Walking Speed: The Functional Vital Sign

Walking speed (WS) is a valid, reliable, and sensitive measure appropriate for assessing and monitoring functional status and overall health in a wide range of populations. These capabilities have led to its designation as the “sixth vital sign”. By synthesizing the available evidence on WS, this scholarly review article provides clinicians with a reference tool regarding this robust measure. Recommendations on testing procedures for assessing WS, including optimal distance, inclusion of acceleration and deceleration phases, instructions, and instrumentation are given. After assessing an individual\u27s WS, clinicians need to know what this value represents. Therefore, WS cut-off values and the corresponding predicted outcomes, as well as minimal detectable change values for specific populations and settings are provided

Are Scores on the PPT Useful in Determination of Risk of Future Falls in Individuals With Dementia?

Individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), exhibit both a progressive decline in cognitive function and accumulating difficulty with physical function.1 As cognitive impairment begins, individuals will initially demonstrate difficulties with short-term memory and with instrumental activities of daily living. As the dementia progresses, individuals will increasingly demonstrate difficulties with long-term memory, communication, and basic activities of daily living

Use of the Term Elderly

Using the term elderly for a person who is robust and independent as well as for a person who is frail and dependent says little about the individual

A Baker\u27s Dozen of Top Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention Publications in 2017

With an increasing number of antimicrobial stewardship-related articles published each year, attempting to stay current is challenging. The Southeastern Research Group Endeavor (SERGE-45) identified antimicrobial stewardship-related peer-reviewed literature that detailed an actionable intervention for 2017. The top 13 publications were selected using a modified Delphi technique. These manuscripts were reviewed to highlight the actionable intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs to provide key stewardship literature for training and teaching and identify potential intervention opportunities within their institutions

A Baker’s dozen of top antimicrobial stewardship intervention publications in 2019

© The Author(s) 2020. Staying current on literature related to antimicrobial stewardship can be challenging given the ever-increasing number of published articles. The Southeastern Research Group Endeavor (SERGE-45) identified antimicrobial stewardship–related peer-reviewed literature that detailed an actionable intervention for 2019. The top 13 publications were selected using a modified Delphi technique. These manuscripts were reviewed to highlight the actionable intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs to provide key stewardship literature for teaching and training and to identify potential intervention opportunities within one’s institution

A Baker\u27s Dozen of Top Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention Publications in 2019

Staying current on literature related to antimicrobial stewardship can be challenging given the ever-increasing number of published articles. The Southeastern Research Group Endeavor (SERGE-45) identified antimicrobial stewardship-related peer-reviewed literature that detailed an actionable intervention for 2019. The top 13 publications were selected using a modified Delphi technique. These manuscripts were reviewed to highlight the actionable intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs to provide key stewardship literature for teaching and training and to identify potential intervention opportunities within one\u27s institution

A Baker’s Dozen of Top Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention Publications in 2019

Staying current on literature related to antimicrobial stewardship can be challenging given the ever-increasing number of published articles. The Southeastern Research Group Endeavor (SERGE-45) identified antimicrobial stewardship–related peer-reviewed literature that detailed an actionable intervention for 2019. The top 13 publications were selected using a modified Delphi technique. These manuscripts were reviewed to highlight the actionable intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs to provide key stewardship literature for teaching and training and to identify potential intervention opportunities within one’s institution

A Baker\u27s Dozen of Top Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention Publications in 2017

With an increasing number of antimicrobial stewardship-related articles published each year, attempting to stay current is challenging. The Southeastern Research Group Endeavor (SERGE-45) identified antimicrobial stewardship-related peer-reviewed literature that detailed an actionable intervention for 2017. The top 13 publications were selected using a modified Delphi technique. These manuscripts were reviewed to highlight the actionable intervention used by antimicrobial stewardship programs to provide key stewardship literature for training and teaching and identify potential intervention opportunities within their institutions

Older Adults and Their Families

Physical therapists and other health professionals caring for aging adults routinely inquire about the availability of a spouse or adult children for assistance with home exercise programs or with basic and instrumental activities of daily living. In this chapter, readers will explore family as a dynamic system and a context for individual development from a life span perspective, as well as models of family interaction that may provide insights that enhance the efficacy of our care. Readers will explore the dimensions of caregiving and care-sharing roles, as well as factors that influence the physical and mental health of both care provider and care recipient. Finally, we will apply these concepts to one of the difficult transitions that aging adults and their families are often confronted with in later life: decisions about continuing to drive an automobile

Using Walking Speed in Clinical Practice: Interpreting Age-, Gender-, and Function-Specific Norms

Physical therapists expend a great deal of effort to assist older persons to regain the ability to walk independently. While we often use descriptors of gait patterns, assistive device use, level of assistance required, and distance traversed as part of our documentation, quantifying self-selected and fast walking speeds may be the most powerful measure to inform clinical decision making and to assess outcomes of intervention. In this article, we will consider why and how physical therapist should incorporate walking speed data into functional screening, development of plans of care (ie, setting appropriate goals), and assessing efficacy of interventions. We will explore the factors that determine an individual\u27s self-selected walking speed and the importance of assessing if, and how much, an older person is able to increase walking speed for safe community function. We will then present current best evidence about how walking speed typically changes in the later years of life, highlight age- and gender-specific norms (ie, typical performance). We will review the converging evidence of key threshold values for walking speed, as they relate to community function, risk of frailty and morbidity, and risk of institutionalization and conclude with a discussion of how such information is used to determine physical therapy prognosis, setting measurable functional goals, documenting efficacy of intervention, and determining need for continued physical therapy care across delivery settings