A study of the scholarly activities of physical therapy faculty members in selected schools of allied health was conducted through a mailed questionnaire survey. The analysis of the data provided by the respondents (N = 127; 97.6%) revealed the following: 1) the respondents' primary scholarly activity was authorship of referred journal articles; 2) a majority of the respondents presented a paper at a professional meeting during the past three years; 3) only a small percentage of the respondents had directed extramurally funded projects; 4) the majority of the respondents indicated that their own academic preparation was the primary factor that encouraged their scholarly pursuits and that heavy teaching and administrative responsibilities were the primary discouraging factors; and 5) the respondents indicated that faculty scholarly activities are, and will continue to be, important considerations in academic promotion decisions. Comparison of the data provided by these respondents with data from the 1983 American Physical Therapy Association physical therapy faculty survey suggests modest gains in scholarly productivity. The implications of these findings are that faculty development programs are warranted and physical therapy administrators and faculty should join forces in finding more effective ways to involve faculty in research activities.
This study replicated, in a United States setting, an earlier study conducted in Canada to determine whether use of a 24-hour personal response system (PRS) affected selected hospital utilization rates among community-residing users. Utilization rates of 106 Canadian patients were reviewed for 1 year before and 1 year after enrollment in the PRS: These were compared with a similar set of 101 U.S. patients using the same PRS program. Self-paired analyses were conducted on number of emergency department (ED) visits and number of inpatient days. During the 1-year follow-up periods, both sets of subscribers using the Lifeline system experienced a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in per person inpatient days (mean reduction = 6.5
A study of the scholarly activities of 66 occupational therapy faculty members at selected academic health centers was conducted through a mailed survey. An analysis of the responses showed that (a) the respondents' primary scholarly activities were reporting research findings in refereed journal articles and presenting papers at professional meetings and (b) only a small percentage of the respondents had directed extramurally funded projects. In addition, the level of scholarly productivity of the occupational therapists was significantly lower than that of their allied health colleagues. The majority of the respondents indicated that their own academic preparation was the primary factor that encouraged their scholarly pursuits and that heavy teaching responsibility was the primary discouraging factor. The respondents indicated also that faculty scholarly activities are, and will continue to be, important considerations in academic promotion decisions.
ABSTRACTObjective: Older persons have levels of frailty and disability that place them at far greater risk of harm in disasters than younger adults, making it crucial for all agency planners, public health workers, and health care providers to be aware of age-appropriate considerations of preparedness and response. This research evaluated the knowledge and utilization intentions of participants of a geriatric emergency preparedness and response (GEPR) continuing education program that was designed to provide this training.Methods: A qualitative training evaluation was conducted using course evaluation questionnaires from GEPR workshops offered in 2009 in 7 nationwide cities through a partnership of the University of Texas Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness with the Texas Consortium Geriatric Education Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.Results: Evaluations were completed by 292 participants. Respondents were able to name specific information learned, give examples of applications of the material, and devise plans for further action. Participants believed that their ability to do their jobs had increased, and they provided insightful suggestions instructive to both trainers and to leaders of health care organizations.Conclusions: The results of the evaluation suggest that GEPR workshops are effective in increasing the knowledge of participants and their intentions to use it. There is both a need and a demand for this training. Developers and trainers should provide participants with sufficient time for absorbing the information, consider tailoring the training to the local context, and provide opportunity for practical application, particularly planning exercises.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:385-392)
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