Abstract Introduction Among physiotherapists, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the most common health problem. This study aimed to provide evidence for planning evidence-based ...health promotion programmes for ensuring and maintaining adequate physical fitness (PF) to decrease WMSDs among physiotherapists which would have started already during the study. Methods A cross-sectional study involved the participation of a total of 100 physiotherapy students and 62 physiotherapists. Observed variables were prevalence of WMSDs in the last 12 months, lasting >3 days during physiotherapeutic activities and five PF components: body composition, cardiorespiratory and muscle endurance, muscle strength, and flexibility. A chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used as the main analytical methods. Results Prevalence of WMSDs in physiotherapists was 63.9% (the most common locations: lower back, shoulders, neck), while in physiotherapy students it was 46.5% (the most common locations: lower back, neck, upper back) (p=0.031). Among the PF components, the results showed statistically significantly worse flexibility among students compared to physiotherapists (about two thirds of students had poor or very poor results of flexibility testing) (p=0.002) in comparison to physiotherapists. A statistically significant positive association between WMSDs and PF was observed only between knee pain and poor cardiorespiratory endurance (OR=4.03 with 95% CI 1.12-14.58; p=0.033). Conclusion The study showed poor flexibility among students indicating that it is necessary to direct them to perform activities that will increase the extensibility of muscles. The awareness of this problem should be increased. A specific role should be played by staff involved in clinical practice.
The Ukrainian primary healthcare programme of preventive and screening recommendations has not been evidence-based. The traditional system of continuous medical education in Ukraine places ...participants in the role of passive listeners. This study explored the effects of an interactive training course on evidence-based prevention and screening of cardiovascular risks, on changes in Ukrainian family doctors' (FDs) and primary care nurses' (PCNs) knowledge and readiness to change practice over time.
Three hundred and seven FDs and PCNs participated in the study. Changes in participants' knowledge were assessed with 20 multiple choice questions, and their readiness to change practice with a five-item questionnaire. These were administered before, immediately after, three and twelve months after training.
The mean pre-course knowledge score was 6.1 (SD 1.8) out of 20, increasing to 14.9 (SD 2.3) immediately afterwards (p<0.001). Three months later it was 10.2 (SD 3.2) and at one year it was 10.4 (SD 3.3), both of which were significantly higher than the pre-training level (p<0.005). The percentage of participants that were highly motivated to change their practice increased from 18.4% before the training to 62.3% immediately afterwards (p<0.001). Three months later, this fell to 40.4%. At 12 months it further reduced to 27.4%, but was still significantly higher than the baseline level (p<0.001).
The interactive training was effective in increasing both participants' knowledge and their readiness to change their clinical practice. The impact of the training diminished over time, but was still evident a year later.
Zaradi ogromne količine porabljene energije in virov v stanovanjski gradnji so vlade mnogih držav prepoznale potrebo po nujnem spodbujanju zelenih oziroma okolju prijaznih stanovanj, da bi omogočile ...trajnostni razvoj tega področja. Poleg uvajanja ustreznih predpisov lahko vlade spodbudijo investitorje, da v gradnjo vključijo zelene elemente, tako da jim ponudijo različne oblike subvencij. Dodelitev tovrstnih subvencij pa pogosto ni ekonomična. Teoretično gledano lahko tržne sile vodijo k zagotavljanju zelenih stanovanj brez vladnega poseganja, če so akterji na trgu za zelene elemente stanovanj pripravljeni plačati več. V tem okviru so v članku predstavljeni izsledki raziskave, v kateri so avtorji na podlagi strukturirane ankete, izvedene v Macau, primerjali potencialno pripravljenost kupcev stanovanj, da plačajo za različne lastnosti zelenih stanovanj. Preučevane stanovanjske lastnosti so obsegale rabo zelenih materialov (na primer trajnostni gozdni proizvodi) in načinov gradnje (na primer montažna gradnja), energijsko učinkovite tehnologije (na primer LED-razsvetljava) in naprave za varčevanje z vodo (na primer sistem za prečiščevanje odpadne sanitarne vode). Ugotovitve kažejo, da so na pripravljenost anketirancev v glavnem vplivale finančne spodbude. Lastnosti zelenih stanovanj, ki lahko prinašajo neposredno finančno korist, so se ujemale z večjo pripravljenostjo za plačilo (PZP). Na koncu članka so predstavljeni mogoči vplivi raziskovalnih izsledkov na politiko obravnavanega področja.
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