Dr. Andi Nelson

Actigraphy is a quantitative means of measuring activity data that has proven viable in post-surgery recovery analysis for arthroplasties in lower extremities, but scant literature has been published on the utilization actigraphy to evaluate shoulder motion and function before and after shoulder arthroplasty. The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to identify if actigraphy can serve as a valid means for objective evaluation of shoulder function and motion before and after shoulder arthroplasty. Secondarily, the data collected by the actigraphy can be analyzed with standard patient-reported outcomes to report correlations between the subjective and objective methods used in this study.
Sixty-four subjects wore an actigraphy device for one day at pre-op, six, twelve and twenty-four weeks. In addition, subjects completed three patient-reported outcome surveys at each time-point. Student t-tests were used to compare percent activity preoperatively with 24-weeks and to compare PROs preoperatively with 24-week results; categorical variables were compared with one-way ANOVAs.
All Patient reported outcome scores significantly improved following arthroplasty (p-value<0.001). The percent of physical activity was highly correlated with vector magnitude (p-value<0.001), but neither percent activity or the vector magnitude were correlated with any of the PROs: UCLA Pain p-value = 0.656, SANE p-value = 0.328, UCLA Function p-value = 0.532.
Actigraphy results from this study mirror findings in previous literature utilizing the technology in similar manners and demonstrate its potential for motion and function analysis before and after total shoulder arthroplasties. Despite both being suitable methods independently for the evaluation of shoulder function, there was no significant correlation between standard actigraphy measurements and PROs at 24-weeks. Future research to determine clinical utility and an overall broader scope for actigraphy monitoring could benefit from improved technology, such as increased battery life for prolonged durations of data collection during observation periods.

Career Cornerstones: Establishing a Foundation for a Career in Healthcare is an Open Educational Resource (OER) that focuses on career skills required for students entering their respective health profession's program. This book is designed to help students be successful not only in their health profession's educational program, but also as they start to intern or work in healthcare settings. This resource is targeted for Healthcare Administration, Health Sciences, and Pre-Professional students.

This conceptual paper describes the efforts to address curriculum deficits related to the preparation of graduates across multiple service fields for their work in high-poverty communities. Faculty members from various programs jointly facilitated a high-impact simulation designed to ascertain its impact on students' perceptions and personal biases toward disadvantaged community members. This mixed methods study used Yun and Weaver's (2010) Short Form of the Attitude Toward Poverty Scale, as well as focus groups. Quantitative data indicated that participants held more positive attitudes towards individuals struggling with poverty after completing the simulation. The overarching themes concerning college students' attitudes about poverty indicated paradigm shifts in their personal thinking and professional behavior in the workforce, as well as empathy regarding the cycle of poverty and the extremely hard decisions that are necessary when experiencing poverty. These findings are important for facilitating learning about the social injustices that can ensue from poverty. The study comes at a time of a pandemic when online learning is at its height and poverty is intensifying.

Introduction: Muscular strength, flexibility, aerobic endurance, and balance are well-known contributors to health and quality of life among older adults. Prior research has indicated older adult participation in resistance training provides foundational strength for performance of activities of daily living. Purpose: To investigate the effects of a six-week progressive resistance training program on strength, flexibility, aerobic endurance, and dynamic balance and agility among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: From 2010–2015, ten separate sessions of a six-week progressive resistance training program were implemented and resulted in a total of 95 community-dwelling older adult participants (37 male, 58 female; M=73.5 + 7.2). The resistance-training program included bi-weekly, 1-hour sessions targeting all muscle groups. Assessments included 30-second arm curl, 30-second chair stand, back scratch, chair sit-n-reach, 2-minute step test, and 8-foot up-and-go. Statistical Analysis: The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was performed to evaluate group differences between baseline and post-program for upper- and lower-body strength, upper- and lower-body flexibility, aerobic endurance, dynamic balance and agility. Results: Significant differences between pre- and post-assessments were found for upper- and lower-body strength (z = 6.81, p < .001; z = 6.46, p < .001, respectively); upper- and lower-body flexibility (z = 3.81, p < .001; z = 4.85, p < .001, respectively), aerobic endurance (z = 6.04, p < .001), and dynamic balance and agility (z = 5.52, p < .001). Conclusion: The six-week progressive resistance-training program targeting all muscle groups resulted in significant improvements in strength, flexibility, aerobic endurance, balance, and agility among community-dwelling older adult participants.