Sexual health counselling in patients with spinal cord injury: Health care professionals' perspectives.

Objectives: We aimed to explore barriers to discussing sexual health with spinal cord injured (SCI) patients as perceived by health care professionals, to determine interest and preferences regarding further education in sexual health, and to assess the perceived need for an inpatient Sexual Health Team.Design: Pre and post surveys were completed by attendees following a 1-2 hour educational session on sexual health and SCI, assessing core elements including participant characteristics, confidence levels, and perceptions towards sexual health counselling and education.Setting: Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, a facility in Regina, SK offering inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services in Saskatchewan.Participants: Eighty-six participants with a mean age of 39 years took part in this study. Among them, nearly half were nurses.Interventions: Educational sessions on SCI patients' sexual health.Outcome Measures: Self-administered surveys.Results: Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-session participant responses regarding their confidence levels (P < 0.001). Most participants (82.1%) had never provided sexual health counselling to SCI patients. The main perceived barrier to lack of sexual health counselling was insufficient training; the preferred learning method was via in-person workshops. The majority (80%) of participants indicated a Sexual Health Team should be created and 39.4% of participants expressed interest in becoming a member of this team.Conclusion: These results support that an educational session may help improve the confidence, knowledge, and perceptions around delivery of sexual health education of SCI patients. Study results suggest a perceived need for a Sexual Health Team and interest from health care professionals to become more involved in sexual health counselling.

Virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination Experiences and Performance in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency.

BACKGROUND: Virtual education has been described before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies evaluating virtual objective structured clinical examinations with postgraduate learners are lacking. This study (1) evaluated the experiences of all participants in a virtual objective structured clinical examination and (2) assessed the validity and reliability of selected virtual objective structured clinical examination stations for skills in physical medicine and rehabilitation. METHODS: Convergent mixed-methods design was used. Participants included three physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs holding a joint virtual objective structured clinical examination. Analysis included descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Performance of virtual to previous in-person objective structured clinical examination was compared using independent t tests. RESULTS: Survey response rate was 85%. No participants had previous experience with virtual objective structured clinical examination. Participants found the virtual objective structured clinical examination to be acceptable (79.4%), believable (84.4%), and valuable for learning (93.9%). No significant differences between in-person and virtual objective structured clinical examination scores was found for three-fourth stations and improved scores in one fourth. Four themes were identified: (1) virtual objective structured clinical examinations are better for communication stations; (2) significant organization is required to run a virtual objective structured clinical examination; (3) adaptations are required compared with in-person objective structured clinical examinations; and (4) virtual objective structured clinical examinations provide improved accessibility and useful practice for virtual clinical encounters. CONCLUSIONS: Utility of virtual objective structured clinical examinations as a component of a program of assessment should be carefully considered and may provide valuable learning opportunities going forward.

Hip surgery and radiology reporting for children with cerebral palsy prior to initiation of a hip surveillance program.

PURPOSE: Hip displacement impacts quality of life for many children with cerebral palsy (CP). While early detection can help avoid dislocation and late-stage surgery, formalized surveillance programs are not ubiquitous. This study aimed to examine: 1) surgical practices around pediatric hip displacement for children with CP in a region without formalized hip surveillance; and 2) utility of MP compared to traditional radiology reporting for quantifying displacement. METHODS: A retrospective chart review examined hip displacement surgeries performed on children with CP between 2007-2016. Surgeries were classified as preventative, reconstructive, or salvage. Pre- and post-operative migration percentage (MP) was calculated for available radiographs using a mobile application and compared using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. MPs were also compared with descriptions in the corresponding radiology reports using directed and conventional content analyses. RESULTS: Data from 67 children (115 surgical hips) were included. Primary surgery types included preventative (63.5% hips), reconstructive (36.5%), or salvage (0%). For the 92 hips with both radiology reports and radiographs available, reports contained a range of descriptors that inconsistently reflected the retrospectively-calculated MPs. CONCLUSION: Current radiology reporting practices do not appear to effectively describe hip displacement for children with CP. Therefore, standardized reporting of MP is recommended.