LibGuides: Physical Therapist Assistant PTA: Websites

Finding Datasets and Statistics

1. Think about who might collect the data.

Could it have been collected by a government agency?
A nonprofit/nongovernmental organization?
A private business or industry group?
Academic researchers?

2. Look for publications that cite the dataset

e.g. scholarly articles or government reports.

3. Once you know that what you want exists, it's time to hunt it down.

Is it freely available on the web? Check Google—you never know!
Or part of a package to which the library already subscribes?
Is it something we can buy? (And is it within the library's budget and can the purchase be made quickly enough to fit your timeframe?)
Can it be requested directly from the researcher? There’s a reason articles usually include author contact information

"Finding Data and Statistics." UC San Diego Library. n.d. Web. 08 Apr 2020.

Organizations and Associations

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation As the primary medical society for the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), your Academy is focused on moving the specialty and you forward. Explore below to learn about the value of your Academy membership and what it supports.
American Academy of Physical Therapy (AAPT) Encouraging and supporting minorities in the pursuit of physical therapy careers
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Together we are building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.
American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP) Founded in 1997 a national non=profit professional organization in the state of Minnesota.
American Society of Hand Therapists “Hand therapy is the art and science of rehabilitation of the upper limb, which includes the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder girdle. It is the merging of occupational and physical therapy theory and practice that combines comprehensive knowledge of the structure of the upper limb with function and activity. Using specialized skills in assessment, planning and treatment, hand therapists provide therapeutic intervention to prevent dysfunction, restore function and/or reverse the progression of pathology of the upper limb in order to enhance an individual’s ability to execute tasks and to participate fully in life situations.” Journal of Hand Therapy; 2009(22)361-376), ASHT Scope of Practice; 2011.
CAPTE - The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy CAPTE is an accrediting agency that is nationally recognized by the US Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CAPTE grants specialized accreditation status to qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
Foundation for Physical Therapy The Foundation for Physical Therapy, like the physical therapy profession, is dedicated to the goal of improving the quality and delivery of patient care. The Foundation accomplishes this by providing support to emerging investigators to promote scientifically based and clinically relevant research related to the effectiveness of physical therapist practice.
Frontiers in Rehabilitation, Science and Technology (FiRST) Council APTA's Frontiers in Rehabilitation, Science, and Technology Council is intended to serve as a community for interested stakeholders. Ideas generated by the council may be implemented by participants' stakeholder groups (sections, academies, external groups, APTA, etc) at the discretion of each entity's governing body.
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This council represents the following areas of interest:

Genetics in Physical Therapy
Imaging
Regenerative Rehabilitation
Sensors and Robotics
Telehealth
PhysicalTherapist.com PhysicalTherapist.com is a collaborative, informational website designed for the physical therapy community. Our owners are physical therapists, well-known and respected members of the profession.
Physical Therapy Directory The American Physical Therapy Association guide of PT's organized by focus and treatment. A nationwide directory of Physical Therapy offices and therapists.
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National Directory of PTs
PTNow APTA has patient care resources to help you in your daily practice — including evidence-based practice resources and content previously housed at PTNow. For the public: To learn how physical therapy can help you with specific symptoms and conditions visit ChoosePT.com, our official consumer information website.
World Confederation for Physical Therapy Founded in 1951, we are the sole international voice for physiotherapy. Our vision is to move physiotherapy forward, so the profession is recognised globally for its significant role in improving health and wellbeing. We are committed to furthering the physiotherapy profession and improving global health through: encouraging high standards of physiotherapy research, education and practice supporting the exchange of information between our regions and member organisations collaborating with national and international organisations

Grey Literature Report (New York Academy of Medicine) Features grey literature (reports, proceedings, research, theses, etc. not published commercially) from a variety of sources in the areas of “health services research and selected public health topics.” Search the site, or browse the current report or archived reports. You can also subscribe to receive alerts when the latest report is issued.
Medical Rehabilitation Research Infrastructure Network (MRRIN) The Medical Rehabilitation Research Resource (MR3) Network comprises six Rehabilitation Research Resource Centers that provide infrastructure and access to expertise, technologies, and resources to foster clinical and translational research in medical rehabilitation. MR3 Network centers offer expertise from the cell to whole body across the lifespan to implementation into practice with expertise in regenerative rehabilitation, neuromodulation, pediatric rehabilitation, technology for real-world assessment, and translation/ dissemination research.
Medscape Provides robust and integrated information on diseases, medications, news and educational tools.
National Insitutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) In addition to carrying out its scientific mission, the NIH exemplifies and promotes the highest level of public accountability. To that end, the Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH supported research.
PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) PEDro has been informing physiotherapy practice for over 21 years. It is a free database of over 51,000 trials, reviews and guidelines evaluating physiotherapy interventions. You can SEARCH to answer your questions, BROWSE the latest research in your area of interest, LEARN more about evidence-based practice, access useful RESOURCES, or find out more ABOUT this invaluable global resource.
PT Outcome Measures Recommendations - Academy of Neurologic PT Based on feedback from two Academy of Neuroloc Physical Therapy efforts: the regional course Neurologic Practice Essentials: A Functional Toolbox and the Consensus Guidelines for Entry-level Education; the Academy has supported the development of recommendations for outcome measure used in clinical practice, research, and entry level physical therapist education. Currently, the Academy has completed recommendations for use of outcome measures in people with stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. These have been presented at the APTA's Combined Sections Meetings in 2011-2013. StrokEDGE recommendations Multiple Sclerosis EDGE recommendations Traumatic Brain Injury EDGE recommendations Spinal Cord Injury EDGE Recommendations Parkinson Disease Vestibular Disorders
Rehabilitation Measures Database (RMD) - Ability Lab With more than 500 measures and supported by some of the world's best doctors, clinicians, therapists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation researchers, the Rehabilitation Measures Database (RMD) is the go-to resource for benchmarks and outcomes.
StrokEngine This site can be used to find the most current information about the value of the various interventions used in stroke rehabilitation as well as psychometric and pragmatic properties of assessment tools used in stroke rehabilitation.
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stroke
Also called a "brain attack" and happens when brain cells die because of inadequate blood flow. 20% of cases are a hemorrhage in the brain caused by a rupture or leakage from a blood vessel. 80% of cases are also know as a "schemic stroke", or the formation of a blood clot in a vessel supplying blood to the brain. More
Engine’s content is derived from multiple sources including the Evidence-Based Review of stroke Rehabilitation (EBRSR) headed by Dr. Teasell in London, Ontario and extensive reviews of databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, HealthSTAR, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, CANCERLIT, PsycINFO. The goal is to provide you with best practice information, that is practice that is based on scientific evidence of its effectiveness.
TRIP - Turning Research Into Practice "Trip is a clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care."
PubMed Central OAI-PMH service Provides access to metadata of all items in the PubMed Central (PMC) archive, as well as to the full text of a subset of these items.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
From the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) the "mission of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people."
Healthy People 2020
Full text of the government's health promotion plan, with links to related sites.
Project Tycho
from the University of Pittsburgh, this database provides access to data from 1888 to present on various pathogenic diseases in the United States. To use the data you must create a free account.
National Library of Medicine Health Statistics
Health statistics, data sets, and online tools from major U.S. sources.

American Medical Association (AMA): CPT This official website of the American Medical Association offers information covering numerous aspects of the medical field. Locate a physician in your area, browse through medical publications, and get up-to-the-minute information on medical news and research.
Ethics and Professionalism from APTA
From the American Physical Therapy Association this site includes the Code of Ethics for PTs, Standards of Ethical Conduct for the PTA, Value-based Behaviors for the PTA, Core Values for the PT & PTA, and the Standards of Practice for Physical Therapy
Kaiser Family Foundation
KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy. KFF develops and runs its own policy analysis, journalism and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with major news organizations.
Martindale's Virtual Medical Center
Contains books, journal articles, images banks, videos, etc. on all aspects of Medicine.
National Library of Medicine (NLM) APIs
A directory of medical resource APIs including PubMedCentral, MedlinePlus, AIDSinfo, ClinicalTrials.gov, Drug Interactions, and more
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

Gale Directory Library

Gale Directory Library
Gale is the trusted source for authoritative directories on companies, publishers, associations and more. These directories are now available online in the Gale Directory Library. This online resource takes these references off the shelf and makes them available at the click of a mouse 24/7.

How to Evaluate Websites - Quick Tips

Evaluate websites that have information you would like to use in your assignments.

Look on each website for an "About Us" page to answer some of the following questions:

Who is the author?
What are his/her qualifications?
Why was the website created?
When was it last updated?
How reliable is the information?

Google Scholar

Better Googling

	("affordable care act" OR obamacare) AND seniors site:.gov
	174,000 results

	How does the affordable care act effect seniors?
	3,150,000 results

Here's how to craft a better search to get fewer and more relevant results:

Identify the main ideas in your research question.
How does the affordable care act effect seniors?
Connect the main ideas with AND.
affordable care act AND seniors
Use quotation marks around 2 or more words that need to be together.
"affordable care act" AND seniors
Use OR between synonyms/related terms.
("affordable care act" OR obamacare) AND seniors
Limit your search to a specific domain, such as .edu, .gov, or .org.
("affordable care act" OR obamacare) AND seniors site:.gov