OBJECTIVE: To investigate how audio-biofeedback during the instruction of partial weight-bearing affected adherence, compared to traditional methods, in older adults; and to investigate the influence of individual characteristics.
METHODS: The primary outcome measure of this randomised controlled trial was the amount of load, measured as the ground reaction force, on the partial weight-bearing leg. The secondary outcome was the influence of individual characteristics on the amount of load. Included were healthy volunteers 60 years of age or older without gait impairment. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups; blinding was not possible. Partial weight-bearing of 20 kg was trained using crutches with audio-biofeedback (intervention group) or a bathroom scale (control group). The degree of weight-bearing was measured during six activities with sensor insoles. A mean load between 15 and 25 kg was defined as adherent.
RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in weight-bearing between the groups for all activities measured. For the sit-stand-sit activity, weight-bearing was within the adherence range of 15-25 kg (audio-biofeedback: 21.7 ± 16.6 kg; scale: 22.6 ± 13 kg). For standing, loading was below the lower threshold (10 ± 7 vs. 10 ± 10 kg). Weight-bearing was above the upper threshold for both groups for: walking (26 ± 11 vs. 34 ± 16), step-up (29 ± 18 vs. 34 ± 20 kg) and step-down (28 ± 15 vs. 35 ± 19 kg). Lower level of cognitive function, older age, and higher body mass index were correlated with overloading.
CONCLUSIONS: Audio-biofeedback delivered no statistically significant benefit over the scale method. Lower cognitive function, older age and higher body mass index were associated with overloading.
BACKGROUND: Not applicable due not being a clinical trial and due to the cross-sectional design (one measurement point, no health intervention, no change in health of a person).

To work with a psychological therapies service to implement a recovery plan, as required by a government body, aimed at improving patient outcomes (effectiveness) and decreasing practitioner variability (equity). A case-study utilizing components of a learning health system, including nationally mandated patient outcome data, comprising three 18-month phases: (1) retrospective baseline; (2) improving patient outcomes (management-led); and (3) reducing practitioner variability (clinician-led). Primary analyses focused on 35 practitioners (NPR = 35) who were constant across the three phases and their patients in each phase (NPA = 930, 1226, 1217, respectively). Reliable improvement rates determined patient outcomes and multilevel modeling yielded practitioner effects. To test generalizability, results were compared to the whole practitioner sample for each phase: (1) NPR = 81, NPA = 1982; (2) NPR = 80, NPA = 2227; (3) NPR = 74, NPA = 2267. Ethical approval was granted by the Health Research Authority. Patient outcomes improved in successive phases for both the core and whole practitioner samples with the largest impact occurring in the management-led intervention. Practitioner variability decreased in successive phases in both the core and whole practitioner samples except in the management-led intervention of the whole sample. Compared with the management-led intervention, the practitioner-led intervention yielded a decrease in practitioner effect exceeding 60% in the core sample and approaching 50% in the whole sample. The implementation of multiple components of a learning health system can lead to improvements in both the effectiveness and equity of a psychological therapy service.

BACKGROUND: Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is key in developing healthcare professionals and lifelong learner. iCARE (internalization of Critical thinking, Assessment, Reflection to Empower learning) model was designed to enhance nursing students\' SRL.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of iCARE on nursing students\' reflective practice, SRL, self-efficacy and skill performance as compared to conventional group reflection.
METHODS: A quasi-experimental exploratory study was employed on 49 final-year nursing students in a tertiary acute hospital. The iCARE group (n = 24) received guided daily reflective journal with weekly feedback while the group reflection group (n = 25) received group reflection. Both were facilitated by clinical instructors. Participants\' SRL score, self-efficacy level and skill performance were measured pre- and post- training. End of posting reflective journal between group was compared. Their experience and perception on both facilitation methods were obtained using questionnaires. Quantitative data were summarised and analysed using Chi-Square test and t-test. Theme coding and content analysis were used to analyse the qualitative responses.
RESULTS: Compared to group reflection group, the iCARE group reported a statistically significant improvement in SRL score, reflective practice, skill performance and self-efficacy in skill performance after a four-week clinical posting. Participants from both groups perceived that reflection helped them learn from peers and experience, enhanced their performance and motivated them to learn. Three unique themes emerged only from the iCARE group: iCARE helped to developed SRL; application of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation (APIE) improved clinical reasoning; iCARE improved the use of feedback.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated the effect of the iCARE model in enhancing the development of nursing students\' reflective practice, SRL and clinical learning outcomes. The design of iCARE model that embeds SRL instructions, APIE framework and SRL focused feedback can promote cognitive and metacognitive development as well as skill performance.

BACKGROUND: Although history taking is fundamental for diagnosing medical conditions, teaching and providing feedback on the skill can be challenging due to resource constraints. Virtual simulated patients and web-based chatbots have thus emerged as educational tools, with recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) such as large language models (LLMs) enhancing their realism and potential to provide feedback.
OBJECTIVE: In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) 4 model to provide structured feedback on medical students\' performance in history taking with a simulated patient.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective study involving medical students performing history taking with a GPT-powered chatbot. To that end, we designed a chatbot to simulate patients\' responses and provide immediate feedback on the comprehensiveness of the students\' history taking. Students\' interactions with the chatbot were analyzed, and feedback from the chatbot was compared with feedback from a human rater. We measured interrater reliability and performed a descriptive analysis to assess the quality of feedback.
RESULTS: Most of the study\'s participants were in their third year of medical school. A total of 1894 question-answer pairs from 106 conversations were included in our analysis. GPT-4\'s role-play and responses were medically plausible in more than 99% of cases. Interrater reliability between GPT-4 and the human rater showed \"almost perfect\" agreement (Cohen κ=0.832). Less agreement (κ<0.6) detected for 8 out of 45 feedback categories highlighted topics about which the model\'s assessments were overly specific or diverged from human judgement.
CONCLUSIONS: The GPT model was effective in providing structured feedback on history-taking dialogs provided by medical students. Although we unraveled some limitations regarding the specificity of feedback for certain feedback categories, the overall high agreement with human raters suggests that LLMs can be a valuable tool for medical education. Our findings, thus, advocate the careful integration of AI-driven feedback mechanisms in medical training and highlight important aspects when LLMs are used in that context.

Background The National Medical Commission (NMC) of India has redesigned the graduate medical education program to equip Indian medical graduates with essential information, skills, attitudes, values, and responsiveness as physicians in their initial interactions with the community. Central to this initiative is the Attitude, Ethics, and Communication (AETCOM) module, designed as a guide for educators and institutions to implement a comprehensive, long-term program. This aims to ensure that students develop competency as clinicians, leaders, team players, communicators, lifelong learners, and professionals. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate students\' perceptions of the AETCOM modules during their first year. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted at BLDE (Deemed to be University), Vijayapura, India, utilizing self-administered, semi-structured questionnaires for data collection. The study included second- and third-year medical students, with all respondents who submitted their responses being included in the study. The total sample size comprised 123 students. Results Ninety-eight percent of the students agreed that the NMC had taken excellent initiative with the AETCOM module and found its duration sufficient. They suggested that the teaching-learning techniques should include more interactive sessions. Conclusions Feedback from the AETCOM module is crucial for enhancing its effectiveness, and it should be gathered from all medical colleges to propose necessary improvements.

UNASSIGNED: Residents must prepare for effective communication with patients after medical errors. The video-based communication assessment (VCA) is software that plays video of a patient scenario, asks the physician to record what they would say, engages crowdsourced laypeople to rate audio recordings of physician responses, and presents feedback to physicians.
UNASSIGNED: To evaluate the effectiveness of VCA feedback in resident error disclosure skill training.
UNASSIGNED: This single-blinded, randomized clinical trial was conducted from July 2022 to May 2023 at 7 US internal medicine and family medicine residencies (10 total sites). Participants were second-year residents attending required teaching conferences. Data analysis was performed from July to December 2023.
UNASSIGNED: Residents completed 2 VCA cases at time 1 and were randomized to the intervention, an individual feedback report provided in the VCA application after 2 weeks, or to control, in which feedback was not provided until after time 2. Residents completed 2 additional VCA cases after 4 weeks (time 2).
UNASSIGNED: Panels of crowdsourced laypeople rated recordings of residents disclosing simulated medical errors to create scores on a 5-point scale. Reports included learning points derived from layperson comments. Mean time 2 ratings were compared to test the hypothesis that residents who had access to feedback on their time 1 performance would score higher at time 2 than those without feedback access. Residents were surveyed about demographic characteristics, disclosure experience, and feedback use. The intervention\'s effect was examined using analysis of covariance.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 146 residents (87 [60.0%] aged 25-29 years; 60 female [41.0%]) completed the time 1 VCA, and 103 (70.5%) completed the time 2 VCA (53 randomized to intervention and 50 randomized to control); of those, 28 (54.9%) reported reviewing their feedback. Analysis of covariance found a significant main effect of feedback between intervention and control groups at time 2 (mean [SD] score, 3.26 [0.45] vs 3.14 [0.39]; difference, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.08-0.48; P = .01). In post hoc comparisons restricted to residents without prior disclosure experience, intervention residents scored higher than those in the control group at time 2 (mean [SD] score, 3.33 [0.43] vs 3.09 [0.44]; difference, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.01-0.48; P = .007). Worse performance at time 1 was associated with increased likelihood of dropping out before time 2 (odds ratio, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.06-7.84; P = .04).
UNASSIGNED: In this randomized clinical trial, self-directed review of crowdsourced feedback was associated with higher ratings of internal medicine and family medicine residents\' error disclosure skill, particularly for those without real-life error disclosure experience, suggesting that such feedback may be an effective way for residency programs to address their requirement to prepare trainees for communicating with patients after medical harm.
UNASSIGNED: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06234085.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the delivery of rehabilitation using implicit motor learning principles in an acute stroke setting.
METHODS: Pilot, assessor-blind, cluster randomised controlled trial with nested qualitative evaluation.
METHODS: Eight inpatient stroke units, UK.
METHODS: People within 14 days of stroke onset, presenting with lower limb hemiplegia.
METHODS: Participants at control clusters received usual care. Participants at intervention clusters received rehabilitation using an Implicit Learning Approach (ILA); primarily consisting of reduced frequency instructions/feedback, and promotion of an external focus of attention. Video recording was used to understand the ability of intervention site therapists to adhere to the implicit learning principles, and to compare differences between groups.
METHODS: Ability to recruit and retain clusters/participants; suitability and acceptability of data collection processes; appropriateness of fidelity monitoring methods; and appropriateness of chosen outcome measures.
RESULTS: Eight stroke units participated, with four assigned to each group (intervention/control). Fifty-one participants were enrolled (intervention group 21; control group 30). Mean time since stroke was 6 days (SD 3.42; 0-14); mean age was 73 years (SD 14, 25-94). Of those approached to take part, 72% agreed. We found clear differences between groups with respect to the frequency and type of instructional statement. The ILA was acceptable to both patients and therapists.
CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to evaluate the application and effectiveness of motor learning principles within acute stroke rehabilitation, using a cluster randomised design. A larger study is required to evaluate the benefits of each approach; we provide a range of sample size estimates required for this.

UNASSIGNED: The implementation of task sharing and shifting (TSTS) policy as a way of addressing the shortage of physicians and reducing the burden of hypertension in Africa birthed the idea of the African School of Hypertension (ASH). The ASH is saddled with the responsibility of training non-physician health workers across Africa continent in the management of uncomplicated hypertension.
UNASSIGNED: To get feedback from some faculty members and students who participated in the first ASH programme.
UNASSIGNED: This was a cross-sectional exploratory qualitative study conducted among eight students and eight faculty members. Feedback from the program was obtained by conducting in-depth interviews centred on description of course content; expectations and knowledge acquired from ASH; level of interaction between students and faculty members; challenges faced during the ASH; level of implementation of acquired training; and suggestions to improve subsequent ASH programs.
UNASSIGNED: The course content of the ASH was described as simple, appropriate and adequate while interaction between students and faculty members were highly cordial and engaging. New knowledge about hypertension management was acquired by the students with different levels of implementation post-graduation. Some identified challenges with the ASH program were poor internet connectivity during lectures, non-uniformity of TSTS policies and hypertension management guidelines across Africa, technical problems with hypertension management app and low participation from other African countries apart from Nigeria. Some recommendations to improve ASH program were development of a uniform hypertension management guideline for Africans, wider publicity of the ASH, interpretation of lectures into French and Portuguese languages and improvement of internet connectivity.
UNASSIGNED: The ASH programme has largely achieved its objectives with the very encouraging feedback received from both faculty members and the students. Steps should be taken to address the identified challenges and implement the suggested recommendations in subsequent ASH program to sustain this success.

BACKGROUND: Radiographic diagnostic competences are a primary focus of dental education. This study assessed two feedback methods to enhance learning outcomes and explored the feasibility of artificial intelligence (AI) to support education.
METHODS: Fourth-year dental students had access to 16 virtual radiological example cases for 8 weeks. They were randomly assigned to either elaborated feedback (eF) or knowledge of results feedback (KOR) based on expert consensus. Students´ diagnostic competences were tested on bitewing/periapical radiographs for detection of caries, apical periodontitis, accuracy for all radiological findings and image quality. We additionally assessed the accuracy of an AI system (dentalXrai Pro 3.0), where applicable. Data were analysed descriptively and using ROC analysis (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC). Groups were compared with Welch\'s t-test.
RESULTS: Among 55 students, the eF group by large performed significantly better than the KOR group in detecting enamel caries (accuracy 0.840 ± 0.041, p = .196; sensitivity 0.638 ± 0.204, p = .037; specificity 0.859 ± 0.050, p = .410; ROC AUC 0.748 ± 0.094, p = .020), apical periodontitis (accuracy 0.813 ± 0.095, p = .011; sensitivity 0.476 ± 0.230, p = .003; specificity 0.914 ± 0.108, p = .292; ROC AUC 0.695 ± 0.123, p = .001) and in assessing the image quality of periapical images (p = .031). No significant differences were observed for the other outcomes. The AI showed almost perfect diagnostic performance (enamel caries: accuracy 0.964, sensitivity 0.857, specificity 0.074; dentin caries: accuracy 0.988, sensitivity 0.941, specificity 1.0; overall: accuracy 0.976, sensitivity 0.958, specificity 0.983).
CONCLUSIONS: Elaborated feedback can improve student\'s radiographic diagnostic competences, particularly in detecting enamel caries and apical periodontitis. Using an AI may constitute an alternative to expert labelling of radiographs.

Objective: Performance below the actual abilities of the examinee can be measured using performance validity tests (PVTs). PVT failure negatively impacts the quality of the neuropsychological assessment. In our study, we addressed this issue by providing a brief corrective statement regarding invalidity to improve test-taking behavior. Methods: This study is a multisite single-blind randomized controlled trial in a consecutive sample of clinically referred adult patients (N = 196) in a general hospital setting. Patients who failed a PVT (n = 71) were randomly allocated to a corrective statement approach (CS; n = 39), in which a brief verbal corrective statement was given by the technician, or received no corrective statement upon indications of invalid performance (NO-CS; n = 32). Both groups (CS and NO-CS) were provided with the same subsequently repeated and newly administered tests. Results: There were no group (CS vs. NO-CS) differences on both the repeated and single-administered PVTs and standard cognitive tests. Furthermore, invalid performing participants benefited significantly less from the repeated test administration compared to the valid performing group. Conclusions: Our study found that a brief corrective within-session statement, to address PVT failure and improve test-taking behavior, did not improve consequent test performance. These results suggest limited value of a brief verbal corrective statement to influence performance below best of capabilities. It highlights the need for more research to identify more effective approaches that can enhance patients test-taking behavior. Ultimately, such efforts are critical in ensuring accurate diagnosis and effective treatment recommendations for patients.