Physiotherapy - Journal Articles
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Item Patients’ perceptions and experience of hospital-based, student-led physiotherapy treatment interventions: A survey(IOS Press, 2024-12-06) Cole, Aaron; Lombard, Eileen; Brennan, Roisin; O’Sullivan, Trish; O’Shea, Aidan; McVeigh, Joseph G.BACKGROUND: Clinical education (CE) is an integral part of physiotherapy degree programmes. CE presents a unique learning opportunity for students to implement classroom-based teaching directly with patients and clients. Despite patients being central to CE, limited research exists around patients’ opinions of CE and the impact of student involvement in patient care. To our knowledge, there has been no study exploring patient perceptions of being treated by student physiotherapists in Ireland. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of patients who have been assessed and treated by pre-registration MSc Physiotherapy students. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey study, involving both quantitative and qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: A total of 42 inpatient participants male n = 24 (57%) female n = 18 (43%) with 30 participants (71%) aged ≥70 were included in this study. All participants reported satisfaction with the treatment received by a student physiotherapist and reported they would avail of further treatments in the future. The benefits identified from interaction of participants with physiotherapy students included patient education and interpersonal skills. No disadvantages of being assessed and treated by a student physiotherapist were identified. Considerations for improvements identified included timing of physiotherapy sessions, frequency of sessions and the consideration of use of technology with patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified that all participants were very satisfied from receiving treatment interventions led by a student physiotherapist. Increased patient education and interpersonal skills were highlighted as key advantages from participants being assessed and treated by a student physiotherapist in clinical practice.Item Dual tasking interferes with dynamic balance in young and old healthy adults(IOS Press, 2021-01-11) Sulaiman, Amal Al-Shaikh; Kelly, Marie; O’Connor, Mairead; Bamiou, Doris-Eva; Pavlou, Marousa; Ménière’s Society, UKBACKGROUND: Functional mobility requires an ability to adapt to environmental factors together with an ability to execute a secondary task simultaneously while walking. A complex dual-tasking gait test may provide an indication of functional ability and falls risk among community-dwelling older adults. PURPOSE: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate age-related differences in dual-tasking ability and to evaluate whether dual-tasking ability is related to executive function. METHODS: Forty-one community-dwelling healthy older and forty-one younger adults completed a dual-tasking assessment in which concurrent tasks were incorporated into the Functional Gait Assessment (FGA). The manual dual-task involved carrying a glass of water (FGA-M) while the cognitive dual-tasks involved numeracy (FGA-N) and literacy (FGA-L) related tasks. FGA scores under single (FGA-S) and dual-task conditions together with associated dual-task costs and response accuracy were determined. Executive function was assessed using The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). RESULTS: FGA-N and FGA-L scores were adversely affected in both groups compared to FGA-S (p≤0.001). However, score reductions and dual-task costs were significantly greater for older adults compared to younger adults on FGA-N (p≤0.05) and FGA-L (p≤0.001), with older adult performance on FGA-N associated with falls risk (p≤0.05). Executive function did not appear to be related to dual-tasking ability. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that cognitively demanding tasks while walking, have a deleterious effect on dynamic balance and could place older adults at a greater risk of falls.Item A telephone assessment and advice service within an ED physiotherapy clinic: a single-site quality improvement cohort study(AboutScience Srl, 2021) Kelly, Marie; Higgins, Anna; Murphy, Adrian; McCreesh, KarenBackground: In response to issues with timely access and high non-attendance rates for Emergency Department(ED) physiotherapy, a telephone assessment and advice service was evaluated as part of a quality improvementproject. This telehealth option requires minimal resources, with the added benefit of allowing the healthcareprofessional streamline care. A primary aim was to investigate whether this service model can reduce wait timesand non-attendance rates, compared to usual care. A secondary aim was to evaluate service user acceptability.Methods: This was a single-site quality improvement cohort study that compares data on wait time to firstphysiotherapy contact, non-attendance rates and participant satisfaction between patients that opted for a servicebased on initial telephone assessment and advice, versus routine face-to-face appointments. 116 patients werereferred for ED physiotherapy over the 3-month pilot at the ED and out-patient physiotherapy department, XMercyUniversity Hospital, Cork, Ireland. 91 patients (78%) opted for the telephone assessment and advice service, with40% (n=36) contacting the service. 25 patients (22%) opted for the face-to-face service. Data on wait time and non-attendance rates was gathered using the hospital data reporting system. Satisfaction data was collected ondischarge using a satisfaction survey adapted from the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire. Independent-samples t-test or Mann Whitney U Test was utilised depending on the distribution of the data. For categorical data,Chi-Square tests were performed. A level of significance ofp≤0.05 was set for this study.Results: Those that contacted the telephone assessment and advice service had a significantly reduced wait time(median 6 days; 3–8 days) compared to those that opted for usual care (median 35 days; 19–39 days) (p≤0.05).There was no significant between-group differences for non-attendance rates or satisfaction.Conclusion: A telephone assessment and advice service may be useful in minimising delays for advice for thosereferred to ED Physiotherapy for musculoskeleltal problems. This telehealth option appears to be broadlyacceptable and since it can be introduced rapidly, it may be helpful in triaging referrals and minimising face-to-faceconsultations, in line with COVID-19 recommendations. However, a large scale randomised controlled trial iswarranted to confirm these findings.Item eHealth interventions to support self-management: Perceptions and experiences of people with musculoskeletal disorders and physiotherapists - ‘eHealth: It’s TIME’: A qualitative study(Taylor & Francis, 2022-11-25) Kelly, Marie; Fullen, Brona M.; Martin, Denis; Bradley, Colin; McVeigh, Joseph G.; Irish Society of Chartered PhysiotherapistsBackground: There is increasing interest in the potential role of eHealth interventions to support self-management in people with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have been a significant catalyst for the implementation of eHealth modalities into routine practice, providing a unique opportunity for real-world evaluation of this underutilized method of delivering physiotherapy. Objective: To explore the perceptions of eHealth-mediated supported self-management from the perspective of people with MSDs and physiotherapists who work in this clinical area. Methods: A qualitative interpretive descriptive approach was used. Semi-structured telephone interviews with 13 musculoskeletal physiotherapists and 13 people with musculoskeletal disorders were undertaken. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified: 1) Flexibility within a blended care model; 2) eHealth as a facilitator of self-management support; and 3) Technology: Getting it right. Participants expressed concerns about assessment and diagnosis, establishing a therapeutic relationship and felt eHealth should be reserved for follow-up purposes. There was a consistent view expressed that eHealth could facilitate aspects of self-management support. A lack of resources and suboptimal user experience remains a challenge. Conclusions: eHealth-mediated self-management support interventions were broadly acceptably, predominately as a follow-up option.Item Design and development of an eHealth intervention to support self-management in people with musculoskeletal disorders - ‘eHealth: It’s TIME’: a study protocol(HRB OPen Research, 2023-08-10) Kelly, Marie; Fullen, Brona; Martin, Denis; Bradley, Colin; O'Mahony, Billy; McVeigh, Joseph G.; Health Research BoardBackground: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a leading cause of global morbidity, with the burden expected to increase in the near future. Self-management, with the support of healthcare professionals, is recommended for many MSDs. However, frequent clinical contact is not feasible. Previous research has highlighted the need for a co-designed eHealth-mediated self-management follow-up support intervention which integrates remote monitoring and behavioural change. Thus, the current study aims to develop and design a user-centred, eHealth-mediated self-management support prototype for people with MSDs. Methods: A three-step, iterative system development cycle will be utilised to develop and design the “eHealth: It’s TIME prototype”. The three-step process will include creating website features and content using two sequential focus groups with people with MSDs (n = 6 – 8); heuristic testing using the 10 heuristic principles of Nielsen (n = 5); and usability testing through in-person 60-minute interviews with people with MSDs (n = 3 – 5) and musculoskeletal physiotherapists (n = 3 – 5). Conclusion: The eHealth: It’s TIME prototype will be a systematically developed, follow-up self-management support intervention guided by behavioural change theory and the preferences of end users.