Gender Differences in Psychological Stress Factors of Physical Therapy Degree Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

(1) Background: The aim of the study was to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the mental health and quality of life of male and female physical therapy students at the European University of Madrid. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted including a range of tests capturing different domains: 36-item Short Form Health Survey, six-item state version of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Three Items Loneliness Scale, four-item version of the Perceived Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory revised version, and Sleep Quality Numeric Rating Scale. (3) Results: A total of 151 students completed the study, consisting of 78 females and 73 males. Gender differences were observed on most of the domains evaluated. Female participants showed worse levels of general health perception, quality of life, depression symptoms, anxiety, stress, experiential avoidance and psychological inflexibility, sleep quality and loneliness compared to male physical therapy students. (4) Conclusions: The results of this study support the need of psychological interventions as preventive programs in situations such as COVID-19 pandemic. The aims of this study comprise of improving knowledge, awareness, and self-coping strategies or other psychological domains oriented to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on mental health and health-related quality of life in university students, especially among female ones.

Learning Preferences among Medical and Physical Therapy Students: A Systematic Review

Learning style is known as affective, cognitive, physiological, or combined characteristics which indicate the ways through which students interact, respond and understand the learning environment. A systematic review was conducted with relevant literature from 2012 to 2021 by hand searching and from electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, ProQuest, and Eric) with proper search strategy as Boolean operator. They were searched using the keywords ‘allied health students’ ‘learning style’, ‘medical students’, ‘MBBS students’ and ‘physical therapy students OR physiotherapists’. Out of 1027 studies, only 16 potentially relevant articles were included in this review. This study reflected undergraduate physical therapy and MBBS students from various countries and their most preferred learning style is kinaesthetic and activist which states learning is based on experiments, hands-on practice, audio-visual lectures, teaching sessions in a new environment allowing students to analyze and synthesize theories. However, students require adaptable, educative, and assessment strategies as they have different learning styles.

Experience of Physical Therapy Students Mentoring Older Adults with Health Literacy Tools

Health literacy is a top priority for Healthy People 2030. Healthy People 2030 defines personal health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” The purpose is to understand the experience of physical therapy students using health literacy tools with older adults to promote the adoption of health literacy tools in healthcare encounters. This project analyzes the reflection responses from students using qualitative methods. The qualitative methods included student reflection papers, word clouds, and focus groups. Twelve students participated in focus groups/ reflections. Thirty-seven students participated in word clouds. Health literacy tools included plain language, teaching teach back and “Ask me 3”®. Students were taught by student leaders and faculty about the meaning of health literacy and oral communication tools. Pairs of students provided health education with health literacy tools to older adults. Students then participated in a small group reflection to create word clouds. Students answered questions and provided five words that best answer each question. Students believed the benefits of health literacy tools for older adults includes better learning, participation and engagement. Reasons to use health literacy in the future were improved older adult independence, education and adherence. Students completed reflections and interviews at the end of the year to detail their experience with the health literacy tools. The pedagogical approach highlighted the value of experiential learning for the students while mentoring older adults.

Association of body mass index, cardiorespiratory fitness, and theirs correlates among female physical therapy students in Multan

Objective: To explore the correlates directly associated with body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness among undergraduate female physiotherapists. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2020 at Ali-Ul-Murtaza Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences, Multan, Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate female physiotherapists aged17-25 years. The subjects were assessed on the basis of Physical Activity Readiness Questioner, body mass index and standard criteria of cardiorespiratory fitness. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. ------ Continue

Design and implementation of a digital textbook about physical agents as a learning resource in the training process of Chilean physical therapy students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on education, forcing the implementation of distance learning methodologies using information and communication technologies (ICT). The digital textbook is a didactic resource used to guide the training process of students; besides, its interactivity allows systematic work, favoring metacognition and the construction of self-learning. The aim of this paper is to describe, through a descriptive cross-sectional design, the design, review, digitalization and implementation phases of a digital textbook about physical agents as a learning resource to support distance education in the training process of physical therapy students enrolled in the physical agents course offered by Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile, in the context of the human mobility restriction measures implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The textbook consists of thirteen thematic sections and once it was reviewed and validated by peers and by the editorial committee of the university it was digitalized and indexed into the digital resource database of the university, where it was made available to the entire cohort of students enrolled in the physical agents course during the first semester of 2020 (n=115).The digital textbook was successfully implemented as a didactic resource to guide the autonomous and distance learning of students during the time human mobility restriction measures were established in Chile due to the pandemic. Future studies should focus on reporting the students’ satisfaction and perception of this tool and its effect on learning outcomes in order to obtain effective feedback.