The agricultural economy in the United States is dependent on millions of Latino migratory workers. Despite the health risks associated with this line of work, many agricultural workers lack health insurance or access to health care services. The purpose of this study was to collect demographic data and investigate the musculoskeletal health of Latino migratory vineyard workers. A physical therapy team collected demographic data at health clinics held at vineyards in Oregon. Nearly half (48.4%) of all vineyard workers reported experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) in at least one region of the body. The primary region of reported MSS was the back (32% of all men and 43.7% of all women). In most cases, those who reported MSS were significantly older than those who did not report MSS. Future research is necessary to identify personal and work related injury risk factors in order to develop prevention programs.
Inequities in global health are increasingly of interest to health care providers in developed countries. In response, many academic healthcare programs have begun to offer international service learning programs. Participants in these programs are motivated by ethical principles, but this type of work presents significant ethical challenges, and no formalized ethical guidelines for these activities exist. In this paper the ethical issues presented by international service learning programs are described and recommendations are made for how academic healthcare programs can carry out international service learning programs in a way that minimizes ethical conflicts and maximizes benefits for all stakeholders. Issues related to project sustainability and community involvement are emphasized.
Background:
Scarce evidence has been found on factors that determine physical therapist (PT) students' comfort level in addressing sexual issues with patients. Determining influential factors and barriers may help educators adjust their curriculum to better prepare students.
Objectives:
To identify the comfort level of PT students in addressing sexual issues with patients, demographic factors that impact the students' comfort level, and barriers to PT students addressing sexual issues with patients.
Study Design:
A cross-sectional survey design.
Methods:
A survey was sent to current PT students enrolled at 3 Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. The survey consisted of demographic and scenario questions related to the students' comfort level in addressing sexual issues. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed to compare the differences in the comfort levels for male and female students. A χ2 analysis was performed to determine which demographic factors were significantly (P < .05) associated with the respondent's comfort level.
Results:
First-, second-, and third-year students (N = 106) completed the survey and represented programs from diverse geographic locations and religious affiliations. Less than half (41.5%) agreed that they had the necessary skills to address sexual issues, and only 23.58% of respondents were likely to initiate discussion. While students were most comfortable addressing issues with their own gender, collectively there was increased comfort level with conversations with females. Main barriers included lack of experience and knowledge, fear of patient misunderstanding, and patient comfort level.
Conclusion:
PT students lack comfort in addressing sexual issues due to multiple barriers. Demographic information, including geological location and religious background, was not significantly associated with comfort level (see the Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which summarizes this study available at: http://links.lww.com/JWHPT/A44).
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