Feasibility and reliability of an online version of the beat alignment test in neurotypical adults and people with stroke.

Background: Rhythm-based rehabilitation interventions are gaining attention and measuring their effects is critical. With more clinical care and research being conducted online, it is important to determine the feasibility of measuring rhythm abilities online. However, some tools used to measure rhythm abilities, in particular the beat alignment test (BAT), have not been validated for online delivery.

Integrated access to cancer screening: expanding access for cervical and colorectal cancer screening in rural and remote Northern Alberta, Canada using a mobile service to bring cancer screening closer to home.

Background: The goal of the Integrated Access to Cancer Screening (IACS) initiative was to help reduce the disparity in cancer screening participation across Alberta by implementing an integrated mobile service delivery model for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening in rural and remote communities in Northern Alberta, performed by Nurse Practitioners (NPs) that addressed barriers to access. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and impact the IACS initiative had on the communities and residents of Northern Alberta. This article describes the initiative design, implementation, outcomes, and impact of the initiative.

Dance harnesses humanity in exercise: perceptions of dance following an adapted dance program for people with chronic stroke.

Introduction: Perceptions of exercise are important in ensuring physical activity is translated into daily life. If dance is perceived as enjoyable exercise, promoting it may increase exercise engagement in people with stroke.

Objective: To examine perceptions of dance as exercise in people with chronic stroke after participating in an adapted dance program.

Concurrent validity and discriminative ability of force plate measures of balance during the sub-acute stage of stroke recovery.

Background: Many objective measures of balance control, including force plate measures of standing balance, lack sufficient validation for use in the stroke population.

Research Questions: Do force plate measures of quiet standing balance during the sub-acute stage of stroke recovery have concurrent validity (i.e.

Application of an Auditory-Based Feedback Distortion to Modify Gait Symmetry in Healthy Individuals.

Background: Augmenting auditory feedback through an error-augmentation paradigm could facilitate the perception and correction of gait asymmetry in stroke survivors, but how such a paradigm should be tailored to individual asymmetry profiles remains unclear. Before implementing the paradigm in rehabilitation, we need to investigate the instantaneous effects of distorted footstep sound feedback on gait symmetry in healthy young adults.

Methods: Participants ( = 12) walked on a self-paced treadmill while listening to their footstep sounds, which were distorted unilaterally according to five conditions presented randomly: small delay; small advance; large delay; large advance; or unmodified (control).

Factors influencing the clinical adoption of quantitative gait analysis technology with a focus on clinical efficacy and clinician perspectives: A scoping review.

Introduction: Quantitative gait analysis (QGA) has the potential to support clinician decision-making. However, it is not yet widely accepted in practice. Evidence for clinical efficacy (i.

Exploring the Experiences and Perceptions of Adults With Spinal Cord Injury or Disease Aged 50 Years or Older on Participation in Sports.

Background: Sports are physical activities that provide physical, psychological, and social benefits for individuals with spinal cord injury/disease (SCI/D). However, most sports research has been completed on individuals with SCI/D who are aged >50 years, even though the majority of people with SCI/D are aged >50 years. Despite substantial evidence supporting sports for older adults not living with a disability, there is currently no research examining the impact of sports for adults with SCI/D aged ≥50 years.

Reliability of force plate-based measures of standing balance in the sub-acute stage of post-stroke recovery.

Background: Difficulty controlling balance is one of the major contributors to the increased risk of falls among individuals with stroke. It is important to use reliable and objective measures to improve examination of balance impairments post-stroke, and to in turn inform clinical decision-making. The main objective of this study was to examine the relative and absolute reliabilities of force plate-based balance measures in quiet standing, in the sub-acute stage of stroke recovery.

Creating Health Equity in Cancer Screening: Developing Outreach Strategies for Under-Screened Populations through Community Engagement.

Inequities in cancer screening were identified in Calgary, AB, by correlating low screening participation with higher material deprivation. This initiative sought to understand awareness of and barriers to breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening to inform the co-design and implementation of an outreach strategy to increase screening awareness. Online focus groups with community members ( = 69) identified five themes, and interviews with community health workers ( = 21) identified four themes.

Factors Influencing the Clinical Adoption of Quantitative Gait Analysis Technologies for Adult Patient Populations With a Focus on Clinical Efficacy and Clinician Perspectives: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Background: Quantitative gait analysis can support clinical decision-making. These analyses can be performed using wearable sensors, nonwearable sensors, or a combination of both. However, to date, they have not been widely adopted in clinical practice.

Exploring the Alberta Health Services COVID-19 provincial public health integrated outbreak prevention, preparedness, management, and response interventions to support congregate and communal living sites in Alberta.

Setting: On March 17, 2020, a state of public health emergency was declared in Alberta under the Public Health Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Congregate and communal living sites were environments with a high risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19. Consequently, provincial efforts to prevent and manage COVID-19 were required and prioritized.

Instantaneous effect of real-time avatar visual feedback on interlimb coordination during walking post-stroke.

Background: Gait asymmetry, which is common after stroke, is typically characterized using spatiotemporal parameters of gait that do not consider the aspect of movement coordination. In this manuscript, we examined whether an avatar-based feedback provided as a single-session intervention to improve gait symmetry also improved inter-limb coordination among people with stroke and we examined the relationship between changes in coordination and step length symmetry.

Methods: Twelve stroke participants walked on a self-paced treadmill with and without a self-avatar that replicated their locomotor movements in real time.

Technical Note: Quantifying music-dance synchrony during salsa dancing with a deep learning-based 2D pose estimator.

Dance interventions hold promise for improving gait and balance in people with neurological conditions. It is possible that synchronization of movement to the music is one of the mechanisms through which dance bestows physical benefits. This technical note will describe a novel method using a deep learning-based 2D pose estimator: OpenPose, alongside beat analysis of music to quantify movement-music synchrony during salsa dancing.

Therapeutic Instrumental Music Training and Motor Imagery in Post-Stroke Upper-Extremity Rehabilitation: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Study.

Objective: To investigate the potential benefits of 3 therapeutic instrumental music performance (TIMP)-based interventions in rehabilitation of the affected upper-extremity (UE) for adults with chronic poststroke hemiparesis.

Design: Randomized-controlled pilot study.

Setting: University research facility.

Analyzing the Eye Gaze Behaviour of Students and Experienced Physiotherapists during Observational Movement Analysis.

Physiotherapists use observational movement analysis (OMA) to inform clinical reasoning. This study aimed to (1) determine the feasibility of characterizing eye gaze behaviour during OMA with eye-tracking technology, (2) characterize experienced neurological physiotherapists' and physiotherapy students' eye gaze behaviour during OMA, and (3) investigate differences in eye gaze behaviour during OMA between physiotherapy students and experienced physiotherapists. Eight students and eight physiotherapists wore an eye-tracking device while watching a video of a person with a history of stroke and subsequent concussion perform sit to stand.

The Effect of Rhythm Abilities on Metronome-Cued Walking with an Induced Temporal Gait Asymmetry in Neurotypical Adults.

. Human gait is inherently rhythmical, thus walking to rhythmic auditory stimulation is a promising intervention to improve temporal gait asymmetry (TGA) following neurologic injury such as stroke. However, the degree of benefit may relate to an individual's underlying rhythmic ability.

The effect of frequency of feedback on overground temporal gait asymmetry post stroke.

Background And Objectives: Temporal gait asymmetry (TGA) affects 55% of people with stroke. This study investigated the effects of augmented feedback during overground gait training, on TGA.

Methods: Eighteen people with chronic stroke were randomized to receive one of two feedback displays (A or B) and one of three feedback frequencies; no feedback (0%), after alternate walking trials (50%) or after every trial (100%).

Cancer Screening Interventions in Indigenous Populations: A Rapid Review.

Cancer screening is an important component of a cancer control strategy. Indigenous people in Canada have higher incidence rates for many types of cancer, including those that can be detected early or prevented through organized screening programs. Increased participation and retention in cancer screening is critical to improved population health outcomes amongst Indigenous people.

Perceptions of an over-ground induced temporal gait asymmetry by healthy young adults.

Nearly 60% of individuals with stroke walk with temporal gait asymmetry (TGA; a phase inequality between the legs during gait). About half of individuals with TGA are unable to correctly identify the presence or direction of their asymmetry. If patients are unable to perceive their gait errors, it will be harder to correct them to improve their gait pattern.

Feasibility of a rhythmic auditory stimulation gait training program in community-dwelling adults after TBI: A case report.

Background: Traumatic brain injury has multiple impacts on gait including decreased speed and increased gait variability. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) gait training uses the rhythm and timing structure of music to train and ultimately improve slow and variable walking patterns.

Objective: To describe the feasibility of RAS gait training in community-dwelling adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).