Impact of Service Learning on Physical Therapist Students\u27 Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Older Adults and on Their Critical Thinking Ability

As the number and proportion of elderly people rapidly increase in the next few decades, there will be increased demands for physical therapists to work with older clients. Although the availability of physical therapists to work with elderly people will be determined, in part, by their personal preferences,1 most physical therapists will be routinely required to work with elderly clients and clients\u27 aging family members.2 In order to provide effective services, it is imperative that physical therapist students possess adequate knowledge about the aging process and recognize the individuality of older clients, as well as their capacity for growth

Advancing Physical Therapy Practice through Curriculum Revision: The Malawi Experience

Challenged health systems are a motivation for health education reform. Although resources-limited areas cover our planet, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest disease burden, yet the lowest health-care provider and medical school density of any region in the world. Malawi is among the most under-resourced countries in the world. While much of the data focus on dental, medical, and psychiatric service provision, physical therapists are also in short supply. Among the barriers to achieving the recommended standards for physical therapist education, African physiotherapists (the term for “physical therapists” in Africa) identify limited training opportunities, limited research education, and limited resources and funding. The purpose of this article is to describe an international partnership for strengthening the Malawian physiotherapist workforce capacity through curriculum revision in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Malawi’s College of Medicine

Comparison of Functional Reach in Fallers and Nonfallers in an Independent Retirement Community

The older population in America is steadily increasing. Additionally, falls increase dramatically with age. Balance disorders and postural control changes have been found to contribute to falls sustained by the elderly. Functional Reach (FR) has been proposed as a simple balance assessment tool which is valid, reliable, and sensitive to changes in balance. The aim of this study was to compare the FR of fallers and nonfallers living independently in a retirement community. Fifty-two subjects were divided into three age groups and categorized by fall status. The first three correctly performed FR trials were measured and recorded. After the age of 84 years, FR significantly decreases. There were no significant differences in the FR between fallers and nonfallers among community dwelling seniors. A simple standardized balance assessment tool needs to be developed to identify those older people at risk for falling. Functional Reach has the potential to be such a tool. However, FR needs to be standardized according to the age and activity level of the population being tested