finding enjoyable ways of being physically active. These two components will be trained using an implementation intention procedure, that is, behavioral plans that aim at creating a strong link between a specified situation and a response. We aim to recruit up to 80 overweight and obese patients over a period of 2 years. The smartphone application will be assessed on the basis of (i) data obtained through a 4-week use period, (ii) self-report measures taken before and after the use of the mobile application, and (iii) feedbacks from participants after the use of the mobile application. This pilot study will allow us to better understand the applicability of the use of mobile application within ambulatory treatment settings, and to adapt the design of the app necessary for building cross-sectional studies investigating its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching collaborative practices and interprofessional communication has become a central interest in health care education. Since 2018, in order to pursue this objective, interprofessional seminars are being organised in Brussels at health faculties. These seminars bring together pre-graduate students from eight health disciplines: doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, osteopaths, social workers, pharmacists, occupational therapists and public health. The two main objectives are learning interprofessional communication, and involving patients in their therapeutic decision-making process. These seminars are held in two 3-hour sessions by groups of approximataly 15 students. During the first meeting, students are encouraged to freely discuss their perception of the specificity of their future professional practice: skills, roles, limits, etc. During the second session, a clinical case is presented to them and they must define a multidisciplinary therapeutic support plan centred on the patient's life project. During this last seminar, a patient-partner and a professional are present in each group to encourage their reflection. In order to evaluate the results of the seminars, the participants are requested to answer a pre/post questionnaire on their professional identity, multidisciplinary collaboration and the place of the patient in the care strategy. 740 students participated in this course. The results underline that this type of teaching allows students to feel more confident in their collaborative skills (z= -7.320; p<0.001) and encourages them to include patients in their care process (z= -4.529; p<0.001). Moreover, it appears that they better define their professional identity (z= -5.353; p<0.001). This type of teaching introduces students to collaborative care practices, which, according to the studies, leads them to be more open to this type of practice after graduation by making them more confident in their abilities to implement a structured team approach and by understanding that this will promote the optimal well-being of patients and caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A positive communication about an intervention can lead to lower anxiety and better pain management through the increase of the patient trust. However, an important issue is to understand how communication interacts with modalities of pain management. The present study aimed to determine whether a positive oral communication restricted to the effect of intervention has an impact on analgesic effect of touch and verbal expression during an experimental induced pain. We compared pain rating (visual analog score, VAS) in 51 participants undergoing two cold pressor test (immersing a hand in 1°C water during max. 5 min.) at T1-referential and T2-experimental. During T2, 2×2 groups received a pain management modality (verbal-group or touch-group) with or without previous oral standardized communication (preconditioned, non-preconditionned), about the positive influence of the specific modality (respective to groups) on pain management. A last control group received no modality nor communication at T2. We found an effect of time on the VAS (F(1,46) = 72.197, p<0.001), as well as an interaction between the time and the group (F(4,46) = 3.023, p = 0,027). Post-hoc analysis showed a highly significant decreased VAS at T2 compared to T1 in the two preconditioned groups (p ? 0.001). dVAS analysis indicated that the preconditioned verbal-group reported decreased pain compared to non-preconditioned ones (p ≤ 0.038), while the preconditioning touch-group show only a trend (p = 0.089). These results suggested that simple positive communication enhances effect of pain management strategies. However, modalities of intervention seemed to modulate this effect. In particular, the intrusion of the experimenter in the intimate space of the patient during touch contact would mitigated the positive effect of previous communication in some patients. It is therefore important that the communication cautiously consider the specific needs of each patient towards what the treatment implies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the contribution of interprofessional education (IPE) for pre-graduate students from eight study branches. These seminars had patient-partners and caregivers as co-facilitators for reflexive conversations, with educational goals of learning interprofessional communication and involving patients in decision-making. A pre/post seminar comparison with 2 questionnaires about the students' professional identity, multidisciplinary collaboration and patients' involvement, and the richness of stakeholders' definitions. 1142 students participated in the course (n = 740 after removing missing data). The results indicate that this type of education helps students feel more confident in their ability to communicate and collaborate (z = −10,204; p < 0,001), involves patients in their care plan (z = −7,996; p < 0,001) and fosters the competence and autonomy of the post-graduate students in their own professional field (z = −10,627; p < 0,001). It also enriches the definition of patients' roles (n = 399; z = −17,276; p < 0,001). Including patients-partners and caregivers in IPE enriches the professional identity and increases the self-efficacy of futures caregivers. This program exposed students to collaborative care practices, can reduce their resistance to this type of practice after graduation by making them more confident in using a structured team approach and recognising its benefits for both patients and caregivers. • Validation of an interprofessional self-efficacy tool including patient partnership. • Enriching the understanding of the patient's role in healthcare. • Increased student self-efficacy regarding multidisciplinary aspects. • Discusses the place of public health executives in an IPE. • Include patients and caregivers in educational program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]