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ETD RECORD
Current attitudes and practice patterns defining the role of school-based physical therapy in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity :implications for leadership in the profession
Citation
Kendall, Eydie.. (2009). Current attitudes and practice patterns defining the role of school-based physical therapy in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity :implications for leadership in the profession. Theses and Dissertations Collection, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/etd/items/etd_38.html
- Title:
- Current attitudes and practice patterns defining the role of school-based physical therapy in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity :implications for leadership in the profession
- Author:
- Kendall, Eydie.
- Date:
- 2009
- Keywords:
- Physical therapists--Attitudes--Case studies Overweight children--Treatment Obesity in children
- Program:
- Education
- Abstract:
- The obesity epidemic has become an insidious problem in our country today, with serious effects on health as well as financial implications. As our children start to suffer the same problems with obesity, the school system is looked upon to help resolve this issue. Physical therapy (PT) is the medically oriented profession that addresses exercise and activity for persons with mobility deficits. Physical Therapists (PTs) work in a variety of environments helping patients with a wide array of diagnoses, including obesity and the health impairments caused by it. PTs have been in the schools for many years, working with individual students with physical impairments in order to support education, but have typically not focused on the obesity issue, despite encouragement from the national organization, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of school-based PTs in their role in addressing childhood obesity, and how these attitudes may affect practice patterns within the school system. A total of sixty school-based PTs participated by answering questions on an attitude survey and determining treatment intensities for two case studies. The results indicate that several demographic attributes of the PT (age, years of experience, entry level degree) and the district (size, percent of caseload that is overweight) may influence attitude toward the role in intervention. Attitude may also have an influence on treatment decisions such as whether or not the therapist participates in treatment for obesity alone and parent education on obesity. The treatment decisions for two representative case studies were shown to be influenced by the attitude scores, demonstrating how attitude affects practice decisions. The above information has implications for leadership in the profession, both for the APTA and educators in their approach to curricula and programs that address PT intervention of childhood obesity in the schools.
- Description:
- Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, April 2009.
- Major Professor:
- Jerry McMurtry.
- Defense Date:
- April 2009.
- Type:
- Text
- Format Original:
- xii, 180 leaves :ill. ;29 cm.
- Format:
- record
Rights
- Rights:
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted. For more information, please contact University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives Department at libspec@uidaho.edu.
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/