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BackgroundInternationally, health care services are under increasing pressure to provide high quality, accessible, timely interventions to an ever increasing aging population, with finite resources. Extended scope roles for allied health professionals is one strategy that could be undertaken by health care services to meet this demand. This review builds upon an earlier paper published in 2006 on the evidence relating to the impact extended scope roles have on health care services.MethodsA systematic review of the literature focused on extended scope roles in three allied health professional groups, ie, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathology, was conducted. The search strategy mirrored an earlier systematic review methodology and was designed to include articles from 2005 onwards. All peer-reviewed published papers with evidence relating to effects on patients, other professionals, or the health service were included. All papers were critically appraised prior to data extraction.ResultsA total of 1,000 articles were identified by the search strategy; 254 articles were screened for relevance and 21 progressed to data extraction for inclusion in the systematic review.ConclusionLiterature supporting extended scope roles exists; however, despite the earlier review calling for more robust evaluations regarding the impact on patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness, training requirements, niche identification, or sustainability, there appears to be limited research reported on the topic in the last 7 years. The evidence available suggests that extended scope practice allied health practitioners could be a cost-effective and consumer-accepted investment that health services can make to improve patient outcomes.

Knowledge and attitude predict breastfeeding initiation in this population. Social network members may influence mothers' feeding choices. This research is important because attitudes and knowledge derived from the IIFAS can be used to develop and evaluate breastfeeding promotion programs.

Studying at university can be a very stressful experience. Although the literature provides some information regarding different sources of stress among students, studies have not addressed the issue of changes over the course progression. This study aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of the sources of stress for first-year students and whether these stressors are more prevalent at different times during the semester. A mixed-method approach was used. Content analysis was undertaken on longitudinal electronic message data, and thematic analysis was used for focus group data. Results indicated an increasing trend of stress over the semester. The major stressors identified were academic, financial/work, personal, family-related, interpersonal, social support, university/life balance and starting university. A number of stressors were found to be more prevalent at different times during the semester, including some academic-related stressors plus starting university, family-related and financial/work-related stressors. This is one of the few studies to examine the influence of timing of the levels of stress. Importantly, this study suggests that the start and end of the first semester constitute the riskiest periods for negative stress-related consequences. These results could be used to assist universities in developing student support programmes.

Notwithstanding the reported awareness and use of psychological interventions in physiotherapy practice, barriers to implementation exist indicating that further research is necessary to address how to effectively equip physiotherapists, to employ such techniques within their scope of practice. Implications for rehabilitation Physiotherapists use and have positive attitudes and beliefs towards a variety of psychological interventions including goal setting, positive, and motivational talk, cognitive behavioral therapy strategies and offering social support. Barriers preventing the incorporation of psychological interventions in practice include, lack of knowledge, time constraints, and role clarity. Despite the use of such interventions, physiotherapists identify the need for further training, to be better equipped to confidently utilize these in practice. These results justify the incorporation of training in psychological interventions in physiotherapist qualifying studies, but also as continued professional development opportunities for physiotherapists currently working in the field.