Oral piercing has become increasingly popular among young adults in recent years. This is of concern to dental and medical professionals because of the risks and complications to their health. This paper provides an overview of oral piercing and potential complications associated with piercings. Health care professionals are encouraged to educate their patients concerning risk...
Purpose: As education and clinical preparation affect employment opportunities for entry-level dental hygienists, dentists’ perceptions of recent graduates should be considered when reforming education requirements. The purpose of this study is to examine general dentists’ preferences for employing entry-level dental hygienists from two-year versus four-year degree programs by...
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a biopsychosocial approach to management for chronic low back pain when applied by individual physiotherapists. Eight primary databases and three secondary databases were searched electronically. A manual reference search was also performed. To be eligible, trials had to provide...
With advances in study of the human genome, increasingly accurate genetic testing has become available. Genetic-based birth defects may result in progressive dysfunction. Consequently, because of the negative associations, many people do not want to consider prognostication testing or accept the most appropriate treatments. The allied health practitioner may see this as counter...
Purpose: To explore the relationship between migraine and incidence of stroke in young women by analyzing variables of oral contraceptive use, hypercoagulability, cardiac abnormalities, and silent brain infarcts. Method:Variables were reviewed through computerized databases and current literature examining evidence-based medicine studies specific to analyzing the incidence of...
By HPERS Conference Abstracts, Published on 04/01/07
Obesity is a serious public health concern that has reached epidemic proportions. This paper addresses the role obesity plays in several health conditions, in addition to how it negatively affects a person’s oral health. Oral health care providers can have a positive impact on treatment outcomes by recognizing patients at risk for obesity and addressing these issues.
Background: For allied health professionals wishing to assess the functional balance of older adults living in the community, the vast number of functional balance tests available makes it difficult to decide which assessment is most appropriate. Objective: To identify the reliability, concurrent validity and clinical practicality of functional balance tests with community...
An increased prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) is reported in patients with chronic lung disease because of the stress that repeated coughing places on the pelvic floor. To date, it is not known if lung transplantation (LTx) affects the prevalence of UI. Purpose: to compare the prevalence, severity and impact of urinary / faecal incontinence in adult patients pre- and post...
Purpose: This study involved the conduct of a descriptive and process evaluation to examine the implementation and maintenance of an existing local shared care program: The Hamilton Health Service Organization Mental Health and Nutrition Program located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The program was organized to strengthen links between mental health, nutrition, and primary care...
Ageism and negative attitudes towards ageing have been identified within the literature as a cause for concern. Reactions to ageing are known to be strongly positively correlated with attitudes towards older people in general. Moreover, the link between ageist practice and quality of care is also established, but implications for education and training have not been explored. The...
Increased numbers of minorities in the allied health disciplines are sought for a number of reasons. One approach to increasing minority graduates in allied health sciences is to ensure that minority applicants have the learning behaviors necessary to succeed in the academic setting. In this study, we sought to determine if self-regulated learning, assessed via a self-report...
Health care is changing and the demands put on health professionals are increasing. Physiotherapy education should reflect the health and social priorities of the nation. The World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) is committed to assisting physiotherapy associations in developing educational standards. Physiotherapy education in Africa however, seems to have a real need...
Teledentistry provides a viable option for dental professionals to increase care in underserved areas. Dental hygiene students at a state university completed a course in teledentistry that includes performing oral health screenings on children using intraoral cameras and electronic submission of dental images to an off-site dentist for diagnosis. Purpose: The objectives of this...
The Aging Game simulation activity was designed to improve medical students’ attitudes toward older adults. This study was conducted to determine if the Aging Game, adapted for use with allied health students, could yield positive results in the students’ levels of anxiety about aging and attitudes toward aging. The modified Aging Game was implemented at a large Midwestern...
Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to identify personal and professional factors that influence health workers’ commitment to remaining in rural and remote areas with the aim of identifying research directions for a larger study and informing workforce recruitment and retention strategies. Design: Accidental sampling then qualitative interviews with pharmacists and...
Purpose: Older carers play an important role in falls prevention through their influence over their dependent’s actions and by their own behaviour. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of falls and fall-related risk factors by older carers in an Australian metropolitan community to inform the development of effective falls prevention strategies in this population. Method...
Prevalence of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is high (6-13% of all school children) and the negative impact of their movement difficulties on their participation in recreation and academic pursuits is well documented. This secondary research systematically reviewed the available literature for evidence of effectiveness of interventions that aim to improve...
Background: The clinical setting is one of the most valuable educational resources available to institutions training physiotherapy students. The experiences gained at the clinical settings assist graduates to grasp what the discipline of physiotherapy is all about. Objective: To evaluate existing clinical venues providing placement for physiotherapy students at the University of...
Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine physical therapy students’ learning about disability through an Exploring Perspectives on Disability (EPOD) learning event that was developed by School of Rehabilitative Science, McMaster University. EPOD consists of two scheduled classes discussing disability, a shadowing experience with an individual with a...
Purpose: Using data from an epidemiological study described elsewhere (Gordon et al 2002 & 2007), multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to explore the association between sleep position, factors related to sleep quality, and the prevalence of waking symptoms (cervical spine pain and stiffness, headache, and aching in scapulae or arm regions). Method: A causal...
Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common. A goal of rehabilitation is to restore functional capacity. Currently, there are contrary opinions regarding the effectiveness of using either closed or open kinetic chain exercises (CKC, OKC) only, or a combination of both, following ACL injury, to obtain the most effective outcome. The debate also reflects the...
Chronic Achilles tendinosis is commonly seen in clinical practice however the causes are largely unknown. In the last ten years good results have been reported with a range of approaches, one of which is eccentric training. Objective: This study reports on a systematic review of the literature to determine the effectiveness of eccentric training compared with other types of...
Purpose: The Cape Town region is the largest training locality for physiotherapy training in South Africa. The socio-political changes since the first democratic election in South Africa have impacted on physiotherapy training and clinical practice, although there currently is no evidence-based vision statement for physiotherapy practice in South Africa. This paper reports key...
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the evidence for the use of human patient simulators in physiotherapy education. Method: A review of the physiotherapy literature was undertaken. Due to the lack of studies found the search was expanded to include health professional education. Exclusion criteria were then applied to the identified literature and critical appraisal...