OLUWASEUN S. KUBEYINJE

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide, and caring for stroke survivors often places a significant burden on family members or informal caregivers. This burden may adversely affect their physical health, psychological well-being, and overall quality of life. Aim: To assess the level of caregiving burden among caregivers of stroke survivors and to examine its association with their quality of life and depression level. Method: A purposive sampling technique was used. Data were collected from caregivers of stroke survivors in the wards and out-patient departments in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) using standardized questionnaires such as the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) for caregiver burden, Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire (AC-QoL) to measure quality of life and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for depression. Results: Females constituted 57.6% of the informal caregivers, whereas males accounted for 42.4%. 75.2% of the caregivers had significant level of burden, and 59.5% had depression, with demonstrable association between the two conditions (χ2 = 99.3, p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the scores for caregivers’ burden and depression (r = 0.75, p < 0.001). The severity of caregiver burden correlated positively with the severity of depression (r = 0.68, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The caregiver burden among caregivers of stroke survivors in Benin City is moderate. They also have moderate overall quality of life and experienced mild to moderate depressive symptoms.

Background: Many older adults struggle with poor movement, loneliness, depression, and daily activities. Many older people cannot access physiotherapists due to illness, long distance, and lack of transportation. Tele-physiotherapy gives them care online, helps them move well, feel less lonely and stay independent. Aim: This research investigated the impact of tele-physiotherapy in improving the quality of life for aged persons in Nigeria. Its objective is to propose solutions regarding the use of available technologies to improve mobility, happiness, and social participation at the local level. Methodology: The research used a single-group pretest - posttest quasi- experimental design. Fifty-eight participants were recruited, took part in tele- physiotherapy (guided virtual exercises) and assessed before and after the intervention. Pre and posttest differences were analysed using paired test. The data collection tools were; Time Up and Go, University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale 15 and Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living. Pretest and posttest scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Result: For mobility, the time reduced from 20.41 seconds pretest to 17.14 seconds in the posttest. The social solitude scores reduced from 55.09 pretest to 44.90 posttest. There was significant drop in depression scores from 9.03 pretest to 5.47 posttest. While the participants’ independence increased from 64.43 to 73.93. Conclusion: These results imply that tele-physiotherapy is an effective approach for supporting better health and daily living for the elderly

Background: Physiotherapy plays a significant role in the health care system, the selection of career in Physiotherapy at the secondary school level is a difficult decision based on the information available to the students about the practice of Physiotherapy. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the level of awareness and perception of physiotherapy as a career among senior secondary school students in Edo State, Nigeria. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study was used to select eight (8) schools within Egor local Government area and 278 students were selected from each class with the use random selection sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to get information on scio- demographic data, awareness of physiotherapy, perception of physiotherapy as a career choice and factors influencing awareness and perception. Descriptive and Inferential statistics of Chi- square tests and Man Whitney U was used to summarize the data. Significance level was p < 0.05 Results: 64.4% of respondents demonstrated good awareness. 175(62.9%) had heard of the term physiotherapy, indicating a moderate level of awareness among the students. 125(45.0%) knew who a physiotherapist is, 124(44.6%) understood what physiotherapists do. 184 (66.2%) had never interacted with a physiotherapist, which shows limited practical exposure to the profession. 65.5% of respondents demonstrated a good perception of physiotherapy. 150(54.0%) agreed that physiotherapy is a respected profession in Nigeria, 133(47.8%) believed it offers good job opportunities and income. 157(56.5%) rated physiotherapy as very important in healthcare. Conclusions: The study's participants showed a moderate level of awareness of physiotherapy, though their understanding of the profession is limited. Despite the general awareness, misconception and lack of structured career counselling continue to hinder interest in physiotherapy

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is a long-term condition that tends to get worse gradually, and the symptoms can differ in how serious they are from one person to another. It mostly affects people who are over the age of 50 and has a major impact on their quality of life. One of the most effective ways to manage it is through exercise therapy, which helps reduce pain and
improves how the joints work. Strength exercises focus on building weak muscles, while aerobic workouts can help lessen discomfort. Recently, more attention has been given to non-surgical approaches like resisted active exercises (RAEs). These exercises help stabilize the joint, make the muscles stronger, and improve how well older adults can move around and stay independent. Methods: 19 participants with knee osteoarthritis 60 years and above were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. Data was collected using the Functional independence measure (FIM) and patient specific functional scale (PSFS) before and after the intervention was given. Resistance exercises were given to the participants 2-3 times a week for the next 6 weeks. Descriptive statistics summarized the data, while Paired T test was used to determine the correlation between variables. Significance was set at an alpha level of 0.05. Result: The mean FIM (functional independence measure) score improved from 114.68 ± 7.72
to 118.26 ± 5.85, and PSFS(patient specific functional scale) score from 5.21 ± 1.99 to 7.47 ± 1.26 post-intervention. Paired t-test showed significant improvement in functional status (FIM: p = 0.001; PSFS: p = 0.001) following six weeks of resisted active exercises. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated significant improvements in both general, functional status functional independence and task-specific abilities, as evidenced by statistically significant increases in FIM and PSFS scores. These results support the effectiveness of resisted active exercises as a simple, low-cost, and non-pharmacological intervention for improving functional
status in older adults with knee OA.