School of Physiotherapy

Faculty of Health

Spring 2022 Research Update

Student Accomplishments

 jessica

Congratulations to Research Student – Jessica Lohnes and the successful defence of her MSc-RR(PT) defence entitled: Do individuals with knee osteoarthritis walk with distinct knee biomechanics and muscle activation characteristics? An investigation of knee osteoarthritis, hip osteoarthritis, and asymptomatic groups. – (supervisor: Dr. Rutherford). 

Jessica was the recipient of multiple student awards including:

PEI Physiotherapy Association Prize for a graduating student with the highest academic standing in the 1st year gross anatamy course.

Newfoundland & Labrador Physiotherapy Association Prize for graduating student who achieves the best overall combined clinical & academic standing in the Neurotherapeutics course of the entry-level MScPT program.

The Canadian Physiotherapy Association Award for a graduating student who has achieved the highest combined overall standing in academic and clinical components of the MScPT program. As well as the,

National Orthopaedic Division Student Award awarded to a student who is the highest ranked student based on a combination of candidate's demonstrating leadership, advocacy and interest in orthopaedics.

Well done Jessica, we wish you every success in your life and in your career!

By Derek Rutherford, Incoming Interim Director

Research in the School of Physiotherapy is as vibrant as ever. COVID-19 may have slowed or restricted many in person research activities, but faculty and research students in the School of Physiotherapy maintained a very positive out look and significant productivety during this last quarter. As you will read in this section, we have numerous student and faculty accomplishments, from scholarships and grants to publications, presentations, and media exposure. Please look through this section and if you ever have any thoughts or comments on what you read or would like to understand more about the research programs of our faculty, please do not hesitate to reach out.

3_sopt_researchers

School faculty members, Drs. Caitlyn McArthur, Scott Kehler and Olgo Theou are among the recipients of Dal's new Research Nova Scotia New Health Investigator Grant.

Read the full story about Propelling Nova Scotia’s Health Priorities by Andrew Riley.

Faculty Research Activity

Grants

Scott Kehler (PI), Ken Rockwood, Olga Theou, Ulises Perez-Zepeda, Judith Godin, Chris Wilkinson, Caitlin McArthur. Canadian Institute of Health Research, Project Grant, Health deficit accumulation in relation to cardiovascular disease burden, (awarded $141,526 CAD for 2 years) NOTEWORTHY: this application was ranked #2 in the Biological and Clinical Aspects of Aging committee.

Scott Kehler (PI), Ken Rockwood, Olga Theou, Nicholas Giacomantonio, Christine Herman, Osama Elkhateeb, Claudia Cote, Derek Kimmerly, Chris Blanchard, Wanda Firth, Jacqueline Hay, Research Nova Scotia, New Health Investigator Grant, Feasibility of a virtually delivered preoperative rehabilitation program for patients awaiting TAVI to reduce frailty: The Virtual PREHAB study, (awarded $98,760 CAD for 2 years).

Olga Theou (PI), Kenneth Rockwood, Chris Blanchard, Derek Kimmerly, Scott Kehler, Jonathon Fowles, Melanie Keats, Elaine Moody, Caitlin McArthur, Judith Godin, Barry Clarke, Jaymi Cormier, Myles O’Brien , Research Nova Scotia, New Health Investigator Grant, The Personalized Approach for Healthy Aging (PAHA) program (awarded $100,000 CAD for 2 years).

Linda Li and Teresa Liu-Ambrose (Co-PI) …Olga Theou. Co-applicant, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Project Grant, Moving More: Supporting Uptake of Evidence for Physical Activity in Older Adults with Complex Health Care Needs, (awarded $516,376 CAD for 3.5 years).

McArthur C (PI), Quigley A, Bourret D, Dechman G, Earl M, Watson C, Elborno S, Abel-Adegbite I, Upshaw S, Asprey H. Dalhousie University Centre for Learning and Teaching: The Diversity Exchange: Promoting Ethnocultural Diversity Among Health Professionals (awarded $2976.18 CAD total).

Awards

Congratulations to School's Assistant Professor, Dr. Olga Theou who received the Cross-Appointed Faculty Research Excellence Award! Dr. Theou is cross-appointed with Geriatric Medicine and is being honoured for her extensive research productivity and collaborations with Dal (DOM) Research and NS Health.

Congratulations also to recent graduate Jack Quach (Supervisor: Drs. Kehler and Theou) who was awarded "Best Graduate Student Presentation" for his work examining the impact of cardiovascular health.

Publications



Solomon JP, Hurst AJ, Lee JW, Boe SG. Are observed effects of movement simulation during motor imagery performance? Behavioral Neuroscience, 2022; In-press.

Gauvin DE, Wolfson C, Aiken AB, Feinstein A, Raina P, VanTil LD. Correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder among Veterans in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health. 2022 Feb 1;8(1):38-55.

Ritchie K, Cramm H, Aiken A, Donnelly C, Goldie C. Understanding how Canadian healthcare providers have learned to identify co‐occurring PTSD symptoms and dementia in Veterans. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2022 Feb 4.

Mahar AL, Cramm H, Garces I, Aiken AB, Chen S, Ouellette B, Manser L, Kurdyak P. Retrospective cohort study of outpatient mental health visits in children and youth in Canadian military families. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health. 2022 Feb 1(aop):e20210071.

Pérez-Zepeda MU, Martínez-Velilla N, Kehler DS, Izquierdo M, Rockwood K, Theou O. The impact of an exercise intervention on frailty levels in hospitalised older adults: secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Age and Ageing. 2022 Feb;51(2):afac028.

McArthur C, Lee A, Abu Alrob H, Ioannidis G, Adachi JD, Griffith L, Thabane L, Giangregorio L, Morin S, Leslie W, Lee J, Papaioannou A. (2022) An updated prevalence of osteoporosis, fracture risk factors, and medication use for community-dwelling older adults in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Archives of Osteoporosis. 17 (1):31. doi: 10.1007/s11657-022-01073-1

Rutherford DJ; Baker M; Urquhart N; Stanish W, The effect of a frontal plane gait perturbation bout on knee biomechanics and muscle activation in older adults and individuals with knee osteoarthritis, Clinical Biomechanics, Volume 14, Issue 92, 105574 (2022) doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2022.105574

Semenchuk BN, Kullman SM, Neilson CJ, Ceccarelli L, Boreskie K, Kehler DS, Tutkaluke T, Duhamel TA, Strachan SM. Self-compassion, Health Behaviors, Self-regulation, and Affective States Among Individuals at Risk of or Diagnosed with a Chronic Disease: a Scoping Review. Mindfulness. 2022 Jan 22:1-27.

Kehler DS, Hassan A, Arora RC. Commentary: Frailty and cardiac surgery: Is there strength in numbers? The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2022 Jan 1;163(1):161-2.

Cooper L, Loewenthal J, Frain LN, Tulebaev S, Cardin K, Hshieh TT, Dumontier C, Streiter S, Joseph C, Hilt A, Theou O, Rockwood K, Orkaby AR, Javedan H. (2022). From research to bedside: incorporation of a CGA-based frailty index among multiple co-management services. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(1), 90-98.

Ziebart C, McArthur C, Laprade J. (2021) Low risk of fracture with end-range movements of the hip in people with low bone mineral density: a narrative review. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. 7; 1-11. doi:10.1177/23337214211052398.

Wallace L, Theou O, Godin J, Ward D, Andrew M, Bennett D, Rockwood K (2021). 10-year frailty trajectory is associated with Alzheimer’s dementia after considering neuropathological burden. Aging Medicine, Dec 4(4), 250-256.

McLean RK, Carden F, Graham ID, Aiken AB, Armstrong R, Bray J, Cassidy CE, Daub O, Di Ruggiero E, Fierro LA, Gagnon M. Evaluating research co-production: protocol for the Research Quality Plus for Co-Production (RQ+ 4 Co-Pro) framework. Implementation Science Communications. 2022 Dec;3(1):1-2.

Turcotte LA, Zalucky AA, Stall NM, Downar J, Rockwood K, Theou O, McArthur C, Heckman GA (2021). Baseline frailty as a predictor of survival after critical care: a retrospective cohort study of older adults receiving home care in Ontario, Canada. Chest, 160(6), 2101-2111.

Conference Presentations/Abstracts

Presentations
McArthur C. Winter Exercise & You, Webinar for Osteoporosis Canada. February 23, 2022.

McArthur C, Feldman S. ECHO Care of the Elderly sessions, Baycrest – Falls and Bone Health Presentation. December 14th, 2021.

Conference abstracts
McArthur C, Lee A, Abu Alrob H, Ioannidis G, Adachi JD, Griffith LE, Thabane L, Giangregorio L, Morin SN, Leslie WD, Lee J, Papaioannou A. The prevalence of community-dwelling older adults at high fracture risk who are not taking osteoporosis medications: results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Osteoporosis International. 32 (1).

Lee A, McArthur C, Abu Alrob H, Ioannidis G, Thabane L, Adachi J, Lee J Papaioannou A. The impact of pharmacological interventions for older adults with sarcopenia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Osteoporosis International. 32 (1). 

Media

Dal News: Propelling Nova Scotia’s Health Priorities.

DalNews: Government of Canada gives $6 million boost to Dalhousie Health Research

Research NS - New Health Investigator Grant 2021-22 Recipients