COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and advances in the Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Science, and Occupational Therapy undergraduate programs in Brazil

Telehealth in paediatric physical therapy education: Strategies and perceptions of interns and caregivers of children with disabilities in Brazil

AIMS

To describe the implementation of paediatric rehabilitation telehealth at a physical therapy (PT) unit in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic and to describe the perception about this modality by two groups: (1) undergraduate PT students using telehealth during their clinical rotations in this unit and (2) the caregivers of children with disabilities receiving the services.

METHODS

Twenty-one PT interns (19 females; 25 ± 2 years of age) and seven caregivers (seven females; 40 ± 6 years of age) of seven children with disabilities (five females; 10 ± 4 years of age; five children diagnosed with cerebral palsy) responded to an online questionnaire about their experience with the telehealth programme. Participant attendance and frequency of objective responses were reported descriptively; open-ended responses were analysed qualitatively and grouped according to broad themes.

RESULTS

71.4% of interns rated telehealth as an excellent or good experience, and 28.6% did not appreciate it. In addition, 28.6% of them thought that telehealth should be part of the mandatory internship. Regarding caregivers, 85.8% judged the telehealth programme as excellent or good. Both interns and caregivers cited pros and cons related to technology, professional resources, communication skills and caregiver-related aspects, among others.

CONCLUSIONS

Specific teaching strategies had to be utilised for implementation of telehealth. Despite being a novel modality for interns and caregivers, telehealth was well accepted.

Learning challenges in Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, and Occupational Therapy undergraduate programs during the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

COVID-19 posed numerous challenges to educational programs that had to quickly adapt to remote online learning (ROL) to ensure the continuity of health professional training over the pandemic. We aimed to assess the students' and professors' perceptions of the teaching-learning process in the Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, and Occupational Therapy undergraduate programs at a Brazilian public university.

METHODS

We used an electronic self-reported questionnaire with multiple-choice questions on a Likert scale ranged 1-5; higher the score, higher the level of agreement/importance/satisfaction.

RESULTS

Most of undergraduate students and teachers had previous experience using information and communication technologies, and 85% stated their preference for in-person learning. Students expressed their appreciation for more active learning methodologies with clear objectives, accessible content, and visualization of abstract concepts. Regarding benefits and barriers, some similar perceptions were observed between students and teachers with ROL favoring time management, benefits in the teaching-learning process, satisfaction and motivation with the course content, and low attendance rates to general academic activities due to absent or poor access to technological resources.

CONCLUSION

ROL is an alternative learning mode when the in-person classes cannot be carried out, as in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. ROL is believed to be unfit to replace in-person learning, although it can complement the traditional classroom-based education in a hybrid model, respecting the nature of each program in the field of health that requires in-person practical training.

Remote, asynchronous training and feedback enables development of neurodynamic skills in physiotherapy students

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face teaching and learning of physiotherapy practical skills was limited. Asynchronous, remote training has been effective in development of clinical skills in some health professions. This study aimed to determine the effect of remote, asynchronous training and feedback on development of neurodynamic skills in physiotherapy students.

METHODS

Longitudinal repeated measurements study, across four training sessions. Participants engaged in a remote training program for development of upper limb neurodynamic techniques. In this sequential training, participants viewed the online tutorial, practiced independently, and uploaded a video of their performance for formative assessment and feedback from a trained instructor via a checklist and rubric.

RESULTS

Intra-subject analyses of 60 third-year physiotherapy students showed that the target standard of performance, with no further significant change in scores, was attained following session 2 for the checklist and session 3 for the rubric. This shows that two sessions are required to learn the procedures, and three sessions yield further improvements in performance quality.

CONCLUSION

The remote, asynchronous training and feedback model proved to be an effective strategy for students' development of neurodynamic testing skills and forms a viable alternative to in-person training. This study contributes to the future of acquiring physiotherapy clinical competencies when distance or hybrid practice is required.

Investigation of the factors affecting the e-learning process in occupational therapy education during the pandemic with principal component analysis

Introduction

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting the e-learning process in occupational therapy education in the COVID-19 period.

Method

In the study, a form containing personal information and questions about the e-learning process, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were applied to 253 occupational therapy students via the Google form. Principal component analysis was used to evaluate the data.

Results

A large number of questionnaires were applied in the study, and principal component analysis, an advanced statistical method that enables the interpretation of this type of big data more effectively, was used. 13 components were determined, and a variance of 88% was explained. The main components were listed as students' self-perception about the education system, learning methods, home and university environment, information technologies, physical activity level, and academic performance/participation.

Conclusion

We hope that the results of our study will provide a perspective on what innovations can be made for quality improvement in occupational therapy education. It would be beneficial to increase student feedback by applying similar studies in other education programs.