Physical therapy
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The Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) is a widely used patient-reported outcome measure, originally having 2 elements of outcome: the function index and the bother index. In multiple studies, it has been argued that the SMFA should be scored using 3, 4, or 6 subscales instead. Therefore, there is inconsistency with the number of underlying dimensions of the SMFA. ⋯ In a broad range of patients with injuries, the SMFA-NL may be best scored and interpreted using a 4-factor structure. Other factor structures showed insufficient structural validity.
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Educating health professionals about pain (pain education) during undergraduate studies may be an important step in changing ineffective pain management practices. ⋯ Most Brazilian physical therapist education programs do not offer a specific pain course. When a pain course is presented in the curriculum, some content recommended for physical therapist education programs by the International Association for the Study of Pain is not covered. The absence of a pain course in physical therapist education programs may have implications for pain management. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study about pain education in physical therapist education programs in Brazil.