Following transient ischemic attack/stroke, people may derive a range of benefits from mindfulness-based interventions; however, further methodologically robust trials are required.

Purpose: To describe international clinical internships (ICIs) for Canadian physical therapy (PT) students, explore the experiences of individuals involved in ICIs, and develop recommendations for future ICIs based on these findings. Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods approach. An online questionnaire surveyed academic coordinators of clinical education (ACCEs, n ¼ 14) on the availability, destinations, and number of ICIs from 1997 to 2007. Semi-structured telephone interviews were then conducted with eight PT students, seven ACCEs, and three supervising clinicians to investigate their ICI experiences. Interview transcripts were coded descriptively and thematically using NVivo. Results: ICIs are currently available at 12 of 14 Canadian PT schools. A total of 313 students participated in ICIs in 51 different destination countries from 1997 to 2007. Over this period, increasing numbers of students participated in ICIs and developing countries represented an increasing proportion of ICI destinations. Key themes identified in the interviews were opportunities, challenges, and facilitating factors. Conclusions: ICIs present unique opportunities for Canadian PT students. Recommendations to enhance the quality of future ICIs are (1) clearly defined objectives for ICIs, (2) additional follow-up post-ICI, and (3) improved record keeping and sharing of information on ICI destination countries and host sites. RÉ SUMÉObjectif : Dé crire les stages cliniques internationaux pour les é tudiants en physiothé rapie canadiens, explorer les expé riences vé cues par les personnes qui ont participé à de tels stages et formuler des recommandations pour les futurs stages internationaux à partir des constatations obtenues. Mé thode : Cette é tude a eu recours à des mé thodologies mixtes. Un questionnaire en ligne a permis d'effectuer un sondage auprè s de coordonnateurs de la formation clinique des université s (CFCUs, n ¼ 14) portant sur la disponibilité , les destinations et les quantité s de stages internationaux disponibles de 1997 à 2007. Des entrevues té lé phoniques semi-structuré es ont ensuite é té ré alisé es auprè s de 8 é tudiants en physiothé rapie, de 7 coordonnateurs de la formation clinique en milieu universitaire et de 3 cliniciens superviseurs de stage afin d'en savoir plus sur leur expé rience de tels stages. La transcription de ces entrevues a é té codé e par description et par thè me à l'aide du logiciel NVivo. Ré sultats : Des stages cliniques internationaux sont pré sentement offerts dans 12 des 14 é coles de physiothé rapie au Canada. Au total, de 1997 à 2007, 313 é tudiants ont pris part à de tels stages, qui ont eu lieu dans 51 pays. Au cours de cette pé riode, un nombre croissant d'é lè ves ont participé à des stages cliniques internationaux. Les stages dans des pays en dé veloppement forment une plus grande proportion des destinations pour ces types de stages. Les grands thè mes é voqué s dans les entrevues ont é té les possibilité s offertes par de tels stages, les dé fis et les facteurs ...

BackgroundSocial media can be particularly useful for patients or families affected by rare conditions by allowing individuals to form online communities across the world.ObjectiveOur aim in this study was to conduct a descriptive and quantitative analysis of the use of a social media community for Hirschsprung’s Disease (HD).MethodsIn July 2011, a mother of a child with HD launched the “Shit Happens” campaign. The campaign uses social media (blogs, Twitter, and Facebook) to engage other families affected by HD. Internet analytics including Google Analytics and Facebook Insights were used to evaluate the reach and responsiveness of this campaign.ResultsOn the day the HD campaign was launched, 387 people viewed the blog “Roo’s Journey”. Blog views have now exceeded 5400 views from 37 countries. The Facebook page extends to 46 countries, has an average post reach of 298 users, 1414 “likes”, and an overall reach of 131,032 users. The campaign has 135 Twitter followers and 344 tweets at the time of writing. The most common question posted on the Facebook page is related to treatment for extreme diaper rash. Responsiveness assessment demonstrated that within 2 hours of posting, a question could receive 143 views and 20 responses, increasing to 30 responses after 5 hours.ConclusionsSocial media networks are well suited to discussion, support, and advocacy for health-related conditions and can be especially important in connecting families affected by rare conditions. The HD campaign demonstrates the reach and responsiveness of a community that primarily relies on social media to connect families affected by HD. Although responsive, this community is currently lacking consistent access to evidence-based guidance for their common concerns. We will explore innovative consumer-researcher partnerships to offer a solution in future research.

The incidence of basic concepts in early childhood educational standards is explored across all 50 US states. Concept inclusion in state standards is described in terms of the representation of the universe of basic concepts, representation of concept categories, the depth and breadth of individual concept inclusion, and unique examples. Developmental basic concept acquisition and instructional sequence is illustrated for each of eleven conceptual categories to highlight the systematic nature in which concept instruction should proceed. A state by state examination of the extent to which more than 300 basic language concepts are embedded in early childhood state standards is made, with examples from a variety of states cited for each category. Conclusions are made about the need for comprehensive and systematic inclusion of the universe of basic concepts in early childhood education to ensure that all children have the basic descriptive language needed to describe the world around them and comprehend and discuss subject matter in all content areas.