Convergent validity and responsiveness of The Standing and Walking Assessment Tool (SWAT) among individuals with non-traumatic spinal cord injury.

Aim: This study aimed to (1) describe the use of the Standing and Walking Assessment Tool (SWAT) among individuals with non-traumatic spinal cord injury or disease (NT-SCI/D); (2) evaluate the convergent validity of SWAT for use among inpatients with NT-SCI/D; (3) describe SWAT responsiveness; and (4) explore the relationship between hours of walking therapy and SWAT change.

Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted at the University Health Network between 2019 and 2022. Participants' demographics and impairments data, rehabilitation length of stay, and FIM scores were obtained from the National Rehabilitation Reporting System.

Validity and responsiveness of the Standing and Walking Assessment Tool for sub-acute traumatic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: This is a retrospective longitudinal study.

Objective: The Standing and Walking Assessment Tool (SWAT) combines stages of standing and walking recovery (SWAT stages) with established measures (Berg Balance Scale (BBS), 10-m walk test (10MWT), 6-min walk test (6MWT), and modified Timed Up-and-Go (mTUG)). We evaluated the SWAT's validity (known-groups and convergent) and responsiveness among inpatients with sub-acute, traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Development of Reaching, Grasping & Manipulation indicators to advance the quality of spinal cord injury rehabilitation: SCI-High Project.

Objective: To describe the development of structure, process, and outcome indicators aimed to advance the quality of Reaching, Grasping & Manipulation (RG&M) rehabilitation for Canadians living with spinal cord injury or disease (SCID).

Method: Upper extremity rehabilitation experts developed a framework of indicators for evaluation of RG&M rehabilitation quality. A systematic search of the literature identified potential upper extremity indicators that influence RG&M outcomes.

Development of Walking indicators to advance the quality of spinal cord injury rehabilitation: SCI-High Project.

To describe the development of structure, process and outcome indicators that will advance the quality of walking rehabilitation for Canadians with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) by 2020. A framework for the evaluation of the quality of walking rehabilitation was developed by experts in walking after SCI/D. A systematic literature review identified factors influencing walking outcomes and potential walking indicators.

The standing and walking assessment tool for individuals with spinal cord injury: A qualitative study of validity and clinical use.

The Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Standing and Walking Assessment Tool (SWAT) combines stages of walking recovery with measures of balance and walking. It standardizes the timing and content of walking assessment in inpatient rehabilitation. The study aims were: (1) Evaluate the content validity of the SWAT stages of walking recovery, and (2) Understand physical therapists' (PTs) experiences using the SWAT to gauge acceptance, implementation and impact.

Effects of exercise interventions on cardiovascular health in individuals with chronic, motor complete spinal cord injury: protocol for a randomised controlled trial [Cardiovascular Health/Outcomes: Improvements Created by Exercise and education in SCI (CHOICES) Study].

Introduction: Recent studies demonstrate that cardiovascular diseases and associated complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Abnormal arterial stiffness, defined by a carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) ≥10 m/s, is a recognised risk factor for heart disease in individuals with SCI. There is a paucity of studies assessing the efficacy of conventional training modalities on arterial stiffness and other cardiovascular outcomes in this population.

The financial burden of prescription drugs for neurological conditions in Canada: Results from the National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions.

This paper describes the current situation in Canada concerning the availability and use of prescription drugs for neurological conditions. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with health care providers, administrators, community organization representatives, opinion leaders and policy makers. The analysis revealed three primary themes related to the availability of and access to prescription drugs to treat neurological conditions.

Effects of Seated Postural Stability and Trunk and Upper Extremity Strength on Performance during Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Tests in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: An Exploratory Study.

Objectives. To quantify the association between performance-based manual wheelchair propulsion tests (20 m propulsion test, slalom test, and 6 min propulsion test), trunk and upper extremity (U/E) strength, and seated reaching capability and to establish which ones of these variables best predict performance at these tests. Methods.

Do Performance-Based Wheelchair Propulsion Tests Detect Changes Among Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Rehabilitation in Quebec?

Objective: To quantify and compare the responsiveness and concurrent validity of 3 performance-based manual wheelchair propulsion tests among manual wheelchair users with subacute spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: Quasi-experimental repeated-measures design.

Setting: Publicly funded comprehensive inpatient SCI rehabilitation program.

Developing quality of care indicators for patients with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI): A feasibility study using administrative health data.

Objectives: (1) to inform the development of health system quality indicators for traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury from acute care admission to community care discharge using administrative data, and (2) to examine characteristics and differences in care among type of care facility, and type of pathology using administrative data.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using administrative health data.

Setting: Ontario, Canada.

Development of a Chronic Care Model for Neurological Conditions (CCM-NC).

Background: Persons with neurological conditions and their families face a number of challenges with the provision of health and community-based services. The purpose of this study was to understand the existing health and community service needs and gaps in care and to use this information to develop a model to specify factors and processes that may improve the quality of care and health and well-being for persons with neurological conditions.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with health care professionals, community-based non-health care professionals working with individuals with neurological conditions, and policy makers -from the Ministries of Health, Community and Social Services, Transportation and Education- across Canada.

Trunk strength and function using the multidirectional reach distance in individuals with non-traumatic spinal cord injury.

Context: Trunk control is essential to engage in activities of daily living. Measuring trunk strength and function in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is difficult. Trunk function has not been studied in non-traumatic SCI (NTSCI).

Post-stroke spasticity: predictors of early development and considerations for therapeutic intervention.

Objective: The complexities of post-stroke spasticity (PSS), and the resultant difficulties in treating the disability, present a significant challenge to patients, stroke rehabilitation teams, and caregivers. Reducing the severity of spasticity and its long-term complications may be facilitated by early intervention, making identification of stroke patients at high risk for developing spasticity essential. Factors that predict which patients are at risk for the development of PSS are identified.

What Do We Know about Knowledge Brokers in Paediatric Rehabilitation? A Systematic Search and Narrative Summary.

Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of the literature related to the use of knowledge brokers within paediatric rehabilitation, and specifically to determine (1) how knowledge brokers are defined and used in paediatric rehabilitation and (2) whether knowledge brokers in paediatric rehabilitation have demonstrably improved the performance of health care providers or organizations.

Methods: The MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and AMED databases were systematically searched to identify studies relating to knowledge brokers or knowledge brokering within paediatric rehabilitation, with no restriction on the study design or primary aim. Following review of titles and abstracts, those studies identified as potentially relevant were assessed based on the inclusion criteria that they: (1) examined some aspect of knowledge brokers/brokering in paediatric rehabilitation; (2) included sufficient descriptive detail on how knowledge brokers/brokering were used; and(3) were peer-reviewed and published in English.

Physical Therapists' Perceptions of Leadership across the Health Care Continuum: A Brief Report.

Purpose: To describe and compare Canadian physical therapists' perspectives on the importance of characteristics required for leadership in the workplace and in society and to explore the implications for the profession.

Methods: This quantitative, cross-sectional study used a web-based survey of members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) with a registered email address (n=6156). The perceived importance of leadership characteristics at the workplace level versus the societal level was examined using a Mann-Whitney U test, with the significance set at α=0.

Exploring the concept of leadership from the perspective of physical therapists in Canada.

Purpose: To explore the concept of leadership from the perspective of physical therapists in Canada.

Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional nationwide study was performed using a Web-based survey distributed to all members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) with a registered e-mail address (n=6,156). Frequency distributions and percentages were obtained for all leadership characteristics, and chi-square tests were performed, with significance set at p<0.

The distribution of physiotherapists in ontario: understanding the market drivers.

Purpose: To understand the factors that affect the distribution of physiotherapists in Ontario by examining three potential influences in the multi-payer physiotherapy (PT) market: population need, critical mass (related to academic health science centres [AHSCs]), and market forces.

Methods: Physiotherapist density and distribution were calculated from 2003 and 2005 College of Physiotherapists of Ontario registration data. Physiotherapists' workplaces were classified as not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals, other NFP, or for-profit (FP), and their locations were classified by census division (CD) types (cities and counties).

Toronto rehabilitation institute-hand function test: assessment of gross motor function in individuals with spinal cord injury.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the interrater reliability, construct validity, and sensitivity of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-Hand Function Test (TRI-HFT), within an interventional randomized control trial.

Method: Twenty-one participants with subacute C4 to C7 spinal cord injury (SCI) were recruited. Based on randomization, participants were allocated to either the functional electrical stimulation therapy group or the conventional occupational therapy group.

Using scoping review methods to describe current capacity and prescribe change in Canadian SCI rehabilitation service delivery.

Objective: To describe the methodology used to conduct a scoping review of spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation service delivery in Canada, and to explain the reporting process intended to advance future service delivery.

Evidence Acquisition: A SCI rehabilitation framework derived from the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health was developed to describe the goals and interprofessional processes of rehabilitation. An adapted Arksey and O'Malley (2005) methodological framework was used to conduct a scoping review of SCI rehabilitation services in Canada.

Walking-related outcomes for individuals with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury inform physical therapy practice.

Objectives: To describe and compare patient demographics, inpatient lengths of stay (LOS), and walking-related functional outcomes of individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) of traumatic (TSCI) and non-traumatic (NTSCI) etiologies. To contrast these features between individuals who walked from those who did not walk at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: Prospective observational study; comparisons between TSCI and NTSCI, walkers and non-walkers.

Can administrative claim file review be used to gather physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychology payment data and functional independence measure scores? Implications for rehabilitation providers in the private health sector.

Purpose: Rehabilitation costs for spinal-cord injury (SCI) are increasingly borne by Canada's private health system. Because of poor outcomes, payers are questioning the value of their expenditures, but there is a paucity of data informing analysis of rehabilitation costs and outcomes. This study evaluated the feasibility of using administrative claim file review to extract rehabilitation payment data and functional status for a sample of persons with work-related SCI.

Attractiveness of employment sectors for physical therapists in Ontario, Canada (1999-2007): implication for the long term care sector.

Background: Recruiting and retaining health professions remains a high priority for health system planners. Different employment sectors may vary in their appeal to providers. We used the concepts of inflow and stickiness to assess the relative attractiveness of sectors for physical therapists (PTs) in Ontario, Canada.

Measuring Balance and Mobility after Traumatic Brain Injury: Validation of the Community Balance and Mobility Scale (CB&M).

Purpose: To further investigate the construct validity of the Community Balance and Mobility Scale (CB&M), developed for ambulatory individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: A convenience sample of 35 patients with TBI (13 in-patients, 22 outpatients) was recruited. Analyses included a comparison of CB&M and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) admission and change scores and associations between the CB&M and measures of postural sway, gait, and dynamic stability; the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ); and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale.

Strategic responses to fiscal constraints: a health policy analysis of hospital-based ambulatory physical therapy services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Purpose: Ambulatory physical therapy (PT) services in Canada are required to be insured under the Canada Health Act, but only if delivered within hospitals. The present study analyzed strategic responses used by hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to deliver PT services in an environment of fiscal constraint.

Methods: Key informant interviews (n = 47) were conducted with participants from all hospitals located within the GTA.