Physical Therapy Commons^™

Moving From Parent "Consultant" To Parent "Collaborator": One Pediatric Research Team's Experience., Doreen Bartlett, Lisa A Chiarello, Tina Hjorngaard, Barbara Sieck Taylor

Physical Therapy Publications

We share our experiences as academic physical therapists and parents of young people with cerebral palsy working together as a research team, describe and critically review how our working relationship has evolved and propose further enhancements to realize our shared vision. This manuscript is informed by a call for “family-centered research,” transcripts of face-to-face meetings held over a period of 11/2 days, the INVOLVE document and our experiences over almost a decade, as well as other related literature. Authentic collaborative research partnerships between academic researchers and parents embodying trust, mutual respect and shared social responsibility take time and effort to …

Understanding Participation Of Children With Cerebral Palsy In Family And Recreational Activities., Mohammed S Alghamdi, Lisa A Chiarello, Robert J Palisano, Sarah W Mccoy

Physical Therapy Publications

AIMS: The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of age, sex, gross motor, manual ability, and communication functions on the frequency and enjoyment of children's participation in family and recreational activities. The secondary aim was to determine the relationships between motor and communication functions and participation.

METHODS: Participants were 694 children, 1.5-12 years old, with cerebral palsy (CP) and their parents across the US and Canada. Parents rated children's frequency and enjoyment of participation using the Child Engagement in Daily Life measure. Parents and therapists identified children's level of function using Gross Motor Function Classification System …

Delirium Reduction Strategies For The Critically Ill, June Chaves, Sam Canonico, Will Cheney, Tammy Corey, Gil Fraser, Alex Kowalewski, Jen Low, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Haley Pelletier, Cathy Palleschi, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman

Maine Medical Center

Delirium, an acute and fluctuating disturbance of consciousness and cognition, is a common manifestation of acute brain dysfunction in critically ill patients. Patients with delirium have longer hospital stays and a lower 6-month survival rate than do patients without delirium. Preliminary research suggests that delirium may be associated with cognitive impairment that persists months to years after discharge.

In a large acute care hospital, the cardiac intensive care staff became interested in mitigating their unit’s high delirium rate of ventilated patients. At baseline, many members of the healthcare team did not believe that delirium could be prevented and the predominant …

Strategies To Improve Interdisciplinary Communication In An Acute Care Inpatient Pediatric Unit, Sarah Thompson, Haley Pelletier, Barbara Bush Children's Hospital-Inpatient, Maine Medical Center, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

Maine Medical Center

Interdisciplinary patient rounding has been shown to improve patient and family satisfaction as well as reduce patient length of stay and readmission rates. In an acute care inpatient pediatric unit, baseline metrics demonstrated that 100% of the time, nursing was not included in these rounds thus resulting in sub optimal communication.

The goal of this performance improvement project was to attain increased nursing participation. Data collection demonstrated several reasons for lack of participation and corrective actions were instituted. After undertaking this KPI goal and utilizing operational excellence, 95% of the time, nurses were called to morning rounds with the medical …

Identification Strategies For The Very High Fall Risk Patient In An Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, P6 Inpatient Geri-Med Psychiatry, Haley Pelletier, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

Maine Medical Center

Patients falling as a result of geriatric and psychiatric impairments are at a much higher risk than the average patient population. An acute care inpatient psychiatric team used baseline metrics to demonstrate increasing fall rates per month that surpassed the unit’s target number. As a result, a quality improvement project around falls was felt to be warranted.

The overall goal of this study was to improve patient safety by reducing falls for their very high risk fall population. A root cause analysis determined that this population was not being properly identified and several tools were developed and employed to better …

Parents' Experiences And Perceptions When Classifying Their Children With Cerebral Palsy: Recommendations For Service Providers., Natalie V Scime, Doreen J Bartlett, Laura K Brunton, Robert J Palisano

Physical Therapy Publications

AIMS: This study investigated the experiences and perceptions of parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) when classifying their children using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). The second aim was to collate parents' recommendations for service providers on how to interact and communicate with families.

METHODS: A purposive sample of seven parents participating in the On Track study was recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted orally and were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded openly. A descriptive interpretive approach within a pragmatic perspective was used during analysis.

RESULTS: …

Construction And Validation Of The Fatigue Impact And Severity Self-Assessment For Youth And Young Adults With Cerebral Palsy., Laura K Brunton, Doreen J Bartlett

Physical Therapy Publications

Purpose: The Fatigue Impact and Severity Self-Assessment (FISSA) was created to assess the impact, severity and self-management of fatigue for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 14-31.

Methods Used: Items were generated from a review of measures and interviews with individuals with CP. Focus groups with healthcare professionals were used for item reduction. A mailed survey was conducted (n=163/367) to assess the factor structure, known-groups validity and test-retest reliability.

Results Obtained: The final measure contained 31-items in two factors and discriminated between individuals expected to have different levels of fatigue. Individuals with more functional abilities reported less fatigue (p< 0.002) and those with higher pain reported higher fatigue (p< 0.001). The FISSA was shown to have adequate test-retest reliability, ICC(3,1)=0.74 (95% CI 0.53-0.87).

Conclusions …

Clinician's Commentary On Patterson Et Al., Sue Peters

Physical Therapy Publications

No abstract provided.