Addressing Health Care Access Disparities Through a Public Health Approach to Physical Therapist Practice.

As the field evolves as a doctoring profession, the role and scope of physical therapist practice must also grow to meet important and urgent public health needs. Scalable, population-level interventions must be prioritized to the same degree as tailored, individual-level care. Drawing from public health frameworks, this perspective proposes an approach to population-level physical therapist care delivery that aims to mitigate disease and disability and improve health outcomes by expanding access, decreasing cost, and improving quality of care for those facing the greatest health disparities.

Correction: Real-World Evidence From a Digital Health Treatment Program for Female Urinary Incontinence: Observational Study of Outcomes Following User-Centered Product Design.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/58551.].

Real-World Evidence From a Digital Health Treatment Program for Female Urinary Incontinence: Observational Study of Outcomes Following User-Centered Product Design.

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) affects millions of women with substantial health and quality-of-life impacts. Supervised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the recommended first-line treatment. However, multiple individual and institutional barriers impede women's access to skilled care.

Development and Pilot Test of a Multi-Component Intervention to Support Women's Recovery from Female Genital Fistula.

Introduction And Hypothesis: We evaluated a pilot multi-component reintegration intervention to improve women's physical and psychosocial quality of life after genital fistula surgery.

Methods: Twelve women undergoing fistula repair at Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) anticipated in a 2-week multi-component intervention including health education, psychosocial therapy, physiotherapy, and economic investment. We assessed feasibility through recruitment, retention, and adherence, acceptability through intervention satisfaction, and preliminary effectiveness through reintegration, mental health, physical health, and economic status.

Our business, not the robot's: family conversations about privacy with social robots in the home.

The targeted use of social robots for the family demands a better understanding of multiple stakeholders' privacy concerns, including those of parents and children. Through a co-learning workshop which introduced families to the functions and hypothetical use of social robots in the home, we present preliminary evidence from 6 families that exhibits how parents and children have different comfort levels with robots collecting and sharing information across different use contexts. Conversations and booklet answers reveal that parents adopted their child's decision in scenarios where they expect children to have more agency, such as in cases of homework completion or cleaning up toys, and when children proposed what their parents found to be acceptable reasoning for their decisions.

A digital health program for treatment of urinary incontinence: retrospective review of real-world user data.

Introduction And Hypothesis: To determine the effectiveness of a prescription digital therapeutic (pDTx) in reducing urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms in real-world users.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of real-world data from users of a pDTx designed to guide pelvic floor muscle training(PFMT) between July 1, 2020-December 31, 2021. The primary outcome was UI symptom change as reported via in-app Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6).

Adherence to professional society guidelines among women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence.

Aims: The objective of this analysis was to describe longitudinal adherence with recommended urinary incontinence (UI) evaluation and treatment guidelines over a 2-year period in patients newly diagnosed with stress (SUI) or mixed UI (MUI), and average 2-year cost associated with initial treatment.

Methods: A retrospective claims analysis using the IBM MarketScan database was conducted. Women diagnosed with SUI/MUI between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2016 were identified using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 and 10 codes for SUI or MUI.

Healthcare resource use and cost burden of urinary incontinence to United States payers.

Objective: To assess healthcare resource utilization and costs for female patients diagnosed with stress or mixed urinary incontinence (SUI/MUI) compared to a matched cohort of patients without SUI/MUI.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study of women using the IBM MarketScan research database. Women diagnosed with SUI/MUI between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2016 were identified using International Classification of Diseases 9 and 10 codes for SUI or MUI with the date of first diagnosis as the index date from which 2-year postindex healthcare resource use and direct cost data were derived from claims, examined, and compared 1:1 with patients without a SUI/MUI diagnosis, matched by age and Charlson's Comorbidity Index.

Retrospective claims analysis of physical therapy utilization among women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence (SUI/MUI) receiving physical therapy (PT) services, including referral patterns and PT utilization.

Methods: Female patients with claims associated with an SUI or MUI diagnosis (International Classification of Disease-Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM]: 625.6, 788.

Female Urinary Incontinence Evidence-Based Treatment Pathway: An Infographic for Shared Decision-Making.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent burdensome condition among adult females in the United States, yet rates of care-seeking, evaluation, and treatment are nonoptimal. Components of evaluation and treatment are informed by research and professional society guidelines; however, a visual representation of this guidance does not exist. The objectives of this study are to review the literature regarding female UI care and to synthesize this information into a graphical format to facilitate health education, health care delivery, and shared decision-making.

Rehabilitative care practices in the management of childbirth-related pelvic fistula: A systematic review.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Childbirth-related pelvic fistula (CRF) often requires surgery, yet even with successful repair, mental health conditions, musculoskeletal impairments, urinary and fecal incontinence and sexual dysfunction persist for many women. Postoperative rehabilitation, (i.e.

Evaluation of Postpartum Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy on Obstetrical Anal Sphincter Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate a short course of postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) on symptoms and quality of life after obstetrical anal sphincter injuries (OASIS).

Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial. Adult women were eligible if they had a vaginal delivery complicated by OASIS and did not have a prior vaginal delivery after 24 weeks' gestation.

Development of a wireless accelerometer-based Intravaginal device to detect pelvic floor motion for evaluation of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is experienced by an estimated 51% of women in the U.S. and often results from impaired function or weakening of the pelvic floor muscles.

Evaluation of an accelerometer-based digital health system for the treatment of female urinary incontinence: A pilot study.

Aims: To assess the effectiveness and patient satisfaction of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) guided by an intravaginal accelerometer-based system for the treatment of female urinary incontinence (UI).

Methods: Premenopausal women with mild-to-moderate stress or mixed UI were recruited to participate in PFMT with an accelerometer-based system for 6 weeks with supervision. Objective outcomes included pelvic floor muscle (PFM) contraction duration, number of contractions in 15 seconds, and angular displacement of the accelerometer relative to earth during PFM contraction.

Development of a core set of outcome measures for OAB treatment.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Standardized measures enable the comparison of outcomes across providers and treatments giving valuable information for improving care quality and efficacy. The aim of this project was to define a minimum standard set of outcome measures and case-mix factors for evaluating the care of patients with overactive bladder (OAB).

Methods: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) convened an international working group (WG) of leading clinicians and patients to engage in a structured method for developing a core outcome set.

Pelvic Floor Symptoms and Spinal Curvature in Women.

Objectives: To characterize the association between thoracic (T) and lumbar (L) spinal curvature and pelvic floor (PF) symptoms (pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence [UI], fecal incontinence [FI]).

Methods: Of women undergoing a bone mineral density scan from January 2007 to October 2010, patients who completed PF symptom questionnaires and had T and/or L spine radiographs or computed tomography examinations within 3 years of questionnaire completion were included in this study. The spine angles were measured using the Cobb angle method.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy as Primary Treatment of Pelvic Floor Disorders With Urinary Urgency and Frequency-Predominant Symptoms.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) as primary treatment of urinary urgency and frequency symptoms

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of women with urinary urgency and frequency symptoms. Participants underwent PFPT once or twice per week for 10 weeks. Symptom improvement was assessed by validated questionnaires (Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-Short Form 20 and Patient Global Impression of Improvement), voiding diaries, and subjective measures.