To identify parental perspectives regarding weight-management strategies for school-age children, focus groups were conducted of parents of overweight and obese (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) 6–12 year-old children recruited from primary-care clinics. Questions focused on the role of the primary-care provider, effective components of weight-management strategies, and feasibility of specific dietary strategies. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using margin-coding and grounded theory. Six focus groups were held. The mean age (in years) for parents was 32, and for children, eight; 44% of participants were Latino, 33%, African-American, and 23%, white. Parents’ recommendations on the primary-care provider’s role in weight management included monitoring weight, providing guidance regarding health risks and lifestyle changes, consistent follow-up, and using discretion during weight discussions. Weight-management components identified as key included emphasizing healthy lifestyles and enjoyment, small changes to routines, and parental role-modeling. Parents prefer guidance regarding healthy dietary practices rather than specific weight-loss diets, but identified principles that could enhance the acceptability of these diets. For dietary guidance to be feasible, parents recommended easy-to-follow instructions and emphasizing servings over counting calories. Effective weight-management strategies identified by parents include primary-care provider engagement in weight management, simple instructions regarding healthy lifestyle changes, parental involvement, and deemphasizing specific weight-loss diets. These findings may prove useful in developing primary-care weight-management strategies for children that maximize parental acceptance.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process analysis can be used to increase completeness of discharge summary reports used as a critical communication tool when a patient transitions between levels of care. The authors used the LSS methodology as an intervention to improve systems process. Over the course of the project, 8 required elements were analyzed in the discharge paperwork. The authors analyzed the discharge paperwork of patients (42 patients preintervention and 143 patients postintervention) of a comprehensive integrated inpatient rehabilitation program (CIIRP). Prior to this LSS project, 61.8% of required discharge elements were present. The intervention improved the completeness to 94.2% of the required elements. The percentage of charts that were 100% complete increased from 11.9% to 67.8%. LSS is a well-established process improvement methodology that can be used to make significant improvements in complex health care workflow issues. Specifically, the completeness of discharge documentation required for transition of care to CIIRP can be improved.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to find the immediate as well as short-term effect on pelvic alignment and forward arm reach distance in sitting among stroke patients following thoracic spine and abdominal muscles taping along with conventional therapy. Methods: Thirty subjects with stroke attending the physiotherapy programme at Department of Physiotherapy at a tertiary care hospital underwent this randomized controlled experimental study. Subjects in the experimental group received taping, along with conventional physiotherapy treatment, for restricting thoracic kyphosis and facilitating abdominal muscles. Subjects in the control group received only conventional physiotherapy treatment. To assess the change in pelvic alignment and forward arm reach distance while sitting, Palpation MeterTM (PALMTM) and sit and reach test were used, respectively. Results: In the experimental group, pelvic obliquity was corrected (4.1 ± 0.94) and anterior pelvic tilt revealed improvement (4.9 ± 2.1, p value < 0.001). In the control group, no improvement in pelvic alignment was recorded. Improvement in forward arm reach distance was similar in both groups ( p value = 0.804). Conclusion: Taping as an adjunctive treatment method to physiotherapy can cause immediate as well as short-term improvement of pelvic alignment in sitting, following stroke. It also, immediately improves the sit and reach distance in the same population.