Suchergebnisse

Objective: Muscle activity with and without the use of commercially available patient assistive devices during bed rising and lowering was quantified. Background: Limited research is available in understanding or evaluating the physical benefits of assistive devices for patient use following major abdominal surgery. Methods: Twenty healthy participants (9 men, 11 women) took part in a laboratory study to test the effects of device configuration (five levels) and bed elevation angle (0° and 30°) on mean and peak upper and lower rectus abdominis and external oblique concentric and eccentric muscle activity. Results: Reduced muscle activity was associated with the use of an assistive device, as compared with manual bed rising (unassisted). Positioning the devices at a higher anchor height and/or increasing the bed elevation angle further reduced muscle activity. Objective and subjective differences between the two assistive devices evaluated in the study were found. Conclusion: These results suggest that self-assistive devices may speed recovery because of reduced loads on damaged tissues. Application: Potential applications of this research include the assessment of other commercially available lift aids or comparisons of self-assistive lift aids with hospital-housed lift aids used to speed recovery rates.

Effective training programs are critical for successful employee performance. The same can be said for volunteer programs. Volunteers need to have the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the mission of the organization. In this study, we examine the impact of training methods and trainees' demographic factors on the effectiveness of a training program for a voluntary program. Survey results ( N = 5,727) indicate a very low percentage of participation (16.46%) in the voluntary program after training. Responses also indicate that content knowledge recall after training is affected by training year (the year receiving training), industrial sector, calling history, and training delivery method. Participants' desires for retraining are also impacted by the type of training received, the industry sector, as well as past participation in the program. Recommendations for voluntary training programs based on study results and future research directions are presented.