Thesis (MPhysT. (Sports Medicine))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Patient satisfaction is one of the indicators of the quality of care being given to the users of a service. It can also be used as benchmarks for ensuring the delivery of quality physiotherapy services in health facilities. Physiotherapists have been involved in treatment of persons suffering from low back pain for decades. Treatment approaches are varied, but all have the common goals of pain relief, rehabilitation, and prevention of recurrence of low back pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the satisfaction of low back pain sufferers with the physiotherapy services they receive. The study was carried out in selected public hospitals in Nairobi and the Central Province in Kenya. / South Africa

The purpose of this study was to assess and enhance the attitudes and knowledge of physical therapy students toward telecommunication technology. A questionnaire was given to appraise the attitudes and knowledge of 156 physical therapy students toward telecommunication technology. The intervention was a one hour presentation on applications relevant to physical therapy practice. The majority of students expressed interest in telecommunication before the presentation, and felt that expanded use of telecommunication was important to the profession. However, only a minority of students demonstrated knowledge about specific medical telecommunication applications. The post-intervention questionnaire showed the presentation to be effective in changing students' attitudes toward telecommunication, and increasing their knowledge relevant to the practice of physical therapy. If physical therapy curricula were to include exposure to telecommunication, perhaps physical therapists will be more inclined to use the technology in the future.

This presentation compares the development and implementation of competency checklists for orienting and mentoring practitioner that supports the needs of management, patients and NICU therapist's. Competencies from four NICUs across the US were compared by three neonatal physical therapists via a coding system. After coding, themes arose which described similarities which were then referenced back to the published physical therapy competencies. This varied between hospitals, depending on specific rehabilitation professionals employed, the evolution of NICU status and the complexity of the patient. The neonatal therapist has a unique opportunity to utilize the information from this study to bridge the gap between the operational management and the educational demands of the rehabilitation therapist in the NICU team.

Entry level and post professional physical therapy education is enhanced when learners are actively engaging with material/patients through EPA’s and the essential core competencies. Active learning strategies are educational methods where students are actively involved in their learning. Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) guide practice based assessment for students and professionals, carrying out trustful activities with multiple competencies. An agreement on the delivery of the essential competencies with active learning strategies to enhance EPA are still up for debate. First round of rapid fire will compare the delivery of content with focus on traditional, flipped and on-line classrooms. The second round of rapid fire will discuss active learning strategies creating or assessing impactful EPA with clear take home examples. Active learning strategies will include Team Based Learning (TBL), Experiential Learning, Reflection and Patient Simulation. This will conclude with a hearty discussion on classroom structure and strategies in pediatric physical therapy education leading to more effective, gratifying, and memorable learning outcomes.

<p> BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: While it is well known that sensory impairment is indicative of poor outcome following stroke, we do not know its true prevalence nor do we understand how brain lesions influence sensory impairment or how sensory impairment influences functional status. The current project analyzed an existing de-identified database to address three specific aims: 1) To determine the prevalence of impairments of absolute and just noticeable difference sensory thresholds in chronic stroke, 2) To determine the relationship of specific lesion characteristics to impaired sensory thresholds in chronic stroke, and 3) To determine the correlation between impaired sensory thresholds and functional status in the chronic phase of stroke. METHODS: Absolute and just noticeable difference sensory thresholds were assessed for eleven perceptual continua spanning five sensory domains in 110 subjects (76 normal controls, 21 with right hemisphere lesions, 13 with left hemisphere lesions). Lesion volume and subtraction analysis were performed with the MRIcroN software. RESULTS: Subjects with right hemisphere lesions had a greater percentage of failures on threshold assessments that subjects with left hemisphere lesions (p=0.004) and normal control subjects (p&lt;0.0001). Subjects with right hemisphere lesions had greater severity of impairment on threshold assessments than subjects with left hemisphere lesions (p=0.003) and normal control subjects (p&lt;0.0001). Lesion volume was not correlated with impaired sensory thresholds, instead lesions of the caudate nucleus were common to subjects with a high percentage of failures on threshold assessments. Impaired sensory thresholds correlated with stroke severity as defined by the NIHSS (r=0.39, p&lt;0.03) and transfer scores on the Barthel Index (r=-0.55, p=0.02).</p>

<p> This business plan proposes a neurofeedback therapy clinic to treat children diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and are in search of a non-pharmaceutical intervention. ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed disorder among children between the ages 4-18. By stimulating arousal in the frontal portion of the brain through neurofeedback therapy, the symptoms of ADHD can be regulated. This proposal includes a market analysis, a feasibility and SWOT analysis, a review of legal and regulatory issues, and finally, a financial analysis.</p>

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Technikon Natal, 2000. / The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of combined Action Potential Therapy (APT) and patella mobilization versus combined patella mobilization and placebo Action Potential Therapy in the treatment of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. The study was a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled study. The study involved 60 subjects, 30 in each group which were selected from the general population. Group one received patella mobilization and APT while group two received patella mobilization and placebo APT. Patients received four treatments over a period of two weeks. The first treatment consisted of patella mobilization and APT (group one) or patella mobilization and placebo APT (group two), treatment 2,3 and 4 consisted of APT (group one) or placebo A,PT (group two). Subjective assessment was by means of the short form Me Gill pain Questionnaire, Numerical Pain Rating Scale - 101 Questionnaire and the Patient Specific Functional Scale. Objective assessment of tenderness was by means of an algometer. Assessments were taken on the first, second and fifth consultations for all subjective and objective measures. Statistical analysis was completed under the supervision of Dr Myburgh at Technikon Natal, at a 95% confidence interval. The parametric two-sample paired t-test and the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to analyze data within each group, while the parametric / M

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic at Technikon Natal. 2001. / The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relative efficacy of Action Potential Therapy (APT) as opposed to placebo Action Potential Therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome. The study was a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled study. The study consisted of two groups of thirty subjects each, which were selected from the Durban Metropolitan area. Only subjects diagnosed as having active trigger points in either the trapezius or gluteus medius muscle were accepted into the study. Each subject received four treatments over a period of seven to ten days. Group one received an active form of Action Potential Therapy while group two received placebo Action Potential Therapy. Subjective assessment was by means of the short form McGill pain Questionnaire and the N wnerical Pain Rating Scale-l Ol. Objective assessment was by means of an algometer and the Myofascial Diagnostic Scale. Readings were taken twice for each patient. The first assessment was conducted at the initial consultation prior to the first treatment, and the second assessment was completed during the last consultation after the treatment. Intra-group comparisons were made using the parametric two-sample paired t-test and the nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test. For the inter-group comparison, the parametric twosample unpaired t-test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney unpaired U test were used. Statistical analysis was completed at a 5% significance level. / M