A survey of student involvement in the american physical therapy association.

PURPOSE: Students in professional programs are influenced to participate in professional associations by faculty, which may have long-term implications for participation and membership. The purpose of this study is to describe the participation of Doctor of Physical of Therapy (DPT) students in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). PROCEDURES: Eighty randomly chosen DPT education program directors were asked to forward a survey link to their students. Twenty program directors agreed and 242 students completed the survey. FINDINGS: Over one-half of the respondents were required by their program to be an association member, with 43.7% holding a position and 45.7% reporting conference attendance. Students who were required to be members were equally likely to be involved. Students did not join specialty sections within the organization. CONCLUSIONS: Students are not taking advantage of all the benefits of membership. Requiring student membership does not influence participation in the professional association.

Health care providers' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy for working with patients with spinal cord injury who have diverse sexual orientations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study, using an evaluative, cross-sectional design, explored the self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes of health care providers who treat people with spinal cord injury (SCI) who may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT). The study also designed and implemented a diversity training program and measured its effect on participants' perceptions of their ability to change their knowledge levels, attitudes, and self-efficacy with regard to sexual orientation diversity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Health care professionals (N=402) participated in a diversity training program that included a pre-briefing questionnaire, a videotape, a post-briefing questionnaire, and discussion. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were performed on all variables of interest. RESULTS: The majority of the participants reported low levels of knowledge, attitudes of tolerance versus respect, and 0% to 20% confidence levels for providing culturally sensitive services for patients with diverse sexual orientations. Three hundred seventeen participants strongly agreed that watching the videotape increased their confidence levels in providing services for people who may be GLBT. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Health care providers who treat people with SCI self-report low levels of knowledge, tolerance versus respect, and low levels of self-efficacy with regard to sexual orientation diversity. If a health care provider has a low level of knowledge, tolerance versus respect, and a low level of diversity self-efficacy toward others, there may be direct physical and mental health consequences for the patient. A limitation of the study was that social desirability bias may have increased the number of participants who reported increased levels of self-efficacy following the videotape. Further research is recommended (1) to determine whether current diversity training for health care professionals includes diversity of sexual orientation and (2) to examine the knowledge levels, attitudes, and self-efficacy of health care professionals with regard to sexual orientation diversity while attempting to control for social desirability bias in participants' responses.

Feasibility of an Exercise Program for Puerto Rican Women who are Breast Cancer Survivors.

The primary objective of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility of implementing two exercise programs for female patients who are breast cancer survivors and residents of the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Potential benefits and complications of participating in a gym-exercise program or a home-exercise program, as opposed to standard care, were identified. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a gym-exercise group, a home-exercise group, or a non-exercise group. Interventions consisted of exercise programs with both aerobic and strengthening components, offered for a 26-week period. Outcome measures consisted of functional evaluation, shoulder range of motion, 12-minute walk test, handgrip strength, body mass index, and quality of life. The results of this study showed that it is feasible for Puerto Rican women to participate in a moderate intensity exercise program without developing complications. Participation in the exercise programs studied here minimized the side effects after cancer treatment, such as reduced physical functional ability and restricted shoulder mobility. Improvements were found in the measures of shoulder range of motion, upper extremity related physical function, and distance walked.