Publications by authors named "Zachary Stearns"

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the referrals and use of a hybrid care model for low back pain that includes on-site care by physical therapists, physical activity training, and psychologically informed practice (PiP) delivered by telehealth in the Improving Veteran Access to Integrated Management of Low Back Pain (AIM-Back) trial.

Methods: Data were collected from November 2020 through February 2023 from 5 Veteran Health Administration clinics participating in AIM-Back, a multisite, cluster-randomized embedded pragmatic trial. The authors extracted data from the Veteran Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse to describe referral and enrollment metrics, telehealth use (eg, distribution of physical activity and PiP calls), and treatments used by physical therapists and telehealth providers.

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Objective: Research on burnout among physical therapists and occupational therapists in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is limited. Resilience may be important for reducing burnout and promoting well-being among rehabilitation specialists, especially during periods of elevated occupational demand and stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate experiences of burnout, COVID-19 pandemic-related distress, and resilience among physical therapists and occupational therapists during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Psychological factors influence or are associated with physical function, pain, and health care costs among individuals with musculoskeletal pain conditions. Recent clinical practice guidelines recommend screening for psychological factors (also referred to as "yellow flags") in physical therapy practice to help understand prognosis and inform shared decision making for treatment.

Clinical Question: Despite the urgings of clinical practice guidelines and evidence of the influence of psychological factors on clinical outcomes, screening for yellow flags is uncommon in clinical practice.

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