Categories
Research

Survey on Telerehabilitation for Physical Rehabilitation Clinicians

Our survey on telerehabilitation for physical rehabilitation clinicians is now available.  This survey is part of a pan-Canadian study funded by the CIHR on telerehabilitation entitled: Avoiding pitfalls in virtual care: paving the way for more ethical and equitable standards of practice in rehabilitation, led by Professors Dahlia Kairy and Anne Hudon from the University of Montreal.

Here is the link for the survey:

https://bit.ly/Sondage_Cliniciens_Telereadaptation_Clinician_telerehabilitation_survey

Who is the survey for?

All clinicians who practice physical rehabilitation, including:

-Physiotherapists/Physiotherapy technologists

-Occupational therapists

-Spe3ch language pathologists/ Audiologists

-Neuropsychologists /Psychologists

-Vision therapists

AND :

– those who have used or are currently using telerehabilitation in their practice or;
– who are interested in telerehabilitation (even if they never used it)

Objective of the survey:

This project aims to better understand the rapid scaling up of telerehabilitation and draw a portrait of telerehabilitation telepractices in Canada in order to create tools to facilitate the adoption of telerehabilitation based on best practices from an ethical point of view. The results of the survey will help us identify obstacles, facilitators and ethical issues in order to support the scaling up and sustainability of telerehabilitation in Canada.

The survey is confidential and lasts approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Please also help us continue to share the survey to reach a broad audience! Here are some ideas how you can share information about the survey, including a short informative video about the survey:

Thank you for your participation!

Categories
Announcements Newsletter

Network Newsletter: Summer/Fall 2023

We are pleased to share the latest edition of the MSK Rehab Research Network Newsletter. It has been a busy and productive year for the Network and our researchers and we are excited to share the news with the rehabilitation research community.

Included in this edition:

  • Trainee Summer School Recap
  • Recent and Upcoming Events
  • Trainee Opportunities at UBC
  • Network News
  • Recent Publications, Presentations & Awards
  • …and much more!

Click to download: Newsletter Summer-Fall 2023

 

Categories
Newsletter Opportunities

Training Opportunity with Dr. Michael Hunt (UBC)

Dr. Michael Hunt and the Motion Analysis and Biofeedback Laboratory at the University of British Columbia is looking for a PhD student to undertake studies in the areas of clinical biomechanics or musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Possible topics include rehabilitative approaches to manage knee osteoarthritis, running injury research, and movement and activity measurement with wearable sensors. Funding is available for qualified applicants.

To register your interest, please complete an online form found on this webpage.

Categories
Newsletter Opportunities

Multiple Training Opportunities with Dr. Jackie Whittaker

Dr. Jackie Whittaker (UBC) is currently seeking two qualified trainees to join her prestigious lab. Please see below for details:

  1. Fully funded 4-year PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of British Columbia working with Dr. Jackie Whittaker (Musculoskeletal Health, Sport and Exercise Lab and Arthritis Research Canada) for a project that intersects sport-related Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears, osteoarthritis prevention (education and exercise therapy), knee injury rehabilitation, clinical trials, implementation science, and female health. For more information and to apply, go to https://bit.ly/3rtmGQb
  2. Fully funded 2-year post-doctoral scholar at the University of British Columbia working with Dr. Jackie Whittaker (Musculoskeletal Health, Sport and Exercise Lab and Arthritis Research Canada) for a project that intersects sport-related Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears, osteoarthritis prevention (education and exercise therapy), knee injury rehabilitation, clinical trials, implementation science, and female health. For more information and to apply, go to https://bit.ly/46qnpR2
Categories
Newsletter Research

Update: Sociodemographic variable collection in MSK health research in Canada

Dr. David Walton (Western University) has shared an update regarding his recent polling of Network researchers and the collection of sociodemographic data in their studies:

Earlier this year I invited members of the MSK RNN to share examples of recent data collection forms on which questions related to participant characteristics (e.g., demographics, social data) were posed. I received 18 such forms from across the country, and thank those who took the time to share. I extracted all questions verbatim, including response options/structures, and thematically grouped them to better understand a) what types of participant characteristics were being asked and b) how we were asking them. I was able to identify 26 different constructs collected across the 18 forms. Importantly, I did not collect names of who submitted so the findings are anonymous. Amongst the findings were:

1. Only one construct was collected across all 18 forms: age. And where it was collected, only twice was it collected using the exact same wording (i.e.,: “Age: ____”). Others were various forms of “What is your age in years?” or “What is your birthdate” to varying levels of precision (year, month/year, day/month/year). While the differences may be subtle, they are not likely completely benign. Sex was the next most frequent question, showing up on 75% of forms, and 6 constructs (ages, sex, gender, race/ethnicity, employment, education) were collected on at least half. Across forms, it was very rare that any question was asked the exact same way twice;

2. There appears to be confusion around some terms, most commonly related to sex v gender and race v ethnicity, revealed through response options that did not always align with the question being asked. We also seem to remain committed to use of ‘other’ in our response options for many intersectional identity questions, despite a growing number of EDI offices encouraging a move away from non-inclusive language;

3. Interesting was the rarity with which questions or phrasing were aligned with those used in existing large-scale databases (e.g., StatsCan, CLSA) or guidance documents from groups like CIHI or the Federal Government of Canada. Importantly, this is not some kind of admonishment – I very much include myself in each of these findings. Rather it begs a larger question in my mind – do many of us in the MSK health research field not align with existing guidance because we’re unaware of them, or because we do not believe they adequately align with important participant characteristics or not at the level needed in our field?

Armed with this (and much more from other sources) information, I am pleased that a number of RNN members were adequately interested in this topic to join me as co-Investigators or trainees on a proposal submitted to the CIHR Fall 2023 Project Grant round titled “Rigorous Partner-Informed Creation of a ‘Core Set’ of Social Variables for Musculoskeletal Health Research in Adults to Enable Data Linkage and Optimize Exploration of Social Determinants of Health”. Co-Investigators are J. MacDermid, A. Rushton, A. Zajacova, J-S. Roy, and trainees E. Ekediegwu, M. Farzad, and A. Lawan. This is a very different type of study than I have submitted previously so will be interesting to see how it is reviewed, but success in that competition or no I still believe this is a worthy project and will seek ways to move towards standardizing a core set of sociodemographic questions for MSK health research and invite all interested to join me. Watch for future updates.

Categories
Announcements Opportunities

Post-Doctoral Position at Western University

A postdoctoral position is available with Drs. David Walton and Alison Rushton at Western University. This position is available immediately, and recruitment will continue until it is filled. The position would be for 1 year with an option of extension.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a field related to Rehabilitation or Health Science, including but not limited to: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Health Studies, Knowledge Translation or Implementation Science, Health Services Research, Psychology, or a closely related field. Experience with online data collection and management, and analytics of large datasets would be an asset but not required.

Full details and application instructions are available here: https://grad.uwo.ca/doc/postdoc/opportunities/PDA%20Posting%20School%20of%20Physical%20Therapy%20-%20Walton.pdf

Categories
Announcements Newsletter Research

Western University Trainee Summer School

MSK Rehab Research Network – Trainee Summer School

July 31 – August 4 | Western University

The MSK Rehab Research Network is excited to host an interactive trainee summer school on outcome measurement and patient engagement.

Participants will gain hands-on experience at the state-of-the-art Wolf Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab (WOBL) and the Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC).

Speakers include: Dr. Trevor Birmingham, Dr. Pavlos Bobos, Dr. Lisa Carlesso, Dr. Joy MacDermid, Dr. Tara Packham, Dr. Tina Ziebart as well as patient partners.

Schedule (click below to download)

RehabNet Summer School Program Final

Key Concepts Covered:

  • Pain
  • Muscle Strength and Endurance
  • Joint Motion and Kinematics
  • Balance
  • Gait
  • Sensibility
  • Patient-reported Outcomes
  • Performance-based functional tests

Expected Trainee Outputs:

  • Develop an outcome measurement strategy for your own research program
  • A plan for partnering with patients/persons with lived experience in your research

Travel & Accommodations:

On-campus accommodations are available for non-Western students at Ontario Hall Residence. This residence is located directly across from Elborn College, where most sessions will be taking place. Accommodation costs will be covered and include hot breakfast. Daily lunches will be provided for all participants.

Details on bookings will be provided following your acceptance into the summer school.

Non-local participants will be required to arrange their own travel to London and local transport to/from Western University. Following the event, the Network will reimburse up to $500 in CIHR-eligible travel expenses per person.

Some walking or local transit may be required between classrooms and lab locations on and near campus. Please make note of any mobility challenges you may have so we can accommodate as best as possible.

Any questions can be directed to Ryan Power (rehabnet@uwo.ca)

Categories
Research

McMaster Origin of Chronic Pain Study

Our partners at McMaster University are conducting a short, anonymous survey to better understand the origins of chronic pain. They are seeking participants 18 years or older, who are living with chronic pain in Canada.

See the poster below, or click the following link to access the survey: https://surveys.mcmaster.ca/limesurvey/index.php/219942?lang=en

Categories
Research

Balancing clinician and patient priorities for total shoulder replacement preoperative education programs

Congratulations to Network trainee and her team, including several Network investigators, on their recent publication in Patient Education and Counseling. The article titled, “Balancing clinician and patient priorities for total shoulder replacement preoperative education programs” is available for free download at the link below:

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1gw%7E72dv7nRT0s

Categories
Newsletter

Network Newsletter: Winter/Spring 2023

We are pleased to share our latest edition of the MSK Rehab Research Network Newsletter.

Included in this jam-packed newsletter:

  • Multiple 2023 Trainee Summer Schools
  • Trainee Travel Award Recipients
  • Upcoming Events & Highlights
  • Network Member News: publications & awards
  • Opportunities
  • …and much more

Click below to download:

MSK Rehab Network Newsletter Spring 2023