Health Care Sciences Research Articles

A novel method for predicting the progression rate of ALS disease based on automatic generation of probabilistic causal chains.

Causal discovery is considered as a major concept in biomedical informatics contributing to diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of diseases. Probabilistic causality approaches in epidemiology and medicine is a common method for finding relationships between pathogen and disease, environment and disease, and adverse events and drugs. Bayesian Network (BN) is one of the common approaches for probabilistic causality, which is widely used in health-care and biomedical science. Since in many biomedical applications we deal with temporal dataset, the temporal extension of BNs called Dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is used for such applications. DBNs define probabilistic relationships between parameters in consecutive time points in the form of a graph and have been successfully used in many biomedical applications. In this paper, a novel method was introduced for finding probabilistic causal chains from a temporal dataset with the help of entropy and causal tendency measures. In this method, first, Causal Features Dependency (CFD) matrix is created on the basis of parameters changes in consecutive events of a phenomenon, and then the probabilistic causal graph is constructed from this matrix based on entropy criteria. At the next step, a set of probabilistic causal chains of the corresponding causal graph is constructed by a novel polynomial-time heuristic. Finally, the causal chains are used for predicting the future trend of the phenomenon. The proposed model was applied to the Pooled Resource Open-Access Clinical Trials (PRO-ACT) dataset related to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease, in order to predict the progression rate of this disease. The results of comparison with Bayesian tree, random forest, support vector regression, linear regression, and multivariate regression show that the proposed algorithm can compete with these methods and in some cases outperforms other algorithms. This study revealed that probabilistic causality is an appropriate approach for predicting the future states of chronic diseases with unknown cause.

Quality Management System: Quality of Education, Science and Clinical Practice in Primary Care, Legislative and Regulatory Framework (Distance Learning Lecture)

The article presents modern data on the development of primary health care (PHC) and approaches to managing its quality, conceptі of quality, model of quality by A. Donabedian and WHO, the quality of structure, process and result of PHC, approaches to monitoring and improving quality. The regulatory framework and the results of reforming the PHC inUkraineare given, its impact on the quality of the PHC.The aim: is to provide basic concepts of quality of medical care and to explain the changes of quality of medical care in the process of reforming the healthcare system inUkraine.Materials and methods. A systematic review of the literature and legal documents, own experience and observations.Results. According to the WHO definition, primary health care is a providing treatment and prevention services at the local community level, usually by family doctors, patronage nurses, staff at local outpatient facilities, or other medical personnel. In the Astana Declaration of 2018, all countries of the world pledged to direct efforts and public investments to improve the quality of education, science and clinical practice of primary health care in order to ensure that all patients have access to the highest possible level of health. The creation of quality management systems for medical care is one of the priority areas of health care reform and determines both current and strategic prospects for the activities of any medical organization. According to the concept of A. Donabedian and WHO, quality is a multidimensional concept that consists of many components – safety, effectiveness, timeliness/optimality, efficiency/economy, fairness/equality, patient-orientation. In addition, quality is divided into three main components – the quality of the structure, process and result. The quality of the structure is the organizational aspects of the PHC – human and material and technical resources, legal support. The quality of the process is actually medical care itself, the implementation of diagnostic procedures in accordance with protocols and standards. The quality of the result – these are indicators that indicate what happens to the patient in the process of providing PHC. Monitoring the quality of PHC is carried out using indicators that can be developed and approved at the state or local levels. Quality improvement is described by the Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. When describing these concepts, legal documents on reforming the PHC inUkraine, international directives and a description of the impact of their implementation on the quality of the PHC inUkraine are indicated.Conclusion. Taking into account the reformation of the Ukrainian healthcare system, the recommendations of the world community and the transition to market relations, general practitioners – family doctors need to learn an additional skill in managing the quality of medical care.

Indirect Nano-sensing approach: A universal potentiometric silver ion selective sensor for inline quantitative profiling of the kinetics and thermodynamics of formation and decay of silver nanoparticles

Indirect Nano-sensing are indispensable chemical sensory points that make use of the unique properties of nanoparticles to derive information about it to our macroscopic world. Precious Silver nanoparticles have become more attractive in many areas of healthcare and life sciences leading to massive industrial production and increase of environmental exposure which may lead to Nanotoxicity accompanied by the release of Ag+ ions. A reversible silver selective screen-printed electrode was fabricated, optimized, and validated. A wide linearity range of 1 × 10−6 – 1 × 10−2 M was obtained, with a LOD that reaches 1.5 × 10−7 M and a typical slope of monovalent cationic compounds of 59.6 mV/decade. It showed high selectivity towards the cationic Ag+ ion activity in presence of the negatively charged citrate capped silver nanoparticles (Cit-AgNPs). The fabricated sensor has been used for tracking the decrease of Ag+ activity during the reduction of AgNO3 with tri-sodium citrate during the Bottom-up synthesis of Cit-AgNPs at different temperature (60, 70 and 80 °C). The kinetic parameters (Activation energy (Ea) and Reaction rate (K)) and the thermodynamic characteristics (free activation energy (ΔG), entropy (ΔS), enthalpy (ΔH)) have been calculated. Furthermore, it has been used for tracking the release of Ag+ during the spontaneous and stimulated decay of Cit-AgNPs. The present work could be a junction between nanotechnology and recent advances in design of a reproducible, portable real-time analyzer for in-process monitoring of the production of Cit-AgNPs and its environmental hazards with many advantages in comparison to the reported techniques in terms of portability, simplicity, cost-efficient, fast inline tracking, no sampling, real-time profiles at high temperatures and it does not need professional operators.

Awareness of Cervical Cancer and Its Prevention: A Survey at Eastern University, Sri Lanka

Background: Carcinoma of cervix is a preventable illness. Early sexual debut has a strong association. Sexually transmittable Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the major causative agent. Cervical screening and vaccines hold a major role in its prevention or early detection. This study aims to assess the knowledge on the aspects of carcinoma of cervix among the students of Eastern University, Sri Lanka, to evaluate the risks of contracting the disease. Methods: A self- administered pretested questionnaire has been used. Data was analyzed using the statistical package of social science (SPSS v.18). Results: A total of 650 students were included. 59.4% reported of ‘heard about cervical cancer’; among male cohort 64.3% and female 56.6%. 55.7% of students had very poor or poor knowledge on the warning features. About 48% (n=314) of the students were not aware of the cervical screening program conducted in the health-care system. Five hundred and twenty-one students (80.2%) reported that they have never had sexual intercourse, thus having a low risk of contracting HPV while 25.2% of male (n=60) and 6.8% of female (n=28) students had high or moderate risk with the statistically significant association (Chi-sq=42.293, p=0.000) between gender and the risk of contracting HPV. About the HPV Vaccine, 17.7% of the students (n=115) had adequate knowledge. Students of the Faculty of Arts & Culture contributed the poorest score in all aspects while students of the Faculty of Health Care Sciences had been much aware of. Conclusions: The study revealed the poor status of the undergraduate students of the aspects of cervical cancer and also created awareness among the participants to know more with the necessity to develop online learning modules.

Adverse Events Induced by Metformin Treatment in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Metaanalysis

Kabelo Mokgalaboni1* and Moshoeu S Mabusela2 Author Affiliations 1School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences [SLMMS], College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus South Africa 2School of Medical Science and Pathology, Faculty of Health Care Sciences, University of Limpopo, South Africa Received: April 24, 2020 | Published: April 30, 2020 Corresponding author: Kabelo Mokgalaboni, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences [SLMMS], College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, Westville Campus South Africa DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2020.27.004489

Aboriginal youth summer camp in science and health science: a Western Canadian university review of 10 years of successes and learning

ABSTRACT Over the past ten years, a western-Canadian university has offered an annual on-campus summer science and health science camp for Aboriginal youth. The goal of this camp has been to enhance pathways to science and health science careers for high school students aged 13–15 years-old. The camp's core curriculum exposes youth to science and health sciences through fun and engaging activities. Students consistently reported that the camp helped strengthen connections between their learning in secondary school, potential university level education, and future career options in science and health science. This camp has been well received across British Columbia Aboriginal communities as evidenced by increasing enrollments and community member participation. As faculty and staff involved in the 10-year history of the summer camp, we reflect on our work for the purpose of informing others concerned with promoting science and health science careers for Aboriginal youth. Given a gap in the literature around planning and delivering successful science and health science-focused summer camps for Aboriginal youth, we offer this account of our successes and lessons learned for those planning or already engaged in implementing similar educational efforts.

Self-Service Data Science in Healthcare with Automated Machine Learning

(1) Background: This work investigates whether and how researcher-physicians can be supported in their knowledge discovery process by employing Automated Machine Learning (AutoML). (2) Methods: We take a design science research approach and select the Tree-based Pipeline Optimization Tool (TPOT) as the AutoML method based on a benchmark test and requirements from researcher-physicians. We then integrate TPOT into two artefacts: a web application and a notebook. We evaluate these artefacts with researcher-physicians to examine which approach suits researcher-physicians best. Both artefacts have a similar workflow, but different user interfaces because of a conflict in requirements. (3) Results: Artefact A, a web application, was perceived as better for uploading a dataset and comparing results. Artefact B, a Jupyter notebook, was perceived as better regarding the workflow and being in control of model construction. (4) Conclusions: Thus, a hybrid artefact would be best for researcher-physicians. However, both artefacts missed model explainability and an explanation of variable importance for their created models. Hence, deployment of AutoML technologies in healthcare remains currently limited to the exploratory data analysis phase.

Stakeholder opinion of care pathways to increase physical activity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: In our prior research in Saudi Arabia, we have found that individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) and healthy controls were physically inactive with high body composition. This finding was not expected since there are recommendations on physical activity levels for adults. However, the utilisation of such recommendation and organisation of care by the healthcare providers in this setting, as well as the attitude and awareness of members of society to physical activity has not been addressed yet. Therefore, this study aimed to explore: 1. Stakeholder perspectives on the opportunities and barriers to physical activity in Saudi Arabia for individuals with knee osteoarthritis.2. Stakeholder perspectives on healthcare delivery for individuals with knee osteoarthritis in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A qualitative design using semi-structured telephone interviews. Recruitment of a purposive sample was carried out by social media posts and advertisements at local hospitals in the three main regions in Saudi Arabia (Western, Central and Eastern). The interview schedule was guided by the literature around knee OA management and healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, physical activity studies and the findings of a prior study. Interviews were digital audio recorded and were transcribed verbatim and translated from Arabic to English. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. After familiarisation with data, two researchers coded 40% of the interviews independently and agreed on the coding in discussion with a 3rd reviewer. All of the manuscripts were coded by the lead researcher. Codes were grouped into categories and themes inductively by the lead applicant and discussed and agreed upon with the rest of the team. Data were managed using NVIVO software. Ethical approval was obtained from the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University. Results: 26 interviews were carried out with stakeholders; 6 physiotherapists, five physicians, eight people with knee OA, five healthy members of the society without knee pain, one personal trainer and one teacher. Data analysis revealed four themes, which are displayed in Figure 1. Theme 1) Organisation of care for individuals with knee OA. This theme detailes the perspective of people with knee OA and stakeholders on the journey within the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia for the management of knee OA, from the time of the first contact with a healthcare professional to discharge. Key findings from this theme are an uncoordinated multidisciplinary team or organised system for the management of knee OA. The journey pathways and treatments choices were mainly dependant on the available resources, the choices of the individual with knee OA and the decisions of their physician. Theme 2) Physiotherapy service and International guidelines practice for knee OA. This theme focuses on the different issues related to the physiotherapy service such as the number and organisation of clinics, treatments protocols and adherence to treatment guidelines for knee osteoarthritis. Key findings are lack of physiotherapy clinics, delayed referrals, limited autonomy and limited use of treatment guidelines by physiotherapists. Theme 3) The Culture of Physical Inactivity. This explores the stakeholder perception of physical activity while identifying barriers to physical activity and suggestions to increase it. Key findings were several barriers that led to the state physical inactivity, especially with females. Theme 4) Stakeholders views of the healthcare system for individuals with knee OA. This theme describes the experience of individuals with knee OA with the healthcare service. The key findings were the limitations in healthcare service that led to the individuals with knee OA reporting a negative experience such as the delayed care and the repetition of care by physicians. Moreover, it revealed an issue of lack of awareness of the role physiotherapy in knee OA management. Conclusions: The findings provide insight into the healthcare provision from the perspective of stakeholders and individuals with knee OA. There was a consensus amongst all stakeholders that there was poor engagement with physical activity as part of the care for people with knee OA. Limitations and challenges were identified that could be addressed to improve the service and organisation of care. A coordinated approach to care amongst members of the multi-disciplinary team is required, with all members recognising the role that the different professions have to play. Better links with facilities within the community that can support the individuals to become more physically active and the need to promote physical activity in children's education are recommended.

Focusing Provider Attention: An Empirical Examination of Incentives and Feedback in Flu Vaccinations

Background: Interest in a vaccine for the novel coronavirus soared over the course of 2020, but how will the public respond when a vaccine becomes available? Consider that between 2010 and 2019 the adult flu vaccination rate fluctuated between 37% and 46% despite calls to vaccinate everyone. This led to estimated, average annual societal costs for influenza in the US of $10.4 billion in direct medical costs and $16.3 billion in lost earnings. Aim: In this paper, we explore how to improve clinic vaccination rates by altering provider behavior.Methodology: We study a randomized flu vaccine intervention among 145 independent clinics, where a provider-centric approach leads to an increase in flu shots. Results: Our study led to a 12% increase in flu shots for a group of clinics receiving relative performance feedback. Surprisingly, we find clinics in this group outperformed all others, including financially incented clinics. Moreover, we also find clinics in this group exhibit rank response behavior, specifically Last-Place Aversion; in particular, clinics near Last-Place outperform the corresponding control clinics by 23 percentage points. Conclusion: Overall, we find that clinic-level performance feedback can be an effective driver of operational change, and we discuss the implications of our work for healthcare operations theory, healthcare providers, and healthcare administrators.

Governing the futures of non-invasive prenatal testing: An exploration of social acceptability using the Delphi method

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) offers numerous benefits to pregnant women and their families. It also raises ethical, legal and social concerns regarding, for instance, the possible effects of a routinization of prenatal genetic testing on free and informed decision-making by prospective parents, and the role of the state in governing its use. Technological advances are allowing cfDNA analyses to detect an increasing number of genetic risks and conditions in the fetus, potentially further exacerbating such concerns. From May 2015 to December 2016, we conducted a three-round Policy Delphi study (NR1 = 61, NR2 = 58, NR3 = 47; overall retention rate = 77.0%) to explore the social acceptability (SA) of current and potential future uses of NIPT in Canada according to participants with relevant professional, research or advocacy expertise. Participants came from four groups: healthcare professionals (NR3 = 14), social sciences and humanities researchers (NR3 = 13), patients/disability rights advocates (NR3 = 14), and cultural/religious communities advocates (NR3 = 6). This paper presents SA criteria and contextual contingencies relevant to the assessment of NIPT's SA according to the group. It also reports what uses (conditions or motives) participants thought should be banned, permitted, publicly funded, or promoted as a public health strategy. According to them, conditions resulting in severe pain or early death, as well as trisomies (13, 18, 21) and sex chromosome abnormalities, should be covered by Canadian public health insurance. However, there was wide agreement that direct-to-consumer NIPT should be legally banned, and that testing for fetal sex for non-medical reasons using NIPT should be either proscribed or discouraged. In addition to identifying areas of consensus, our results point to disagreement regarding, for instance, the required level of governance of whole-genome sequencing and testing for late onset conditions with low penetrance. This study also provides a model for exploring the SA of emerging technologies using the Policy Delphi method.

Effect of blood-flow restricted vs heavy-load strength training on muscle strength: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Heavy-load strength training (HLT) is generally considered the Gold Standard exercise modality for inducing gains in skeletal muscle strength. However, use of heavy external exercise loads may be contraindicative in frail individuals. Low-load resistance exercise combined with partial blood-flow restriction (LL-BFR exercise) may offer an effective alternative for increasing mechanical muscle strength and size. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of LL-BFR training to HLT on maximal muscle strength gains. Prospero registration-id (CRD42014013382). A systematic search in six healthcare science databases and reference lists was conducted. Data selected for primary analysis consisted of post-intervention changes in maximal muscle strength. A random-effects meta-analysis with standardized mean differences (SMD) was used. Of 1413 papers identified through systematic search routines, sixteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria, totalling 153 participants completing HLT and 157 completing LL-BFR training. The magnitude of training-induced gains in maximal muscle strength did not differ between LL-BFR training and HLT (SMD of -0.17 (95% CI: -0.40; 0.05)). Low between-study heterogeneity was noted (I2 =0.0%, Chi2 P=9.65). Low-load blood-flow-restricted training appears equally effective of producing gains in maximal voluntary muscle strength compared to HLT in 20- to 80-year-old healthy and habitually active adults.

Scientific Prospects for Cannabis-Microbiome Research to Ensure Quality and Safety of Products.

Cannabis legalization has occurred in several countries worldwide. Along with steadily growing research in Cannabis healthcare science, there is an increasing interest for scientific-based knowledge in plant microbiology and food science, with work connecting the plant microbiome and plant health to product quality across the value chain of cannabis. This review paper provides an overview of the state of knowledge and challenges in Cannabis science, and thereby identifies critical risk management and safety issues in order to capitalize on innovations while ensuring product quality control. It highlights scientific gap areas to steer future research, with an emphasis on plant-microbiome sciences committed to using cutting-edge technologies for more efficient Cannabis production and high-quality products intended for recreational, pharmaceutical, and medicinal use.

A City College’s GED Students—Factors and Unanswered Questions

The goal of this study is to have a better understanding of today’s general education development (GED) students so proper services and support can be provided to meet their needs. Through students enrolled in GED programs in a health science career pathway–focused city college, the study learned the students’ employment status, career intention, and sources of finding the GED programs. It tracked academic year gaps between the students’ very first and current GED enrollment in the city college and found a mild correlation between student age and year gap. It also identified GED students’ unbalanced learning skills in math and reading.

A survey of big data and machine learning

This paper presents a detailed analysis of big data and machine learning (ML) in the electrical power and energy sector. Big data analytics for smart energy operations, applications, impact, measurement and control, and challenges are presented in this paper. Big data and machine learning approaches need to be applied after analyzing the power system problem carefully. Determining the match between the strengths of big data and machine learning for solving the power system problem is of utmost important. They can be of great help to plan and operate the traditional grid/smart grid (SG). The basics of big data and machine learning are described in detailed manner along with their applications in various fields such as electrical power and energy, health care and life sciences, government, telecommunications, web and digital media, retailers, finance, e-commerce and customer service, etc. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of big data and machine learning are presented in this paper.

First-generation students in rural communities: A study of effective programming components that support closing the excellence gap

ABSTRACT Large numbers of young people from underserved populations, including first-generation, low-income, and rural, are clearly capable of high levels of achievement but are failing to do so owing to lack of access and opportunities. The purpose of this study was to determine what characteristics of the Health Science Technology Academy (HSTA), a program designed to successfully mediate risk factors for high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds, were critical to student success. With a specific focus on first-generation and non-first-generation students, results of descriptive statistics, chi-square, and ANOVA indicated first-generation students had slightly higher intentions to attend college and higher initial interest in pursuing a career in health sciences, and they perceived out-of-school experiences, such as field trips, as more influential in increasing their interest in pursuing a career in health sciences than non-first-generation students. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic: a new challenge for syndromic surveillance.

The COVID-19 pandemic is exerting major pressures on society, health and social care services and science. Understanding the progression and current impact of the pandemic is fundamental to planning, management and mitigation of future impact on the population. Surveillance is the core function of any public health system, and a multi-component surveillance system for COVID-19 is essential to understand the burden across the different strata of any health system and the population. Many countries and public health bodies utilise 'syndromic surveillance' (using real-time, often non-specific symptom/preliminary diagnosis information collected during routine healthcare provision) to supplement public health surveillance programmes. The current COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a series of unprecedented challenges to syndromic surveillance including: the impact of media reporting during early stages of the pandemic; changes in healthcare-seeking behaviour resulting from government guidance on social distancing and accessing healthcare services; and changes in clinical coding and patient management systems. These have impacted on the presentation of syndromic outputs, with changes in denominators creating challenges for the interpretation of surveillance data. Monitoring changes in healthcare utilisation is key to interpreting COVID-19 surveillance data, which can then be used to better understand the impact of the pandemic on the population. Syndromic surveillance systems have had to adapt to encompass these changes, whilst also innovating by taking opportunities to work with data providers to establish new data feeds and develop new COVID-19 indicators. These developments are supporting the current public health response to COVID-19, and will also be instrumental in the continued and future fight against the disease.

IAEA Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory: Support to IAEA Member States and Recent Developments

As part of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Physics Section, the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory (NSIL) helps Member States (MSs) to establish, operate and maintain various nuclear instrumentation and spectrometry techniques in support of a wide range of applications such as health care, food, agriculture, environment, forensics, cultural heritage, and materials science. NSIL is contributing to capacity building, transfer of knowledge and expertise sharing, including the development of instruments and validation of analytical methodologies. This paper describes NSIL's key activities and provides an overview of the recent developments and achievements, including the commissioning and utilization of an end-station at one of the beam lines in Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (EST, Italy), the upgrade of an ultralight radiation monitoring system onboarded on a drone, as well as the development of a full field X-ray fluorescence analytical system for forensic applications and characterization of valuable art/archaeological objects.

The Hidden Curriculum of Utilisation of Imaging and Unregulated Digital Resources within Clinical Education.

Clinical education has changed dramatically over the last 30years. The increasing use of imaging and visualisation technologies within medical, dental and other healthcare sciences education curricula is taken for granted, with little consideration given to the agenda behind the colonisation of the basic sciences curricula with these technologies or their ultimate utility with regards to patient care. Sufficient critique is rarely given prior to the incorporation of imaging modalities into teaching and learning, and the hidden curriculum remains deeply buried under the impetus to 'move with the times'. Coupled with increasingly easily accessible but unregulated streamed digital teaching resources widely utilised in healthcare professions' curricula, there remains a danger that future generations of clinicians may be exposed to erroneous information that could ultimately impact on the safety of their patients. Educators must develop a reflective approach, and together with institutions develop a collective responsibility to integrate and map evidence-based and clinically-relevant approaches within the respective curricula, rather than bombard undergraduates with the latest technology and never-ending (and sometimes unreliable and unregulated) information without awareness of the potential dangers lurking within their preferred teaching methods and ideologies. Healthcare professionals must subject teaching resources utilised within their curricula to the same scrutiny that textbooks undergo, with content accuracy and endorsement via reputable sources, preferably peer reviewed and traceable, taking precedence.

An exploration of final year physiotherapy students’ experiences of early mobilisation and rehabilitation for critically ill patients during practice education

Background Rates of mortality following critical illness are continually improving. With this comes an increasing need to focus on these patients outcomes following dis- charge from the intensive care unit (ICU). Historically, bed rest was prescribed for these patients. However, in recent years research recognised the adverse effects of prolonged immobility on multiple body systems, particularly its potential impact upon longer- term quality of life. In 2009, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recognised the potential clinical and economical gains associated with early physical rehabilitation. Evidence-based guidelines have been published to recommend rehabilitation starts as early as clinically possible. However, currently there is significant variation in the provision of rehabilitation across ICU sites. Opportunities are available for Cardiff University BSc Physiotherapy students to undertake clinical placement within the ICU setting, presenting a unique opportunity to explore the experiences of those students during the rehabilitation of critically ill patients, across multiple Welsh ICU sites. Additionally, this data can be utilised to assess current rehabilitation practice across ICU sites and inform the ongoing development of the undergraduate respiratory curriculum. Research question What are final year physiotherapy students’ experiences of early mobilisation and rehabilitation for critically ill patients during practice education? Methodology Qualitative, interpretive methodology was used to collect data via two focus groups with a total of seven Cardiff University final year physiotherapy students. Ethical approval was granted in July 2017 by the Cardiff University School of Healthcare Sciences Ethics Committee. Thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the data devising themes and sub themes ready for discussion. Results Four main themes were identified (1) Role of the physiotherapist in ICU, (2) Teamwork, (3) Barriers and (4) Evidence-based practice. Conclusion At present there is a limited literature base supporting early mobilisation and rehabilitation within ICU. As such this novel research fills a gap in the literature base by exploring final year physiotherapy undergraduate experiences of working within ICU. The findings identify students feeling overwhelmed during their ICU placements and reporting an overwhelming sense of reliance on their clinical educators. Additionally, they demonstrate a lack of knowledge surrounding the available evidence-base for practice in this area. These findings can also be utilised to explore the current provision of rehabilitation across Welsh ICU sites and to inform the ongoing development of the undergraduate teaching curriculum to ensure both students feel adequately supported, and newly qualified physiotherapists are confident and competent whilst practicing within the ICU.

Knowledge, attitude, and barriers toward organ donation among healthcare science students of Jouf University, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

Knowledge, attitude, and barriers toward organ donation among healthcare science students of Jouf University, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study