| | From the President and Secretary General New technologies have transformed our ability to network on an international level. But sometimes there's just no replacement for face to face contact. This month WCPT subgroup representatives from around the world came together for two days of discussion with the WCPT Executive Committee and Secretariat, to look at moving forward together. And both of us, as participants at the event, were impressed by the impact it seemed to have. All participants have commented on how many ideas they came away with, and how much they gained from the personal interactions. Addressing challenges together, we all felt personally supported by an international community working towards common causes. It just goes to show that sometimes the best way of working together is to be together. Kind regards,
Marilyn Moffat and Brenda J Myers If you would like to use all or part of this E-letter for your own newsletters/websites then please feel free. We need your assistance to reach the profession around the world, so please send this e-update to your members. WCPT Executive Committee considers disability The WCPT Executive Committee held a productive meeting on 8th and 9th March in London. It considered background papers on disability and the role of physical therapy related to non-communicable diseases, with a view to developing policy statements, briefing papers and congress programming. WCPT wants to highlight the unique perspective of physical therapy and ensure key messages are delivered at relevant international meetings/events. A project advisory group to support the project on disability access to professional entry level education and practice has been established. This work follows from a motion at the General Meeting in 2011. WCPT holds its first Subgroup Leadership Forum The first WCPT Subgroup Leadership Forum was held on 10th and 11th March, with Executive Committee members present. Subgroups discussed opportunities and challenges they face in moving their organisations forward. Topics addressed included membership development, financial planning and management, policy, communications and branding as well as ideas to engage subgroups and their members in WCPT's Congress in 2015. WHO launches status report on road safety There is an urgent need for legal change if the number of deaths from road traffic crashes is to be substantially reduced, according to the World Health Organization's new global status report on road safety for 2013. Only 28 countries, covering 7% of the world's population, have comprehensive road safety laws on all five key risk factors: drinking and driving, speeding, and failing to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints. The Global status report on road safety 2013 presents information from 182 countries, and uses a standardized method that allows comparisons between countries. Go to http://who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/en/ind... IFOMPT 2012 audio recordings The NCD Alliance has published a detailed response to the World Health Organization's draft Global NCD Action Plan (GAP) 2013-2020. lt calls on member states to strengthen the GAP at the forthcoming WHO informal consultations, and includes recommendations on leadership, aim and scope, objectives, resourcing, implementation, reporting and accountability. It has also produced an advocacy hand-out outlining its position on the GAP. It is available at http://ncdalliance.org/sites/default/files/resource_files/Advocacy-Hand-.... TED talk by Alberto Cairo A talk given by physical therapist Alberto Cairo to the famous TED ideas organisation is available to view on the WCPT website at http://www.wcpt.org/node/29378#humanity. Alberto Cairo is the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross's orthopedic programme in Afghanistan. He has helped an estimated 100,000 Afghan landmine and accident victims, and earned a WCPT Humanitarian Service Award in 2007. Hooked on Evidence available to all Physical therapists around the world may now access the American Physical Therapy Association's Hooked on Evidence database for free. The database includes extracts of articles related to physical therapy interventions. The aim is to advance evidence-based practice by all physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Users have to create a username and a password to access the website: go to http://www.hookedonevidence.com/ Parkinson's congress deadline approaches The World Parkinson Coalition is accepting abstracts for the third World Parkinson Congress, to be held in Montreal, Canada on 1st to 4th October 2013. The deadline is 15th April. WCPT is one of the supporters of the coalition. Further details are available at http://www.worldpdcongress.org/?page=AbstractSubmission New amputations network being explored Would you like the opportunity to give and gain support with others working on rehabilitating people with amputations around the world? Would you like to develop relationships with international peers and share information about practice, research, clinical guidelines and outcome measures? Louise Tisdale, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist in amputee rehabilitation in the UK, is investigating whether there is sufficient interest to support a new WCPT network. Contact Louise.Tisdale@nhs.net. For more information on WCPT Networks visit: http://www.wcpt.org/networks WCPT region and subgroup events International conference on women's health and ageing: the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Women's Health (IOPTWH) and the International Association of Physical Therapists working with Older People (IPTOP) have joined together to offer a conference on 26th-28th April in Boston, Massachusetts. More information available at http://www.wcpt.org/sites/wcpt.org/files/files/IOPTWH-IPTOP-Special_Issue-Feb2013.pdf WCPT Asia Western Pacific Congress: the 16th Asia Western Pacific Regional Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 6th AWP Regional Congress in Taichung, Taiwan between 6th-9th September 2013. The Congress, being held with the Asian Confederation for Physical Therapy (ACPT) will be an opportunity to interact and communicate with physical therapy clinicians, educators and researchers. More details at http://www.2013awp-acpt.org/welcome.html INFORMATIONIf you are unable to access our website using the links within this email, you may need to copy and paste the hyperlinks directly into your internet browser. If you have problems reading this email please follow the link below for help. www.wcpt.org/eupdate | | | |
