THE IMPACT OF INTERNET-ENABLED PHONES ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG STUDENTS OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Smart phones usage is rapidly progressing day by day in young adults’ lives who have become habituated and less indulged in physical activities. Thus, this study is aimed to measure the impact of internet-enabled smart phones on physical activity of students. METHODOLOGY An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among students aged 18-30 years studying in tertiary institutions. Internet-Connectedness Index and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form were formulated in the Google Docs and distributed to participants via email or social media applications. RESULTS A total number of 252 students participated in study revealed that majority of users have own computer for prolonged time with broadband and 3G internet. Only (4.4%) participants have performed vigorous and (5.6%) moderate activities 7 days a week. Whereas (27.8%) participants spent their time sitting at desk, visiting friends, reading, sitting or lying down to watch TV for <2 hours (27.8%), <4 hours (21.8%) while >8 hours (23%) respectively. This showed that with the increased use of internet, young adults performed low physical activity. CONCLUSION It was concluded that majority of young adults have used internet for prolonged time on computer/laptop/cell phones whereas limited participants reported to have regular physical activity however, no significant association was found between the impacts of internet-connectedness with physical activity.

FREQUENCY OF FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS IN SUB-ACUTE STROKE PATIENTS

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Stroke is a very common neurological condition affects various aspects of health. The primary objective of this study was to find out the frequency of functional disability and cognitive impairments in Sub-acute Stroke patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 112 Sub-acute Stroke patients in Karachi, Pakistan. Using Barthel Index (BI) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test was used to find out the frequency of functional disability and cognitive impairments of Sub-acute Stroke patients. RESULTS The correlation of BI scores with MMSE scores for the Male gender was 0.576 whilst the correlation of BI scores with MMSE scores for the Female gender was 0.440. The severity of functional disability concerning age groups assessed P-value was 0.026 using Chi-Square Test. The severity of functional disability (BI severity) concerning gender, P-value was found 0.097 using the same test. CONCLUSION Functional Disability is directly linked with age. However, there was no linkage established between Cognitive Impairment and age as well as gender. On close inspection, there was a trend between Functional disability and gender but not statistically significant.

IMPACT AND SATISFACTION WITH E-CONSULTATION: A PERCEPTION OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The havoc caused by COVID-19 leads to have an adverse impact on medical priorities for consultation however e-consultation has been used widely by practitioners to aid the patient and healthcare providers. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional survey was conducted on allied health professionals, considering physical and occupational therapists. A self-administered questionnaire regarding impact assessment and level of attained satisfaction was distributed to participants in Google Docs via email or Whatsapp groups. RESULTS A total number of 109 responses obtained from the participants showed (34.9%) were agreed to understand the completed condition of the patient, (38.5%) but (41.3%) disagreed to treat the patient same as physical appointment and (35.58%) disagreed to work more productively. Only (32.1%) were agreed to be satisfied during their consultation, (49.5%) agreed that e-consultation can never be adopted as a good substitute of physical appointments. CONCLUSION It was concluded that limited number of therapists were satisfied with their e-consultation services while majority were agreed that the service cannot be a good substitute for a physical appointment. Therefore, further trials needs to be conducted to evaluate the factors causing hindrance in healthcare delivery.

PREVALENCE OF SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AMONG STUDENTS OF COLLEGES OF REHABILITATION SCIENCES

BACKGROUND AND AIM Smartphones have become an essential tool now days that impact psychologically as well as physically to the user. This study rules out smartphone excess usage and its addiction amongst pupil from Colleges of Rehabilitation Sciences METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional study was conducted on 260 medical students out of which 50 dropped out later. Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) was used to assess the level of smartphone addiction amongst these individuals. RESULTS The statistical value of mean is 1.48 for both the genders whereas the statistical value of mean for age ranging from 20-25 years is 21.7 and the standard deviation is 0.50 for gender and 1.38 for the included age group. Only 7 participants (3.3%) were found to have low smartphone addiction level, 108 participants (51.4%) to be moderately addicted and 95 participants (45.2%) to have higher addiction. CONCLUSION The excessive use of smartphone was significant among the individuals aged 22 years and more specifically the more males than the females were found to be more addicted by smartphone. Our findings may help in the development of policies and guidelines which should be followed by the students to improve their quality of life and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

PREVALENCE OF COMPUTER VISION SYNDROME AMONG UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS

BACKGROUND AND AIM Computers and other digital screens have become an integral part of our life. It raises various ocular problems in the user due to excessive screen time, this study aims to determine the frequency of computer vision syndrome (CVS) in population of under graduate physical therapy student. METHODOLOGY This was cross-sectional study conducted at Ziauddin College of Rehabilitation Sciences; Karachi during June 2019 to September 2020.A total number of 340 candidates of age 22 years ± 1.8 including both genders participated in this study. A questionnaire was designed to collect data which was statistically analyzed on SPSS version 20. Whereas descriptive data was calculated as mean, median, mode and standard deviation using graphical representations. RESULTS 88.5% of the students used mobile phones for study purpose out of which 35.3% use it for 4-7 hour and 33% use for 7 to 10 hours a day. The ocular symptoms that students face was burning of eyes (40%), tearing (55%), eye redness (45.3%), diplopia 31.8%, blurred vision (42.9%), eye dryness (23.8%), while extra ocular symptom that was noticed in the study included headache too was (67.9%). CONCLUSION This study showed that most of the students were found to have a CVS thus screen time guide lines and visual rehabilitation must established.

PREVALENCE OF STRESS AMONG PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

BACKGROUND Stress may lead to hypertension, tachycardia and hormonal variations; it has both positive and negative effects on human body to cope up with the destructive responses of distress that alters the internal and external environment of the body OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of stress among the undergraduate DPT students of private and public sector universities of Karachi Pakistan. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the undergraduate Doctor of Physical Therapy students of public and private sector universities. Random sampling technique was used for enrolment of participants. The data was collected from 318 students through Student Stress Inventory (SSI) tool and analyzed on SPSS version 20. RESULTS The prevalence of stress among the participants was 11.5% from Karachi University, 55.0 % from Ziauddin University and 33.3% from JPMC. Total participants included were 261 females and 51 males. Around 53.8% were suffering from moderate stress, 25.8% with mild stress. Moreover public and private sector stress level lie at moderate category CONCLUSION The study revealed that moderate level of stress was found among the majority of undergraduate DPT students. The stress level in private sector is calculated as 55.0 % where as 44.9% is found in public sector.

A RADICAL GRADIENT FOR RESEARCH AMONG REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS

Revolution in practice is required among the professionals of rehab members in holistic team while working parallel with each other for inhibition, development, refurbishment and decline of functioning among clients along with effective service delivery system. This describes the focus of rehab professional on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICD) model of disability. Rehab professionals move from lab to clinical practice and community is actually an interchange of conservative investigation pattern to translational research mode, not just the implementing research outcome but also evolving the guidelines for healthier service model. Professional locally has understood the significance of evidence based practiced though the carter to attain translational research is still at T1 and T2 phase which is from bench to bedside. Mostly the research activities involves around the implementation of knowledge in to practice or combination of effective interventions. Among the rehab professionals the pace of evidence based practiced is faster among the physiotherapist whereas the other members of team such as Occupational therapist, speech therapist and psychotherapist are at very initial stage. It could be the curriculum advancement, unavailability of learning resources and lack of professional awareness not only in general population but also among the health care provider.

PERCEPTION OF PHYSIOTHERAPIST ON EFFECTS OF TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION IN COMPARISON TO THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND FOR THE TREATMENT OF GRADE V BELL’S PALSY

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Ultrasound (US) both are the most common therapeutic intervention modalities applied for Bell’s palsy treatment. The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in order to evaluate the perception of physiotherapist regarding the effects of TENS and US in comparison for the treatment of grade V Bell’s palsy. METHODOLOGY It is an observational study based on cross sectional survey based on questionnaire from the physical therapists of a tertiary care hospital with the clinical experience of one year or more. The sample size was 45 based on convenient sampling technique with the mean age of 27.4 ± 7.75 years. RESULTS The results of the study indicated that preference of therapist for the effective treatment of grade 5 Bell’s palsy is TENS in comparison to US for early prognosis and patient’s satisfaction. Further, the therapist prefers burst mode of TENS for effective results. CONCLUSION Though the study favors use of TENS However, due to small sample size, further studies are required to be conducted in domain to strengthen the role of Burst Mode of TENS as an effective intervention for Bell’s palsy.

PROCLIVITY OF E-READING VERSUS PRINTED AMONG GENERATION Z

BACKGROUND In present era people use many digital learning resources for education purposes and for getting extra knowledge, it promote healthy environment and also convenience in contrast to printed material. This growing trend impact on cognition and understanding of the user differently. OBJECTIVE This study aims to determine the frequency of students who prefer reading on printed text or other digital text and its effects on reading approaches. METHODOLOGY This study included a total of 250 samples using a convenient sampling technique. This study was carried out at different Colleges of Rehabilitation Sciences with the age limit of 19-23 year. The data was obtained by self-designed questionnaire based on 15 close ended questions. RESULT 45.2% of the students prefer reading printed text while 17.2% of the students prefer digital text. Majority of the students choose availability 51.6% as the justification for preferring printed or digital text. For learning from gadgets 70.8% of the student’s favour cell phones and 2.0% favour computer. CONCLUSION The study indicated that printed reading material is still the first choice in the particular geographical area although the digital text is more convenient. There is a need to discover the explanations that constrain or promote the use of such resource that encourages healthy environment.

AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW ON PATIENT SATISFACTION MEASURING TOOL FOR PHYSIOTHERAPY CARE AMONG CLIENTS IN THE OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENT

Background and Aims: Patient satisfaction is acknowledged as the corner stone of quality management and it is the paramount of any quality management program in health care system. This study is aimed to conduct an up-to-date systematic review on different validated tools that provide quantification of patient satisfaction in out-patient physical therapy services. Type: Systematic review Literature survey: An extensive literature search was performed using 3 electronic database systems (Google scholar, PubMed, and PEDro) for articles published between 2000 and 2020. Boolean operator AND was used in compilation with the exhaustive list of search terminologies. A total of 19 studies that investigated any patient satisfaction tool in outpatient physiotherapy settings were included. Methodology: The process of data extraction was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (2009). Results: Consensus based standards for the selection of health status measurement instruments (COSMIN) scoring quantified psychometric property of each study as excellent, good, and fair. 8 studies reflected fair scoring of Cronbach alpha, 3 studies showed excellent whereas, 2 appeared to be poor. Conclusion: The COSMIN scoring quantified multiple patient satisfaction tools. However, no gold standard was found. Nevertheless, physiotherapists working in out-patient care can increase the efficiency of patient-centered treatment by identifying and maximizing these patient satisfaction tool determinants.