No abstract

Turning difficulties are common in patients with stroke. The detrimental effects of dual tasks on turning indicate a correlation between turning and cognition. Cognitive impairment is prevalent after stroke, and stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment had a poorer turning performance than did stroke patients with intact cognitive abilities. Therefore, we investigated the association between turning mobility and cognitive function in patients with chronic poststroke. Ninety patients with chronic stroke (>6 months post-stroke) were recruited. Angular velocity was assessed using wearable sensors during 180° walking turns and 360° turning on the spot from both sides. Global cognition and distinct cognitive domains were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. In patients with stroke, turning mobility was significantly associated with global cognitive function and distinct cognitive domains, such as visuospatial ability and language. The balance function and lower limbs strength were mediators of the association between cognition and turning. The association highlights the complexity of the turning movement and dynamic motor and cognitive coordination necessary to safely complete a turn. However, our findings should be regarded as preliminary, and a thorough neuropsychological assessment to provide a valid description of distinct cognitive domains is required.

Background The proportion of older adults and individuals with disabilities in the general population increases each year. Thus, clinical clerkships designed for physiotherapy interns should provide more than simply knowledge and skills. For such interns to be able to handle the requirements of their future jobs, clerkships must enable them to develop empathy and positive attitudes toward patients. This study investigated the effect of simulation-based, holistic health-care education on physiotherapy interns’ empathy, attitudes, and knowledge.  Methods A parallel-group design. Thirty physiotherapy interns from a medical institution were enrolled as participants, with experimental and control groups each comprising 15 participants. Both groups received standard clinical training. However, the experimental group received an additional 3.5 h of simulation-based holistic health-care education. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Kogan’s Attitudes Toward Old People Scale, the Attitudes Towards the Elderly Scale, the Knowledge About Aging Scale, Knowledge of the Situation of Older People Scale, Perceptions of Working with Older People Scale, and Care Willingness Scale were used in a pretest and posttest. Results After the intervention period, we observed substantial between-group differences of 6.4 points on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (p = 0.001), 7.7 points on Kogan’s Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (p = 0.002), 3.5 points on the Attitudes Toward the Elderly Scale (p = 0.002), 2.5 points on Knowledge About Aging (p = 0.055), 4.5 points on the Knowledge of the Situation of Older People Scale (p < 0.001), and 2.1 points on Perceptions of Working with Older People Scale (p = 0.046). Conclusion Simulation-based, holistic health-care education can significantly improve the empathy, knowledge, and attitudes of physiotherapy interns.