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Biomedical subjects

Maureen C Ashe

Publications and source records attributed to Maureen C Ashe.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Care navigation for older adults after stroke - A systematic review and meta-analyses to guide social prescribing.

INTRODUCTION: Stroke affects many older people worldwide, and patient navigation and social prescribing (e.g., care navigation) may help recovery. We aimed to synthesize evidence on the effect of care navigation for people living with the effects of a stroke (PLWS) on anxiety, depression, quality of life, and well-being. Our secondary focus was to explore these models in rural settings. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review following guidelines, and searched for peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials for older adults (60 years+ or group mean age in this range) who had a stroke and received patient navigation or social prescribing. Two authors independently screened citations at Level 1 (title and abstract) and Level 2 (full text). The date of the last updated search was December 5, 2025. We synthesized data quantitatively using meta-analyses (random effects model and standard mean difference). RESULTS: We identified 11 studies using patient navigation, but no social prescribing interventions. The total number of PLWS participants at baseline was 7829 with an average mean age of 68 years (43% women). There were no differences between groups for anxiety or quality of life for PLWS, but there was a difference favouring the intervention for depression, although the findings were no longer significant with sensitivity analyses. Thus, results should be interpreted with caution. Only two studies provided data for caregivers, with mixed findings. No studies focused on well-being or rural settings. CONCLUSIONS: Care navigation for PLWS needs more research, including testing social prescribing within stroke rehabilitation in rural and urban locations. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2025 CRD420251077958.

Aged↗

Common tendinopathies in the upper and lower extremities.

Overuse tendon injuries (tendinopathies) present a challenge to sports medicine patients and clinicians. Despite the high prevalence of tendinopathy in recreational and competitive athletes, treatment is often hampered by contradictory definitions and descriptions of the underlying pathology, with a limited repertoire of evidence-based treatments. This review provides the clinician with a basic overview of tendon structure and pathophysiology, and highlights the most common tendinopathies affecting the upper and lower extremities, including an update on recent advances in conservative management.

Athletic Injuries↗

Optimizing results from pQCT: reliability of operator-dependent pQCT variables in cadavers and humans with low bone mass.

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) can assess bone geometric properties and separate cortical from trabecular bone. Despite pQCT's potential benefits for research, most reliability and accuracy studies have used a constant acquisition and analysis protocol. There are, however, numerous steps in the pQCT scan acquisition and analysis that are operator dependent. Whether or not these influence the quality of the pQCT scans and, potentially, the precision and validity of the data collected has been little explored. We investigated how pQCT outputs changed when operator-dependent parameters were varied, particularly when the bone of interest was of low mineral density. We found that bone parameters and scan failure rate varied significantly depending on the acquisition resolution; only one scan slice at the 10 and 30% radius is required to maintain adequate precision, and reference lines for sites should use a reproducible landmark. These results provide a foundation for recommending scan acquisition and analysis options for patients with low bone mass.

Aged↗

Tendinopathies in the upper extremity: a paradigm shift.

Epicondylitis and de Quervain's tenosynovitis are two common diagnoses seen by hand therapists in clinical practice. Traditionally, these conditions have been viewed as being due to an inflammatory process and treated as such. New research shows that tendons exhibit areas of degeneration and a distinct lack of inflammatory cells. Tendinosis is degeneration of the collagen tissue due to aging, microtrauma, or vascular compromise. This article reviews key literature related to tendinopathies in the lower extremity and comments on the dearth of similar articles for the elbow and forearm. Hand therapists are encouraged to embrace this new terminology and to engage in research in this difficult area to improve treatment regimens and outcome measures.

Humans↗

Exercise prescription.

Although many studies suggest that exercise provides various health benefits, the optimal dimensions of exercise (ie, frequency, intensity, duration, type) remain to be carefully defined. Research encompasses many areas, from activities of daily living to elite athletic performance. To properly prescribe a beneficial exercise program, a physician must have a basic understanding of the elements of exercise physiology and energy metabolism, as well as of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal responses to exercise and training. Also, integration of specific programs for muscle strengthening with aerobic conditioning is important to achieve optimal results in patients with musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Exercise↗