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Goniometry is commonly used to evaluate joint range of motion (ROM). The most widespread method, a manual universal goniometer (UG), is considered time-consuming and difficult to handle. The digital goniometer EasyAngle (EA) was developed to improve and simplify the evaluation of ROM. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of EA measuring active and passive flexion and extension of the knee joint. Reliability was assessed in a test-retest model, while validity was tested by comparing measurements from EA and UG. Thirty-six knee angles (18 individuals) were measured in standardized order. EA showed almost perfect reliability measuring active/passive flexion (ICC 0.994/0.994) and extension (ICC 0.978/0.987). EA's validity was very high in active/passive flexion (r = 0.969/r = 0.97) and moderate-to-high measuring active/passive extension (r = 0.751/r = 0.892). EA is a reliable, valid, and effective assessment tool for measuring knee angles. Further studies should verify these findings for other joints and movement directions.

Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares healthcare students for collaboration in their future careers. The purpose of this study was to determine which aspects of the IPE Program in Anatomy at McMaster University contributed to the development of healthcare student's interprofessional skills. Q-methodology was used to identify the students' common viewpoints of the IPE experience. A total of 26/28 (93%) of students in the course from the medical, nursing, midwifery, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy programs participated in this study. Students were asked to sort a Q-sample of 43 statements about the IPE dissection course derived from previous qualitative studies of the program. Using the centroid factor extraction and varimax rotation, three salient factors (groups) emerged, namely: (1) Anatomy IPE Enthusiasts, (2) Practical IPE Advocates, and (3) Skeptical IPE Anatomists. The Anatomy IPE Enthusiasts believed that students from different disciplines brought unique anatomical knowledge and each group member guided others through difficult material. The Practical IPE Advocates expressed that they would be stronger advocates for interprofessional teams in the future because of the course. The Skeptical IPE Anatomists strongly disagreed that learning with students from different disciplines helped them gain an understanding of their roles in the context of other healthcare professionals and felt that there was little benefit from the IPE program compared to other non-interprofessional programs. These findings about student attitudes are critical to drive an evidence-based evolution of the IPE dissection course, since students' perceptions can have a profound influence on interprofessional collaboration in the workplace.

Exploring effective interventions to compensate for developmental delay in premature neonates and reduce their mothers' anxiety is of great significance. This research aimed at examining the effects of body massage on Iranian premature neonates' physical and motor development, and on their mother's anxiety and attachment. Forty premature neonates and their mothers were recruited and randomly assigned to either the control or experimental groups. Results showed that the body massage lead to greater weight, motor development, and larger bicep and thigh circumference compared to the control group. However, no significant differences were found in other parts of the neonates' bodies, nor were there differences in reflex status between the groups. Furthermore, the levels of mothers' attachment and their anxiety in the experimental group significantly increased and decreased, respectively. Therefore, massage therapy as a low-cost, non-medicinal treatment can be applied to improve neonates' physical and motor development and their mothers' psychological status.

Objectives: To measure and compare distress in entry-level masters occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students; to evaluate distress levels relative to existing data; and to explore factors that cause stress, effects of stress, and coping strategies. Participants: Ninety-eight OT and PT students (75 females, 23 males) from two cohorts at a Canadian university. Methods: Sequential mixed-methods including questionnaires and inductive analysis of focus group discussions. Results: OT and PT students from one cohort reported higher levels of stress, anxiety and/or depression compared to the following academic year and compared to undergraduate and general population samples. The overall theme was "the unrelenting tug of war" between school and other aspects of students' lives. Factors related to academic workload negatively affected mental health. Coping strategies included physical activity, strategic selection of peers, and modifying expectations. Conclusions: Wellness in OT and PT students is an important concern that deserves attention.

The importance of accurate identification and high-quality intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is indisputable. Clinicians from multiple professions need adequate knowledge of ASD to make appropriate referrals to specialists, conduct thorough evaluations, and provide effective interventions. ASD knowledge development for many professionals may start at the pre-service training level. An interdisciplinary sample consisting of trainees from Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) programs and University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) across the country (N = 155) was evaluated on their objectively measured ASD knowledge using the ASKSP-R. Self-reported knowledge of ASD and self-reported confidence in providing services to individuals who have ASD was evaluated using a 0-100 scale. Results from an ANOVA demonstrated a significant difference in objectively measured knowledge across disciplines, F(7, 146) = 4.68, p < 0.001. Specifically, trainees in psychology had significantly higher levels of objectively measured ASD knowledge than trainees in physical/occupational therapy, social work, and non-clinical disciplines. Pre-service and professional development experiences predicted trainees' objectively measured ASD knowledge, self-reported ASD knowledge, and self-reported confidence. Implications and recommendations regarding interdisciplinary training to improve outcomes for individuals with ASD are discussed.

The profession of physical therapy has undergone an evolution since its inception. Since the early 1900s it has grown from a technical training program to a doctorate level degree. Human anatomy courses remain a requirement for physical therapist educational curricula. However, changes in anatomy pedagogy have been trending within health profession educational models, leading to questions regarding which method is best for student learning. The objective of this study was to determine if anatomy instructional method used within physical therapist educational curricula impacted current anatomy knowledge. Licensed physical therapists were recruited to complete a demographic survey and a questionnaire to demonstrate their knowledge of anatomy topics. Anatomy topics included six regional components: (1) upper limb; (2) lower limb; (3) thorax and abdomen; (4) pelvis; (5) spine; and (6) head. Each regional component contained five questions regarding systemic subsets related to joints and osteology, muscles, nervous system, vasculature, and special areas (e.g., spatial orientations, structures within spaces, pathways of nerves). Within the thorax and abdominal region, data analysis indicated that the dissection instruction method, when compared to no laboratory instruction, led to statistically significant greater anatomical knowledge (P = 0.02). Dissection also showed greater means when compared to the no laboratory method (P = 0.02) and the prosection method in the head region (P = 0.01). However, the variance explained by instructional method was small. This study adds empirical evidence regarding current anatomy knowledge exhibited by physical therapists as the level of anatomical knowledge exhibited small differences based on instructional methods.

This paper draws on a study that examined the experiences of four high-achieving Pasifika physiotherapy degree level students to identify factors contributing to their success. As peer students, they identified five approaches that assisted them to become high achievers within the tertiary environment. This paper refers specifically to these approaches as peer-based Pasifika pedagogies (PbPP) and broadly as culturally responsive practices. The aim of this paper is to examine how Pasifika pedagogies, such as PbPP provide culturally responsive practices that can address the 'culture of silence' while promoting the va relationality, the cultural nuances and norms of their worldview as well as aligning it with modern pedagogies or tools to enhance success among Pasifika students in the New Zealand tertiary education context.

This viewpoint proposes eight anatomy threshold concepts related to physical therapist education, considering both movement system theory and anatomical competence. Movement system theory provides classifications and terminology that succinctly identifies and describes physical therapy practice from a theoretical and philosophical framework. The cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, integumentary, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems are all included within this schema as the movement system theory encompasses all body systems interacting to create movement across the lifespan. Implementing movement system theory requires an ability to use human anatomy in physical therapist education and practice. Understanding the human body is a mandatory prerequisite for effective diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and patient evaluation. Anatomical competence refers to the ability to apply anatomic knowledge within the appropriate professional and clinical contexts. Exploring the required anatomical concepts for competent entry-level physical therapist education and clinical practice is warranted. The recommended threshold concepts (fluency, dimensionality, adaptability, connectivity, complexity, stability or homeostasis, progression or development, and humanity) could serve as an integral and long-awaited tool for guiding anatomy educators in physical therapy education.

Purpose: The prediction of student attrition is critical to facilitate retention mechanisms. This study aims to focus on implementing a method to predict student attrition in the upper years of a physiotherapy program. Design/methodology/approach: Machine learning is a computer tool that can recognize patterns and generate predictive models. Using a quantitative research methodology, a database of 336 university students in their upper-year courses was accessed. The participant's data were collected from the Financial Academic Management and Administration System and a platform of Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Five quantitative and 11 qualitative variables were chosen, associated with university student attrition. With this database, 23 classifiers were tested based on supervised machine learning. Findings: About 23.58% of males and 17.39% of females were among the attrition student group. The mean accuracy of the classifiers increased based on the number of variables used for the training. The best accuracy level was obtained using the "Subspace KNN" algorithm (86.3%). The classifier "RUSboosted trees" yielded the lowest number of false negatives and the higher sensitivity of the algorithms used (78%) as well as a specificity of 86%. Practical implications: This predictive method identifies attrition students in the university program and could be used to improve student retention in higher grades. Originality/value: The study has developed a novel predictive model of student attrition from upper-year courses, useful for unbalanced databases with a lower number of attrition students.

Physiotherapy competencies inform the education and regulation of the profession. Many different methods appear to be used to identify competencies and there is no consensus on optimal methods to identify competencies. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the methodological approaches used to identify competencies for the physiotherapy profession and summarize the nature of those competencies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the grey literature from inception to June 2020. Two independent reviewers screened for empirical peer-reviewed articles that aimed to identify professional physiotherapy competencies. General study characteristics, competency characteristics (e.g., target practice area), and methodological characteristics (e.g., study population, data collection and analysis method for each methodological step) were extracted. Descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis were performed. Of the 9529 references screened, 38 articles describing 35 studies published between 1980 and 2020 were included. Orthopaedics (20.0%) was the most commonly targeted area of practice. Studies used one to eight methodological steps whose objective was to generate (16 studies), validate (18 studies), assign value (21 studies), refine (10 studies), or triangulate (3 studies) competencies, or to address multiple objectives (10 studies). The most commonly used methods were surveys to assign value (n = 20, 95%), and group techniques to refine competencies (n = 7, 70%). Physiotherapists with experience in the area of competence was the most commonly consulted stakeholder group (80% of studies). This review can provide methodological guidance to stakeholders such as educators and regulators that aim to identify professional competencies in the future.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of Therapeutic Horse Riding on Motor and Social Skills of children with Cerebral Palsy. Social skills are closely related to the quality of social relationships and the ability to communicate and collaborate in general (So & Brush, 2008). Motor function difficulties are common in cerebral palsy and can cause important activity restriction (Rosenbaum, et al., 2007). The sample of the research consisted of 30 participants (18 Special Educators and 12 Therapists). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants in order to be collected sufficient data to triangulate. Results from the qualitative analysis shown that Therapeutic Horse Riding can benefit the development of social skills in children with Cerebral Palsy. Motor function can also be benefited due to the three-dimensional movement of the horse and heat from the body of it, which improves the blood circulation and contributes directly to the relaxation and reduction of spasticity. Though, the effect of Therapeutic Horse Riding on children with Cerebral Palsy, and other special needs are directly related to the child's particular needs.

Background: There is limited research examining the efficacy of early physical therapy on infants with neuromotor dysfunction. In addition, most early motor interventions have not been directly linked to learning, despite the clear association between motor activity and cognition during infancy. Objective: The aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play), an intervention designed to target sitting, reaching, and motor-based problem solving to advance global development in infants with motor delays or neuromotor dysfunction. Design: This study is a longitudinal multisite randomized controlled trial. Infants in the START-Play group are compared to infants receiving usual care in early intervention (EI). Setting: The research takes place in homes in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, and Virginia. Participants: There will be 140 infants with neuromotor dysfunction participating, beginning between 7 to 16 months of age. Infants will have motor delays and emerging sitting skill. Intervention: START-Play provides individualized twice-weekly home intervention for 12 weeks with families to enhance cognition through sitting, reaching, and problem-solving activities for infants. Ten interventionists provide the intervention, with each child assigned 1 therapist. Measurements: The primary outcome measure is the Bayley III Scales of Infant Development. Secondary measures include change in the Early Problem Solving Indicator, change in the Gross Motor Function Measure, and change in the type and duration of toy contacts during reaching. Additional measures include sitting posture control and parent-child interaction. Limitations: Limitations include variability in usual EI care and the lack of blinding for interventionists and families. Conclusions: This study describes usual care in EI across 4 US regions and compares outcomes of the START-Play intervention to usual care.

Writing transfer research often illuminates the writing abilities, attitudes, and assumptions college writers bring to a writing assignment, but faculty members across the disciplines may not have the tools for understanding what the students in their particular classes bring to their particular writing assignments. In this proposed model, students respond to a series of reflective prompts before, during, and after completion of a major upper-division writing assignment. Faculty members then reflect on how these responses might change the way they assign writing and teach course content. The disciplinary and course-based threshold concepts emerging from this process suggest a dynamic and situated approach that both facilitates faculty understanding of transfer and offers a method for responding to it.

(1) Background: The aim of the study was to identify the physical activity index of physio-kinetotherapy (PKT) students during the three years of study, as well as the motivation to practicing Physical Activity (PA); (2) Methods: The study comprised three groups of 84 students each, corresponding to the three years of study from the PKT specialization. The study included the survey method, using two questionnaires: Physical Activity Index (PAI) and Motives for Physical Activity Measure--Revised (MPAM-R). A factorial and correlation analysis was made between the three groups; (3) Results: The level of PA practice in all our study groups was between the low and the lowest indicator. The main motivations underlying PA are: enjoyment, competence/challenge, and fitness/health; (4) Conclusions: Future specialists in physio-kinetotherapy need extensive competencies in physical activity by optimizing intimate and extrinsic motivations. Extending the number of hours allocated to the physical education discipline within the university curriculum allows the person to form proactive behaviors.

Adapted fitness tests and tests for children without disabilities are used for evaluating the effects of physical training programs of children with disabilities. This study investigated the applicability of those frequently-used tests for children with different types of disability. A total of 282 children ages between 5 and 14 years with Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Brachlial Plexus Injury, Spinal Cord Injuries, Amputations, Neuromuscular Diseases, Traumatic Brain Injury, Orthopedic Deformity, Intellectual Disability, Down Syndrome were participated in the study. Gross Motor Function Measure, Modified Ashworth Scale, Posture Analysis, Berg Balance Scale, Sitting Balance, 9 Holed Peg, Sit and Reach, Pro-agility, Anticipation Time, Curl-up, Modified Curl-up, Lateral step-up, Hand grip, Medicine Ball Throw, Pull up and 6 Minute Walk tests were used for evaluation. The major result of this study is that the differences in physical fitness levels, functionality and severity of sequelae rule out using several tests commonly even if the type of disability is the same.

Graduate professional programs seek to foster professionalism and civic-mindedness in their students. This study measures the development of civic-mindedness throughout a graduate physical therapy (PT) program curriculum committed to community engagement. Three class cohorts completed the Civic-Minded Professional (CMP) Scale at four time points. Scores increased throughout the curriculum. Participants involved in community service leadership had the highest scores. A professional program that allows for community engagement throughout the curriculum will encourage student development of civic-mindedness.

Overall trends of academic staffing in the US have indicated declines in tenure, increased use of contingent faculty, and stratification of teaching and research efforts. However, little is known about academic staffing patterns in professional programs, and little research has been done using program-level data. The purposes of this study were to identify faculty staffing patterns, determine if patterns change over time, and identify predictors of staffing patterns in US-based physical therapy programs. Yearly program-level accreditation data from 2008 to 2017 were analyzed. A finite mixture model analysis identified staffing patterns. Logistic regression analyses were run to predict category membership and observe change over time. Two academic staffing categories emerged: (1) Broad staffing patterns (90.4% of programs) composed of more core faculty on tenure track and who held academic degrees and (2) Flexible programs (9.7% of observations) with higher numbers of core faculty, fewer faculty on tenure track, and fewer faculty with an academic doctoral degree. There was little change over time from one category to another. Programs were more likely to adopt a Flexible pattern when budget and faculty teaching time rose. Membership to one of two staffing models appears to be predicted by institutional reliance on professional programs for revenues. Either programs lower expenses by having tenured faculty balance teaching and research, or they rely on non-tenured faculty positions and higher enrollments.

Introduction and Background: Colleges and universities have an obligation to educate graduate students who demonstrate civic literacy and who can engage in civic inquiry and action. Service-learning and community engagement courses are highly effective in developing civic-mindedness. Graduate professional programs may have additional reasons for focusing on development of civic mindedness. The purpose of this paper is 1) to measure the development of civic-mindedness increased in a cohort of physical therapy students exposed to a variety of civic engagement programs and service-learning courses and 2) to determine if there is a difference in civic-mindedness between students serving on a pro bono clinic Student Board and their classmates in a graduate physical therapy program. Methods: The Civic-Minded Professional Scale (CMP) is a 23-item, 7-point Likert-scale survey designed to measure the domains of self-identity; work, career and profession; and civic attitudes, civic action, and public purpose to measure the construct of civic-mindedness. The CMP was administered to a cohort of graduate physical therapy students at the beginning of the professional curriculum and at the end of each of three years of didactic coursework. Results: Friedman's repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc testing revealed that civic mindedness increased in our students throughout the course of the graduate physical therapy curriculum. Analysis also supports a difference on civic mindedness between those that participated in leadership of a pro bono clinic compared with students who did not. Discussion and Conclusion: Students involved in service-learning coursework imbedded throughout a graduate physical therapy program had increases in civic-mindedness. Service-learning coursework may be an effective way to develop civic mindedness in graduate students.

Background and Purpose: Grand Rounds is a teaching methodology that has existed in various forms in medical education for centuries. When a student-run pro bono clinic identified a growing challenge of providing continuity of care for clients and a lack of preparedness in students, they implemented a Grand Rounds model of case presentation within the curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation and assessment of Grand Rounds as it attempts to improve both the continuity of care for the clients and the learning experience for the students involved in a student-run pro bono clinic. Case Description and Evaluation: The Student Board divided the student physical therapists and the clients into three teams. Each team of students would meet every three weeks to discuss the clients on their caseload. More advanced students helped to mentor the more novice students and a faculty member would facilitate the discussions. Outcomes: After eight months of implementation, the Student Board gathered evaluative data from students, supervisors and client. The Widener University Institutional Review Board approved the program evaluation. Analysis of the data collected revealed that the students grew more confident and effective in their ability to implement and advance the physical therapy program. Discussion and Conclusion: The program evaluation confirmed that the implementation of teams and Grand Rounds positively impacted students' confidence and ability to collaboratively treat and advance clients and their physical therapy program in the student-run pro bono clinic. The program evaluation was not effective in thoroughly assessing the impact that the model had on clients and their recovery. Further evaluation should be conducted with client outcomes measures. Recommendations for the modification and improvement of Grand Rounds emerged.

The amount of older adults is increasing rapidly and the demands of an aging population will need to be met by professionals in many fields, including exercise science. However, many undergraduate students do not want to work with older adults. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to examine the experiences and perceptions of exercise science students who served as research assistants in a six-month walking program for senior citizens. Students recognized that their previous ageist views about older adults' functioning (which originated from personal experiences, education, and society) were challenged by the walking program. Subsequently, more positive views on aging, being an older adult, and working with older adults were elicited by their assistance in the research study. Results from this investigation suggest that exercise science and allied health students be exposed to aging-sensitive experiences to dispel ageist perceptions and ultimately increase the workforce needed to serve this expanding population.

The purposes of the research were (1) to develop the physical therapy practical assessment system by using the multisource feedback (MSF) approach and (2) to investigate the effectiveness of the implementation of the developed physical therapy practical assessment system. The development of physical therapy practical assessment system by using MSF was determined by nine experts in physical therapy. Suitability and feasibility of the system for each sub-group were investigated. Five input factors, two process factors, two output factors, and two feedback factors were involved in the system. Level of suitability and feasibility of elements in each sub-group presented at high to the highest level. In system testing, 40 physical therapy students were participated. Raters consisted of clinical educators, students (self-assessment), friends (students who in the same practical group), and patients. Twice assessments during the period of clinical practice were performed. Data analysis for generalizability coefficient (G-coefficient) was evaluated by the EduG program. Quality of the system was evaluated 4 aspects including the utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy. These were calculated by mean (x-bar) and standard deviation (SD). The values of G-coefficient for absolute and relative were 0.86 and 0.88, respectively. In addition, quality of the system showed value at high to the highest level in all aspects.

Clinical placements are central to physiotherapy students' education, providing an environment in which students can apply learning they have been introduced to in academic settings. However placement learning has been identified as fraught with problems and resultant stress, and there is limited evidence available on what exactly makes a good placement for physiotherapy students. This paper reports on selected findings from a study exploring narratives of physiotherapy students over three years, relating to their overall experiences of being a student. A narrative prompt provided an opportunity for the students to speak about "episodes" of their learning experiences. A number of these "episodes" related to the students' experiences of clinical placements; thus it was decided to extract these from the narratives and undertake a separate qualitative analysis of these placement experiences. The majority of the students reported positive experiences of placements overall; however, it was clear that some placement teams and mentors did not support students appropriately. A welcoming team and a mentor who facilitated learning from an individual student perspective were considered to be key to a good placement experience, whilst an unwelcoming team and a mentor who objectified the student resulted in bad placement experiences.

Students occasionally experience difficulties during work-integrated learning and clinical placements. The authors reasoned that these placement difficulties might be related to the students' emotional intelligence (EI) being underdeveloped before they commence full-time clinical placements. A cross-sectional survey design was used to measure the EI of third-year undergraduate occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology and second-year business students (n = 369). Results showed that over 40% of therapy students reported scores that are considered low or markedly low in the EI domains of independence, problem-solving and stress tolerance. The EI scores for therapy students that were significantly higher than the Australian EI norms were self-actualization, interpersonal relationships, empathy, and impulse control. The mean scores of business students were within the normal range for all EI domains. A recommendation of our study is to include strategies that develop EI throughout the therapy curriculum and when preparing students for clinical placements.

This article explores transdisciplinary collaboration and role-release strategies that would allow physical therapists and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists to more effectively support students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) and additional disabilities with their expanded core curriculum (ECC) goals. Through examining public and specialized school special education documentation for 20 school-aged students, the authors seek to better understand current practice patterns of both O&M and physical therapy professionals who are working with students who are visually impaired with additional disabilities, and suggest ways in which educational team members from both disciplines can work together toward common goals for their students.

This paper presents students' perceptions of the benefits to employability of a suite of courses that incorporate both work-integrated learning (WIL) and career development learning (CDL). Field Project A and Field Project B are elective courses in the Bachelor of Exercise Science at Griffith University. These courses engage students in active and personalized learning experiences that have been designed utilizing the principles of the SOAR model (Self-awareness, Opportunity awareness, Aspirations, Results). Four students who completed both courses participated in semistructured interviews. Data was collected using thematic analysis of student responses. Results indicated that employability was enhanced as students developed realistic aspirations based on sound information and WIL experiences that can help achieve their personal career goals as they transition into the workforce. The courses provide a practical model for university academics and career development practitioners to work collaboratively. Importantly, they give students a competitive advantage, enabling them to become more proactive, confident and motivated in maximizing opportunities to manage their careers and lifelong learning.

In this article, Erica Stearns writes that she has worked as a physical therapist assistant in various settings for nearly 20 years. Her experiences have been in long-term and acute care settings, short-term rehabilitation and the school system. For the past three years she has also worked as a teacher of students with visual impairments. Initially it seemed to her as if those professional worlds would be quite separate, but she finds each day in her practice as an educator she realized how well both roles complement each other. Here Stearns describes how her experience in both fields has allowed her to see that these two disciplines truly need to work hand in hand to provide students the best opportunities for optimizing physical functioning with vision. She describes some strategies to help maintain collaboration between physical therapists and teachers of visually impaired students that can help students with multiple disabilities besides low or impaired vision. There is much to be gained from the collaboration of these two disciplines.

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation (PTR) undergraduate degree departments and Vocational School of Health Services (VSHS) associate degree departments train healthcare professionals, which is important for both continuance of human health and treatment of various illnesses. Anatomic structures underlie the illnesses that these departments treat and care. Therefore, the graduates of these departments should have favorable knowledge of anatomy. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the self-efficacy belief levels about anatomy education of PTR students as undergraduate and VSHS students as associate degree. 94 students from PTR department (age: 21.94 ± 1.19) and 100 students from VSHS (age: 20.16 ± 1.58) have participated in the study. Data collection questionnaire (gender, age, geographical region where he/she came from, residential place) and Anatomy Self-Efficacy Belief scale (ASEB) have been implemented on the participants. As a consequence, when the Anatomy Self-Efficacy Belief levels of undergraduate and associate degree students are compared, no significant difference has been found in total (p>0.05). However, when the answers given to the questions in self-efficacy belief level test are compared separately, a significant difference has been found in 4 questions (p<0.05). The reason for this is that the students of PTR department have more hours of anatomy lesson per week compared to the students of VSHS. As ASEB gets better, profession is done better in view of anatomy. This will help the graduates of both departments do their profession better and be more helpful to their patients.

Interdisciplinary service learning opportunities are recognized as valuable educational tools for health care students. The Farm Worker Family Health Program, based on a community academic partnership model, enables health care students to treat migrant workers in rural Georgia during the annual farmworker migration. The present article describes how this opportunity has been incorporated into a graduate curriculum, including examining the challenges and successes associated with implementing this type of program. An additional aim is to explore the implications of merging interdisciplinary service learning and community partnerships with physical therapy education, specifically how student volunteers and migrant workers may be impacted by their participation.

International service-learning (ISL) programs in physical and occupational therapy programs are increasing in number. This paper describes a needs assessment and initial program evaluation conducted for a physical therapy ISL program at an orphanage in China. Chinese orphanage staff and Widener University physical therapy students were surveyed. Chinese staff expressed satisfaction with the training and provided suggestions for programming needs. Students identified areas for further education of orphanage staff and suggestions for future program design.

Recently, cases of plagiarism in education have been on the rise with the underlying causes of their appearance being numerous. Due to the large extent of this phenomenon, specialised software has been developed and is available for users to check the presence or absence of plagiarism. The purpose of this paper is to study cases of plagiarism in education, as well as the available plagiarism software. Also, this case study presents a practical example of the implementation of the control process using plagiarism software, as well as its results, in an already published article. This case study points out the importance of performing a further quality control to those parts of the text where a textual coincidence was spotted by the plagiarism detection software.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of Speech Intelligibility Treatment (SIT) on intelligibility and naturalness of narrative speech produced by francophone children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy. Method: Ten francophone children with dysarthria were randomized to one of two treatments, SIT or Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy Including Lower Extremities, a physical therapy (PT) treatment. Both treatments were conducted in a camp setting and were comparable in dosage. The children were recorded pre- and post-treatment producing a story narrative. Intelligibility was measured by means of 60 blinded listeners' orthographic transcription accuracy (percentage of words transcribed correctly). The listeners also rated the children's naturalness on a visual analogue scale. Results: A significant pre- to post-treatment increase in intelligibility was found for the SIT group, but not for the PT group, with great individual variability observed among the children. No significant changes were found for naturalness ratings or sound pressure level in the SIT group or the PT group post-treatment. Articulation rate increased in both treatment groups, although not differentially across treatments. Conclusions: Findings from this first treatment study on intelligibility in francophone children with dysarthria suggest that SIT shows promise for increasing narrative intelligibility in this population. Acoustic contributors to the increased intelligibility remain to be explored further.

Youth with autism spectrum disorder often have complex medical needs. Disruptions of healthcare during the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare may put youth with autism spectrum disorder at higher risk of medical emergencies and high medical costs. We conducted a study among transition-age youth (14-25 years old) receiving healthcare at Kaiser Permanente Northern California during 2014-2015. We examined the differences in healthcare utilization and costs among youth with autism spectrum disorder (n = 4123), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (n = 20,6015), diabetes mellitus (n = 2156), and general population controls (n = 20,615). Analyses were also stratified by age and sex. Youth with autism spectrum disorder had the highest utilization of outpatient primary care, mental health, and psychotropic medications and the lowest utilization of obstetrics/gynecology and urgent care. Costs for youth with autism spectrum disorder were higher than those for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and general population peers and lower than for diabetes mellitus. Utilization patterns varied by age. Transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorder generally utilize healthcare at higher rates relative to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and general population peers but at similar or lower rates than diabetes mellitus peers, indicating this group's complex combination of psychiatric and medical healthcare needs. The relatively high utilization of psychiatric services and low utilization of women's health services in transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorder may have implications for long-term health and warrants additional research.

Bolstered by evidence of the health benefits of exercise, health professionals advise their patients about it. Thus these professionals should have a basic knowledge of exercise physiology. In Brazil, a graduate degree is not mandatory, so for many health providers, the only opportunity to receive information on exercise physiology content is during their undergraduate study. Therefore, it is imperative that health science undergraduate programs include content on exercise physiology. The aim of the study was to verify the presence of exercise physiology (or similar coursework) in the curricula of seven health science undergraduate programs (biomedicine, physical education, nursing, physiotherapy, medicine, nutrition, and psychology). The study was divided into three phases: 1) a survey of the total number of undergraduate programs (n = 4,940) through an electronic system of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (e-MEC); 2) a random selection of 10% of the total undergraduate programs (n = 494) for further analysis of the curriculum; and 3) analysis of the curricula of the selected undergraduate programs. Of 494 undergraduate programs, we did not find curricula for 77 of them. Therefore, the final sample consisted of 417 undergraduate programs. In total, 65.9% of the undergraduate programs did not offer coursework in exercise physiology. The chi-square test revealed a significant association between undergraduate curricula in health science and the presence or absence of exercise physiology coursework [X[superscript 2] (6, n = 417) = 293.0, P < 0.0001]. We did not find exercise physiology coursework in most of the analyzed undergraduate programs. Alternatives to solve the lack of exercise physiology coursework would be the inclusion of content related to exercise physiology in professional/graduate education or in continuing education programs.