Browsing by Author "Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine"

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    Open Access
    A critical evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions for improving the well-being of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review protocol
    (BioMed Central, 2016-07-13) Dambi, Jermaine M; Jelsma, Jennifer; Mlambo, Tecla; Chiwaridzo, Matthew; Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Chikwanha, Mildred T; Corten, Lieselotte
    Background: Over the years, family-centered care has evolved as the “gold standard” model for the provision of healthcare services. With the advent of family-centered approach to care comes the inherent need to provide support services to caregivers in addition to meeting the functional needs of children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy (CP). Provision of care for a child with CP is invariably associated with poor health outcomes in caregivers. As such, there has been a surge in the development and implementation of interventions for improving the health and well-being of these caregivers. However, there is a paucity of the collective, empirical evidence of the efficacy of these interventions. Therefore, the broad objective of this review is to systematically review the literature on the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve caregivers’ well-being. Methods/design: This is a systematic review for the evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve caregivers’ well-being. Two independent, blinded, reviewers will search articles on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, Psych Info, and Africa-Wide Information using a predefined criterion. Thereafter, three independent reviewers will screen the retrieved articles. The methodological quality of studies meeting the selection criterion will be evaluated using the Briggs Institute checklists. Afterwards, two independent researchers will then apply a preset data-extraction form to collect data. We will perform a narrative data analysis of the final sample of studies included for the review. Discussion: The proposed systematic review will provide the empirical evidence of the efficacy of interventions for improving the well-being of caregivers of children with physical disabilities. This is important given the great need for evidenced-based care and the greater need to improve the health and well-being of caregivers. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42016033975.
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    A systematic review investigating measurement properties of physiological tests in rugby
    (BioMed Central, 2017-12-28) Chiwaridzo, Matthew; Oorschot, Sander; Dambi, Jermaine M; Ferguson, Gillian D; Bonney, Emmanuel; Mudawarima, Tapfuma; Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C M
    Background: This systematic review was conducted with the first objective aimed at providing an overview of the physiological characteristics commonly evaluated in rugby and the corresponding tests used to measure each construct. Secondly, the measurement properties of all identified tests per physiological construct were evaluated with the ultimate purpose of identifying tests with strongest level of evidence per construct. Methods: The review was conducted in two stages. In all stages, electronic databases of EBSCOhost, Medline and Scopus were searched for full-text articles. Stage 1 included studies examining physiological characteristics in rugby. Stage 2 included studies evaluating measurement properties of all tests identified in Stage 1 either in rugby or related sports such as Australian Rules football and Soccer. Two independent reviewers screened relevant articles from titles and abstracts for both stages. Results: Seventy studies met the inclusion criteria for Stage 1. The studies described 63 tests assessing speed (8), agility/change of direction speed (7), upper-body muscular endurance (8), upper-body muscular power (6), upperbody muscular strength (5), anaerobic endurance (4), maximal aerobic power (4), lower-body muscular power (3), prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability/endurance (5), lower-body muscular strength (5), repeated high-intensity exercise performance (3), repeated-sprint ability (2), repeated-effort ability (1), maximal aerobic speed (1) and abdominal endurance (1). Stage 2 identified 20 studies describing measurement properties of 21 different tests. Only moderate evidence was found for the reliability of the 30–15 Intermittent Fitness. There was limited evidence found for the reliability and/or validity of 5 m, 10 m, 20 m speed tests, 505 test, modified 505 test, L run test, Sergeant Jump test and bench press repetitions-to-fatigue tests. There was no information from high-quality studies on the measurement properties of all the other tests identified in stage 1. Conclusion: A number of physiological characteristics are evaluated in rugby. Each physiological construct has multiple tests for measurement. However, there is paucity of information on measurement properties from high-quality studies for the tests. This raises questions about the usefulness and applicability of these tests in rugby and creates a need for high-quality future studies evaluating measurement properties of these physiological tests. Trial registrations: PROSPERO CRD 42015029747.
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    Content validity and test-retest reliability of a low back pain questionnaire in Zimbabwean adolescents
    (BioMed Central, 2017-02-28) Chiwaridzo, Matthew; Chikasha, Tafadzwa Nicole; Naidoo, Nirmala; Dambi, Jermaine Matewu; Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Munambah, Nyaradzai; Chizanga, Precious Trish
    Background: In Zimbabwe, a recent increase in the volume of research on recurrent non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) has revealed that adolescents are commonly affected. This is alarming to health professionals and parents and calls for serious primary preventative strategies to be developed and implemented forthwith. Early identification initiatives should be prioritised in order to curtail the condition and its progression. In an attempt to be proactive in minimising the prevalence of recurrent NSLBP, this study was conducted to evaluate the content validity and test-retest reliability of a survey questionnaire with the aim of proffering a valid and reliable questionnaire which can be used in non-clinical settings to identify adolescents with recurrent NSLBP in Harare, Zimbabwe and determine the possible factors associated with the condition. Methods: The study was conducted in two parts. The first part assessed content validity of the questionnaire using four experts derived from academia and clinical practice. The second part evaluated the reliability of the questionnaire among 125 high school-children aged between 13 and 19 years in a test-retest study. Results: Twenty-six (26) out of thirty questions in the questionnaire had an Item Content Validity index of 1.00, demonstrating complete agreement among content experts. Overall, the Scale Content Validity Index for the questionnaire was 0.97. Item completion for the reliability study was satisfactory. The questionnaire items had kappa values ranging from 0.17 (slight agreement) to 1 (perfect agreement). High levels of reliability were found for the questions on school bag use (k=0.94), sports participation (k=0.97), and lifetime prevalence (k=0.89). Conclusion: Excellent content validity and slight to perfect test-retest reliability was found for the Low Back Pain (LBP) questionnaire. These results are comparable to findings of other studies evaluating the psychometric properties of LBP questionnaires. Cognisant of the limitations of the study, the results of this study suggest that the LBP questionnaire could be used in local studies investigating LBP among adolescents although questions enquiring on functional limitations and sciatica may need further consideration.
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    Open Access
    Implementation of the physical function ICU test tool in a resource constrained intensive care unit to promote early mobilisation of critically ill patients- a feasibility study
    (BioMed Central, 2016-10-19) Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Manie, Shamila
    Background: The shift of focus in outcome measures from mortality to assessment of functional status in intensive care unit (ICU) patients has resulted in the emergence of mobilisation of critically ill patients as a standard physiotherapy practice in most medium and high income countries. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of an early mobilisation program and to report on the changes in patient clinical outcomes following the intervention in a low income country. Methods: A prospective cohort study was carried out at one public hospital. An adult cohort of 35 patients was recruited within 24 h of being admitted into the unit, irrespective of ventilation method over a period of three months. An early mobilisation programme was implemented and prescribed using the Physical Function ICU Test (PFIT-s) which commenced in either the ICU or high dependent unit. Results: The median age of the 35 patients was 29 years (IQR = 24–45 years). More than half of the patients had undergone surgery due to either gastrointestinal problems or obstetrical complications. A total of 94 out of a possible of 219 exercise sessions were delivered to the patients (43.0 %). The tool was implemented in 32 (91.4 %) patients on the initial PFIT-s measurement and 16 (45.7 %) of the patients required the assistance of two people to stand. The Initial PFIT-s mean score was 5.3 ± 1.8. On final PFIT-s measurement, out of the 30 (85.7 %) patients seen, 15 (42.9 %) of the patients did not require any assistance to stand and the final PFIT-s mean score was 7.0 ± 1.9. There was a significant difference in both the initial PFIT-s total score (t-value = 2.34, df = 30, p = .03) and the final PFIT-s score (t-value = 3.66, df = 28, p = .001) between males and females. During the treatment, no adverse event occurred in any of the patients. Conclusion: An early mobilisation program using PFIT-s was feasible and safe. There was a difference in functional capability based on gender, with males being more functionally active. Specific inclusion and exclusion criteria can lead to a delayed early mobilisation activities in ICU patients.
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    The prevalence of pulmonary complications after thoracic and abdominal surgery and associated risk factors in patients admitted at a government hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe-a retrospective study
    (BioMed Central, 2017-08-22) Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Mukombachoto, Rufaro; Nhunzvi, Clement; Kaseke, Farayi; Chikwasha, Vasco; Chengetanai, Samson; Manie, Shamila
    Background: The burden of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa has presented unusual and challenging acute surgical problems across all specialties. Thoraco-abdominal surgery cuts through muscle and thereby disrupts the normal anatomy and activity of the respiratory muscles leading to reduced lung volumes and putting the patients at greater risk of developing post-operative pulmonary complications (PPCs). PPCs remain an important cause of post-operative morbidity, mortality, and impacts on the long-term outcomes of patients post hospital discharge. The objective of the study was to determine the pulmonary complications developing after abdominal and thoracic surgery and the associated risks factors. Methods: A retrospective records review of all abdominal and thoracic surgery patients admitted at a central hospital from January 2014 to October 2014 was done. Data collected included demographic data, surgical history, comorbidities and the PPCs present. Results: Out of the 92 patients whose records were reviewed, 55 (59.8%) were males and 84 (91.3%) had abdominal surgery. The mean age of the patients was 42.6 years (SD = 18.4). The common comorbidities were HIV infection noted in 14(15.2%) of the patients and hypertension in 10 (13.0%). Thirty nine (42.4%) developed PPCs and the most common complications were nosocomial pneumonia in 21 (22.8%) patients, ventilator associated pneumonia in 11 (12.0%), and atelectasis in 6 (6.5%) patients. Logistic regression showed that a history of alcohol consumption, prolonged surgery, prolonged stay in hospital or critical care unit, incision type, and comorbidities were significant risk factors for PPCs (p < 0.05). The mortality rate was 10.9%. Conclusion: PPCs like nosocomial and ventilator associated pneumonia were common and were associated with increased morbidity and adversely affected clinical outcomes of patients. HIV and hypertension presented significant comorbidities which the health team needed to recognize and address. Strategies to reduce the occurrence of PPCs have to be implemented through coordinated efforts by the health practitioners as a team during the entire perioperative period.