THE INDEX

Every paper we have read

Each one summarised from the full article, not its abstract, and kept only if it speaks to physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology or nursing. Newest first.

35,183 PAPERS · PAGE 494 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTSurvey2023Public sector physiotherapists' organisation and profile: Implications for intensive care service.The South African journal of physiotherapyPublic sector physiotherapists in South Africa face a workload of one therapist for every 69 hospital beds. The workforce is predominantly young and junior, with very few holding advanced qualifications or international intensive care experience.
• SLPRCT2023An initial trial of OPT-In-Early: An online training program for caregivers of autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCaregivers using the OPT-In-Early online program learned more intervention strategies and used them more effectively in brief interactions than those receiving usual care. However, no changes in children's observed social communication were found, and self-efficacy gains did not differ between groups.
• PTOTCohort2023Patients With and Without COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit: Physical Status Outcome Comparisons 3 Months After Discharge.Physical therapyThree months after leaving the intensive care unit, patients with and without COVID-19 had similar handgrip strength, physical functioning, and health status. Both groups scored below healthy people. Men with COVID-19 reported better physical function than women.
• Protocol2023Developing and Testing Implementation Strategies to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Initiative for Falls Risk Management in Outpatient Physical Therapy: A Protocol.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation
• SLPCohort2023A comparison of self-report and discrepancy measures of camouflaging: Exploring sex differences in diagnosed autistic versus high autistic trait young adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchYoung adults with high autistic traits but no diagnosis scored higher on measures of effective camouflaging than those diagnosed. Self-reported intent to camouflage was similar across groups. This suggests masking effectively may delay diagnosis, particularly for males.
• SLPOther2023Effect of Vibrotactile Stimulation on Auditory Timbre Perception for Normal-Hearing Listeners and Cochlear-Implant Users.Trends in hearingHolding a vibrating device changed how listeners judged sound timbre, even when instructed to ignore the touch. For cochlear-implant users, vibration dominated their perception of sound roughness, suggesting tactile feedback could help restore timbre perception in hearing devices.
• PTOther2023"Trustworthiness," confidence in estimated effects, and confidently translating research into clinical practice.Archives of physiotherapyThis is a viewpoint about research trustworthiness. It reports no original study, so there is no finding to act on.
• SLPCohort2023An observational study of individual child journeys through autism diagnostic pathways, and associated costs, in the UK National Health Service.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesChildren in the UK NHS took an average of 375 days to receive an autism diagnosis, involving 11.5 hours of professional time. Costs averaged £846 per child. Tertiary centres and children with multiple co-occurring conditions required significantly more time and resources.
• SLPCase-Control2023Health conditions and service use of autistic women and men: A retrospective population-based case-control study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic women and men had more physical and mental health conditions and used more health services than adults without developmental disability, especially psychiatric care. Compared with other developmental disabilities, differences were smaller except psychiatric conditions.
• OTOther2023Evaluation of an inpatient occupation-based group program using a process evaluation framework.Australian occupational therapy journalParticipants in a home-like inpatient rehabilitation group practised their own daily tasks. They valued choice, confidence, connection to home and shared experience; outcomes improved at discharge and 90-day follow-up.
• PTQualitative2023Strategies to integrate physiotherapists into primary health care in South Africa.The South African journal of physiotherapyNine experienced physiotherapy lecturers identified six strategies to integrate their profession into South Africa's primary care system. They emphasized raising public awareness, influencing policy, transforming education to focus on prevention, broadening roles through task shifting, dismantling professional hierarchies, and increasing workforce numbers.
• PTProtocol2023Scoping review protocol of prehabilitation interventions for primary arthroplasty.The South African journal of physiotherapyThis paper outlines the plan for a future scoping review. It defines which databases will be searched and which studies will be included, but it does not present any findings on the effectiveness of prehabilitation interventions.
• PTOTOther2023Calibration of hip accelerometers for measuring physical activity and sedentary behaviours in adults with Down syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRResearchers derived new accelerometer settings for adults with Down syndrome. Using standard settings from the general population likely underestimates their activity levels. These new cut-points classify sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous activity with high accuracy, though they differ slightly depending on which hip the device is worn.
• Qualitative2023'I cannot be missed yet': A qualitative study of carers of family members with an intellectual disability about long-term care planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDCarers often avoided planning who would care for their relative with an intellectual disability because it felt like abandoning them, they feared no one could do it as well, and suitable care was hard to find. Some reported taking practical steps during the pandemic.
• OTQualitative2022Different in so many ways: Exploring consumer, health service staff, and academic partnerships in a research advisory group through rapid ethnography.Australian occupational therapy journalTwelve experienced consumer and staff partners described a four-month research advisory group as unusually equal, with their advice acted on rather than ignored. They credited clear timelines, skilled facilitation, and check-in agendas for this. It reports their experiences, not proof the model works.
• PTOther2023Within- and between-therapist agreement on personalized parameters for robot-assisted gait therapy: the challenge of adjusting robotic assistance.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTherapists agreed well on walking speed and bodyweight support for children in Lokomat therapy, but chose robotic assistance very differently, within and between therapists. A lower robotic assistance setting may not mean less physical help.
• OTSLPOther2023Introducing the READY Study: DHH Young people's Well-Being and Self-Determination.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationIn DHH young people, self-determination scores predicted well-being scores far better than background factors like sex, sexuality, or deafness severity. The cohort reported low well-being overall, with only 3% in the high range.
• OTSLPQualitative2023"I think it impacts all areas of his life": Perspectives on hearing from mothers of individuals with Down syndrome.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDMothers reported background noise and fluctuating hearing loss as the primary barriers to communication for their children with Down syndrome. Strategies included reducing auditory and visual distractions, ensuring amplification use, and maintaining direct eye contact.
• SLPOther2023Noise Exposure in Palestinian Workers Without a Diagnosis of Hearing Impairment: Relations to Speech-Perception-in-Noise Difficulties, Tinnitus, and Hyperacusis.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRWorkers with occupational noise exposure reported significantly more sound sensitivity than those without. Age strongly predicted worse speech-in-noise scores and poorer self-reported hearing. Most other links between noise exposure and hearing difficulties did not survive statistical correction.
• PTOther2023Upper Extremity Exercise Capacity and Activities of Daily Living in Individuals With Bronchiectasis Versus Healthy Controls.Physical therapyPeople with bronchiectasis moved fewer rings in a six-minute pegboard arm test and took longer on a daily-living task than healthy controls. Their arm fatigue rose more, while oxygen saturation did not drop during the arm test.
• OTQualitative2023Exploring professionals' practices and perspectives on supporting parents with intellectual disabilities: a qualitative study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesProfessionals struggle to balance child safety with parental rights, often feeling their holistic support exceeds their mandate. Parents frequently mistrust services, fearing child removal. Trust builds through transparency, long-term relationships, and adapting communication, such as using visual aids, rather than relying on assessments alone.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Factors Influencing Hearing Help-Seeking and Hearing Aid Uptake in Adults: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade.Trends in hearingSeverity of hearing loss and self-reported disability strongly predict hearing aid uptake, but age and sex do not. Financial support and positive attitudes toward aids also drive adoption. Social pressure helps people seek help, but demographic factors are poor guides for screening.
• OTQualitative2023Autistic and non-autistic young people's and caregivers' perspectives on COVID-19-related schooling changes and their impact on emotional well-being: An opportunity for change?Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic young people reported reduced anxiety and better focus during lockdown due to removed social and sensory demands. Non-autistic peers reported benefits less frequently. Both groups valued flexible pacing and reduced sensory load, suggesting schools should retain these adjustments post-pandemic.
• PTOther2023Discrepancy between pupils' body and classroom furniture in elementary schools: A case study in the Republic of Kosovo.Work (Reading, Mass.)Most Kosovo primary school children did not fit their classroom furniture. Only 8,2% matched seat height, and no pupils matched desk height. Younger grades had the largest mismatches.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Physical Therapist Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Physical Therapy Association.Physical therapyFor patients after shoulder replacement, starting motion exercises immediately versus waiting four weeks made no difference in long-term function or pain. A neutral-position sling reduced night pain early on, but the choice of specific exercises remains based on clinical judgment due to limited evidence.
• PTOTCase-Control2023Children With Cerebral Palsy Show Higher Static-But Not Higher Dynamic-Motor Fatigability in Grip and Pinch Tasks Than Children With Typical Development Do.Physical therapyChildren with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy lost more strength while holding a grip or pinch as hard as possible, especially in the nonpreferred hand. They did not show more fatigue during repeated squeeze tasks than typical children.
• Narrative Review2023Goal Attainment Scaling in rehabilitation: An educational review providing a comprehensive didactical tool box for implementing Goal Attainment Scaling.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThis guide explains how to create and use Goal Attainment Scaling for personalized patient goals. It offers practical steps for defining scale levels and handling challenges like cognitive impairment. It does not test if these methods improve patient outcomes.
• SLPCase Series2023Short report: A co-designed psychoeducation for older autistic adults-a multiple case study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceA co-designed psychoeducation program for older autistic adults did not significantly reduce the difference in insight between participants and their proxies regarding autism traits or cognitive failures. Most participants showed no reliable improvement on secondary outcomes, and the authors advise against implementation until the program is refined.
• OTSLPSurvey2023Assessing functioning for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: Current clinical practice in Australia.Australian occupational therapy journalClinicians assessing neurodevelopmental conditions in Australia reported frequent but inconsistent functioning assessments, often using observations, interviews and standardised tools. Time, unclear guidelines, tool access and cost were major barriers.
• PTOther2023Long-Term Career Earnings in Academia Might Offset the Opportunity Cost of Full-Time PhD and Postdoctoral Education for Physical Therapists Who Hold a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree.Physical therapyPhD and postdoctoral training lowered earnings for physical therapists considering academia, but PhD careers broke even after 18 to 21 years and had greater 30-year cumulative compensation than non-PhD careers.
• SLPOther2023Phonological and Articulatory Deficits in the Production of Novel Signs in Children With Developmental Language Disorder.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRChildren with developmental language disorder imitated novel signs less accurately than peers, especially in hand orientation. Adding a meaningful object did not improve sign production. Movement was less stable only for a sign requiring opposite hand motion.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Mental health services and resources for children with developmental disabilities and their families: scan of local practices, gaps, and opportunities created.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA scan of Montreal-area mental health services for children with developmental disabilities found they are hard to access. Most require referrals, have waitlists, or restrict age and location, and few offer follow-up care. Services often target the child but ignore the family unit.
• SLPRCT2023Predicting Outcomes of Language Rehabilitation: Prognostic Factors for Immediate and Long-Term Outcomes After Aphasia Therapy.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRPeople with mild or moderate aphasia improved naming after 30 hours of therapy and kept those gains for six months. Those with severe or very severe aphasia showed no significant naming improvement. Baseline severity predicted response better than age, education, or cognitive reserve.
• PTCase Report2023Contralaterally-controlled functional electrical stimulation-induced muscle contraction for severe lower extremity paralysis.Journal of physical therapy scienceA man with no left ankle movement after brain tumor surgery regained voluntary dorsiflexion and independent walking after receiving functional electrical stimulation triggered by his unaffected leg. The device was used alongside standard physical and occupational therapy.
• SLPOther2023Consonant Perception in Connected Syllables Spoken at a Conversational Syllabic Rate.Trends in hearingConsonants in fast nonsense syllables were harder to hear than in isolated syllables. Watching the talker helped most with place of articulation. These were normal-hearing lab listeners, not patients.
• OTCohort2022Learning from lived experience: Outcomes associated with students' involvement in co-designed and co-delivered recovery-oriented practice workshops.Australian occupational therapy journalOccupational therapy students showed significant gains in recovery knowledge and capabilities after workshops co-delivered by three lived experience educators. However, without a control group, it is impossible to know if these changes were caused by the educators or simply by the semester's teaching.
• OTOther2022Rethinking Driving Against Medical Advice: The Situated Nature of Driving After Stroke.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie
• OTSystematic Review2022Psychotherapy Within Occupational Therapy Literature: A Scoping Review.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieMost occupational therapy literature on psychotherapy is commentary, not research. Few studies test interventions, and those that do rarely measure occupational outcomes. Clinicians should verify local regulations before calling their activity-based or talk-based approaches psychotherapy.
• OTOther2022The impact of face-to-face mental health consumer-led teaching on occupational therapy student empathy levels: Two group comparison design.Australian occupational therapy journalSecond-year occupational therapy students who received tutorials led by mental health consumers showed no greater empathy than those taught by standard tutors. Both groups had high baseline scores and marginal, non-significant changes, suggesting this single tutorial did not impact empathy levels.
• OTSLPOther2022Brainstem white matter microstructure is associated with hyporesponsiveness and overall sensory features in autistic children.Molecular autismIn autistic children, higher sensory features linked to lower brainstem water diffusion, while non-autistic children showed the opposite. This suggests brainstem differences in autism are distinct from typical development. These findings do not yet change clinical interventions.
• PTOTCohort2023Relationship between toe grip strength and dynamic balance in older adult patients with femoral neck fracture.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 15 older adults recovering from hip fracture, stronger toe grip was linked to better balance scores and a larger forward-backward sway range. There was no difference in toe strength between the operated and non-operated legs.
• OTCohort2023Gendered play behaviours in autistic and non-autistic children: A population-based cohort study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic boys were reported as less masculine in play than non-autistic boys from 42 months. Autistic girls did not show a clear difference. Non-autistic boys became more gendered over time, while autistic boys did not.
• OTOther2023The Mediatory Role of Executive Functioning on the Association Between Sleep and Both Everyday Memory and ADHD Symptoms in Children and Youth With Down Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesIn children with Down syndrome, sleep problems did not directly harm memory or attention. Instead, poor sleep worsened executive functioning, which then caused everyday memory and ADHD symptoms. Addressing executive function is key.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Multidimensional motor performance in children with autism mostly remains stable with age and predicts social communication delay, language delay, functional delay, and repetitive behavior severity after accounting for intellectual disability or cognitive delay: A SPARK dataset analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMotor difficulties in children with autism remain stable from age 5 to 15. Poor motor performance predicts social, language, and functional delays even after accounting for intellectual disability. Therapists should screen for motor issues beyond early childhood and not assume delays resolve with age.
• PTOther2023Influence of obstructions on obstacle-crossing motion during walking.Journal of physical therapy sciencePlacing a black-spotted fabric around a black obstacle did not change how healthy young adults stepped over it. Toe and heel clearance, foot pressure, and stance time remained the same as when the obstacle was clearly visible.
• OTOther2023Clinical Tests Predicting On-Road Performance in Older Drivers with Cognitive Impairment.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieClinical tests predicted on-road pass/fail only moderately in older drivers with cognitive impairment. No test was clearly better, and the Trails B misclassified many drivers. Neither should decide fitness alone.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of US community-dwelling older adults with communication disabilities, using the national health and aging trends survey.Journal of communication disordersAbout one in four community-dwelling US adults over 65 has a communication disability. These individuals are more likely to be male, Black or Hispanic, have lower education and income, and have very small social networks compared to peers without disabilities.
• SLPCohort2023Developmental Cut-Points for Atypical Speech Intelligibility in Children With Cerebral Palsy.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRChildren with cerebral palsy and speech motor impairment can be reliably identified by intelligibility cut-points as early as age 3. A score below 40% at age 3, 60% at age 4, or 80% at age 5 signals a very high probability of speech motor impairment requiring early intervention.
• PTOTOther2023Outcomes of Implementing a Webinar-Based Strategy to Improve Spinal Cord Injury Knowledge and Community Building: Convergent Mixed Methods Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesMost attendees were people with SCI or health care providers in urban areas. They reported knowledge gains and changed disability views, but webinars strengthened existing peer ties rather than building a broad community.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Research activities contributing to evidence-based practice implementation in Japanese rehabilitation professionals.Journal of physical therapy scienceDoing case studies and cross-sectional research linked to better evidence-based practice habits in Japanese therapists, but not to their beliefs. Most participants reported poor access to training and workplace support for this work.