The use of videoconferencing to enhance interprofessional clinical education for allied health students.

The Health-e-Learning project investigated the use of videoconferencing to deliver interprofessional clinical education to allied health students. Via a broadband link, students observed DVD footage of a clinical session then participated in discussion with the clinicians at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), Melbourne. The videoconference sessions were evaluated with respect to session content, the effectiveness of videoconferencing in providing interprofessional education (IPE) and the satisfaction with this as a supplement to facility-based placements. During the two semesters of the project, 28 videoconference sessions were conducted and 724 participants were surveyed. Student responses were positive with 84% indicating that these videoconferences increased their understanding of interprofessional practice (IPP) and 95% agreeing that the sessions were an effective learning tool. The results of this study support the use of videoconferencing to provide interprofessional clinical education.

Functional outcome following paediatric stroke.

BACKGROUND: Paediatric stroke has a significant impact on functional ability; however, few studies describe outcomes using valid and reliable measures. AIM: To describe functional abilities of children following ischemic stroke using a validated outcome measure. METHODS: Eighteen children who had sustained an ischemic stroke were recruited from the stroke service of a tertiary children's hospital. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) was used to describe functional abilities in domains of self-care, mobility and social function. RESULTS: All children demonstrated lower functional skills and required more caregiver assistance than would be expected for their age. These findings were seen across all functional areas; however, self-care was more affected than mobility and social functions. CONCLUSION: The PEDI provides a useful measure of functional outcomes following paediatric stroke. Children in this study demonstrated reduced abilities across all domains. Further research to investigate the relationship between location of injury and functional outcome would assist understanding of paediatric stroke outcomes.

Family-centred outcome measurement following paediatric stroke.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Therapy programmes aim to provide services that are family-centred and address the specific needs of children. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting system (PEGS) are two measures that are available to assist in determining therapy priorities for children and their parents; however, the use of these measures has not been documented for children who have sustained a stroke. This project aimed to describe the functional concerns identified by children and their parents following paediatric stroke. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional design was used. A total of 26 children were recruited from a paediatric stroke outpatient clinic, and functional concerns were identified using either the COPM or the PEGS. RESULTS: Children and their parents identified similar issues. Of the 26 participants, 23 (88.5%) reported ongoing functional concerns at three months or more following stroke, whereas three participants did not identify any ongoing functional concerns. Functional concerns were grouped into categories of self-care, productivity and leisure as outlined in the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance. Concerns were identified across all functional domains by both children and their parents. CONCLUSIONS: The COPM and PEGS provided useful information about functional issues that are important to children and their parents following paediatric stroke. Use of these client-centred measures provides an opportunity to better understand the impact of paediatric stroke on children's functional abilities, and allows greater scope for service provision and planning for this group of children.