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Purpose

Understanding patients' opinions and beliefs regarding how to support an active life and decrease sedentary behavior (SB) during treatment is necessary to inform effective interventions for reduced SB. Therefore, the purpose was to explore the opinions and beliefs of patients receiving neo- or adjuvant cancer treatment on how to support the decrease in SB and how to replace sedentary time.

Methods

A purposive sample of patients receiving neo- or adjuvant cancer treatment for breast (n = 10), prostate (n = 5), or colorectal cancer (n = 7) partook in five focus group interviews. Transcripts from the interviews were analyzed with a thematic analysis.

Results

Three themes were identified in the analysis: participants describe that the decrease of SB and replacing time in sedentary behavior can be supported by Healthcare and employer engagement, Socialization, and lastly by Self-help. For instance, early information and encouragement from healthcare personnel, adaptations at work, support from relatives and peers, as well as finding routines and setting goals were considered important for reducing SB. Focusing on daily activities and joyful activities were examples of ways to replace sedentary time.

Conclusions

Interventions for reducing SB may benefit from addressing several aspects from the patient's life and focusing on replacing SB with daily activities and not only on health-enhancing physical activity. Healthcare staff should provide early information and continuous encouragement for patients about reducing sedentary behavior during oncological treatment. Collaboration with patients to identify and implement practical strategies such as support from family and friends, workplace adaptations, and goal setting may be helpful.

Background: Having a great amount of sedentary time is common among older adults and increases with age. There is a strong need for tools to reduce sedentary time and promote adherence to reduced sedentary time, for which eHealth interventions have the potential to be useful. Interventions for reducing sedentary time in older adults have been found to be more effective when elements of self-management are included. When creating new eHealth interventions, accessibility and effectiveness can be increased by including end users as co-designers in the development process.

Objective: The aim was to explore the desired features of an eHealth intervention including self-management for reducing sedentary time and promoting adherence to reduced sedentary time in older adults transitioning from working life to retirement. Further, the aim was to develop a digital prototype of such an eHealth intervention.

Methods: The study used the participatory design approach to include end users, researchers, and a web designer as equal partners. Three workshops were conducted with 6 older adults transitioning to retirement, 2 researchers, and 1 web designer. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data from the workshops.

Results: Participants expressed a desire for an easy-to-use eHealth intervention, which could be accessed from mobile phones, tablets, and computers, and could be individualized to the user. The most important features for reducing sedentary time were those involving finding joyful activities, setting goals, and getting information regarding reduced sedentary time. Participants expressed that the eHealth intervention would need to first provide the user with knowledge regarding sedentary time, then offer features for measuring sedentary time and for setting goals, and lastly provide support in finding joyful activities to perform in order to avoid being sedentary. According to the participants, an eHealth intervention including self-management for reducing sedentary time in older adults in the transition to retirement should be concise, accessible, and enjoyable. A digital prototype of such an eHealth intervention was developed.

Conclusions: The developed eHealth intervention including self-management for reducing sedentary time in older adults transitioning to retirement is intended to facilitate behavior change by encouraging the user to participate in autonomously motivated activities. It uses several behavior change techniques, such as goal setting and action planning through mental contrasting and implementation intention, as well as shaping knowledge. Its active components for reducing sedentary time can be explained using the integrated behavior change model. Further research is needed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the eHealth intervention.

This study aimed to explore the challenges that patients faced when severely ill with COVID-19 and during their rehabilitation journeys following the first wave in Sweden. Eight patients that were treated in an intensive care unit were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Three themes were generated through thematic analysis: “transition into illness” (with subthemes: underestimated severity, uncertainty and worry); “to be cared for in a hospital setting” (with subthemes: loss of responsibility, loss of memory and time, contradictory feelings of being hospitalized, physical impact as frustrating); and “after care: managing on your own” (with subthemes: appreciation for care, care gaps and insufficient care, compromised ability, mental health, and self-efficacy for self-managed rehabilitation and post-traumatic growth). The findings indicated that the Swedish open strategy may be beneficial in other countries as it facilitated post-traumatic growth and that there should be a structured rehabilitation strategy in place in case of future pandemics.

Background: Sedentary behavior is highly prevalent in older adults transitioning to retirement. Sedentary time is all of the time spent in sedentary behavior, and prolonged sedentary time is associated with an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions among older adults transitioning from working life to retirement regarding selfmanagement strategies for reducing sedentary time and adhering to the reduced sedentary time. Methods: Twenty-eight older adults, age 60-75 years, participated in one of four focus group interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis resulted in the theme " It has to be my way," and the three categories " Activities scattered with joyfulness," " Support for changes in everyday life," and " Health affects willingness and ability, and is affected by adherence." Conclusions: Interpreted from the perspective of self-determination theory, self-management strategies for reducing sedentary time should be adaptable as every individual is unique, indicating a need for autonomy. Sedentary time was said to be reduced by activities that evoked joyfulness, and joyfulness was considered to increase adherence. Support for changes to one's everyday life was considered necessary. The support that was mentioned primarily involved targeting cognitive determinants such as self-efficacy and attitudes. This new knowledge can be included when designing self-management interventions; however, more research is needed in order to evaluate whether self-management strategies targeting autonomous motivation and affective determinants, such as affective judgment and cognitive determinants, can reduce sedentary time in those who are in the transition to retirement.

Introduction

Musculoskeletal conditions are a significant global health problem. The demand for specialized and individualized care is increasing. This necessitates that physiotherapy (PT) education better equips students with clinical skills needed for clinical practice, during education and in future professional work.

Objective

To explore stakeholders’ perceptions of PT students’ clinical skills training needs within the musculoskeletal area in undergraduate PT education.

Methods

Semistructured focus groups and interviews were conducted with stakeholders from multiple undergraduate PT programs and clinical settings in Sweden, including PT students (n = 18), newly graduated physiotherapists (n = 3), educators (n = 5) and clinical instructors (n = 8). This study employed a qualitative design using inductive content analysis.

Results

One overarching main category, comprehensive clinical skills training in a supportive and reality-based education, and four categories emerged, each comprising 3–5 subcategories describing the stakeholders’ perceptions of PT students’ clinical skills training needs. The four categories are 1: Experiencing real or reality-based patient cases, 2: Applying knowledge and clinical skills, 3: Analyzing patient information and making clinical decisions, and 4: Having a supportive learning environment.

Conclusion

To better prepare PT students for clinical practice in the musculoskeletal area, stakeholders perceive students need comprehensive clinical skills training within a supportive and reality-based educational environment that facilitates reflective abilities. Engaging in diverse realistic patient encounters may enhance their ability to apply knowledge and skills in patient interactions, as well as strengthen their analytical and clinical decision-making abilities. Clinical reasoning and communication skills were emphasized over procedural skills.

Background: Labels for neck pain after a motor vehicle crash (MVC) influenced recovery expectations and management preferences. Research is needed to understand why these expectations and preferences varied based on the label given. Aim: To explore how people perceive different labels for neck pain after an MVC. Methods: We performed a content analysis of qualitative data from a randomised controlled study. 2229 participants with and without neck pain read a vignette describing a patient with neck pain after an MVC, using one of five labels: whiplash injury, whiplash-associated disorder, post-traumatic neck pain, neck pain, or neck strain. Participants provided free-text responses on the label's meaning, associated words/feelings, required health services/treatments, and any confusion about the label. Results: Compared to neck strain, post-traumatic neck pain, whiplash-associated disorder, and neck pain more commonly evoked negative feelings about symptom severity and prognosis (4.7 % for neck strain versus 7.2 %- 16.0 % for other labels) and psychological distress (7.3 % versus 13.0 %-30.3 %). Regarding treatment preference, neck pain most commonly promoted need for passive physical therapies (21.6 %) and imaging (9.8 %), whereas neck strain most often promoted need for exercise (11.6 %) and rarely imaging (3.4 %). Neck pain was the most confusing label (39.9 %), while whiplash injury was the least (14.8 %), with confusion arising from vagueness or a mismatch with diagnostic expectations. Conclusion: The meanings, feelings and confusions evoked by neck pain labels after an MVC may explain their impact on recovery expectations and management preferences. Clinicians may consider avoid labels associated with negative feelings and lower preferences for guideline-recommended treatments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused radical changes in education, as in everything else, bringing many challenges. Despite all the difficulties, the COVID-19 pandemic has enormous opportunities for online teaching and the use of digital technologies. A comprehensive understanding of this period is needed to investigate these opportunities. Thus, this study aims to explore the academic staff's experiences of online teaching and the use of digital technologies in practical skills-based courses in health care education. This study was conducted at six universities from six countries (Türkiye, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania). Data were collected between June 17, 2021 and November 30, 2021 via a focus group with an in-depth interview technique. 22 focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 117 participants. Colaizzi's method was used to evaluate the data to discover, comprehend, and define the experiences of academic staff. The analysis of the interview data resulted in 6 themes, 25 subthemes and 56 categories that captured participants' experiences regarding online teaching of practical skills and using digital technologies in health care education. The findings of the study provide crucial information that will help online teaching and digital technology for practical skills be successfully integrated.

This descriptive study aims to determine the digital competence level of faculty members who teach in the health sciences, empirically considering possible contextual aspects. Two data collection instruments were used: a self-reflection questionnaire to assess digital competence, and a survey querying demographics and aspects of teaching and learning context. In total, 306 health sciences faculty members from six universities voluntarily participated the study. The results revealed that a majority of the faculty members have intermediate (integrator or expert) level of digital competence, which is described as being aware of the potential use of digital technology in teaching and having a personal repertoire for its use under various circumstances. Age, digital teaching experience, perception of work environment, and previous teaching experience in fully- or partially-online courses were identified as influencing factors for digital competence. Faculty members in health sciences were able to integrate digital technologies in their teaching practices. Health education institutions may facilitate the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning environments. Moreover, institutions or stakeholders should consider that digital competence requires practice and experience in meaningfully-designed digital environments and tools.