188

by stroke patients. Undergraduate physio-therapists should find the style of the bookinformative in that the approach to move-ment re-education is directive and definite,however, this style may be less acceptableto experienced clinicians.

This book will be useful for undergradu-ate and inexperienced physiotherapists andother members of the healthcare team deal-ing with stroke. Experienced neurologicalclinicians of all disciplines, and thoserequiring evidence-based and academicallyrigorous material, are unlikely to find thatthe book improves on the texts that are cur-rently available.

Mark SmithRoyal Victoria Hospital

Edinburgh

STATISTICAL METHODS FORHEALTH CARE RESEARCH

BH Munro (Ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.2000. ISBN 0 7817 2175 X

This is the fourth edition of a text first pub-lished in 1986. The Editor is Dean andProfessor of the School of Nursing atBoston College in Massachusetts, USA.The book aims to explain the statisticalmethods which appear most frequently inthe health literature. It is, therefore, targetedat the health professions in general, with noparticular emphasis on a student or graduatereadership.

The volume is organized into two sec-tions. The f irst, which makes upapproximately one-quarter of the text, dealswith the organization and presentation ofdata along with an introduction to inferen-tial statistical testing. The section on datapresentation gives some suggestions about

style, an important aspect overlooked in sta-tistics texts.

The second section presents a number ofdifferent statistical techniques: basic tech-niques, including t-tests, analysis ofvariance, correlation tests and non-paramet-ric equivalents, along with more advancedtechniques, such as factor analysis, struc-tural equation modelling, logisticalregression and path analysis. Given that ithas extended the usual repertoire of tests,the text could have gone further to addressBayes’ theorem, receiver operating charac-terstics (ROCs), and Bland and Altmanlimits of agreement, which are valuable inhealth research.

Each chapter begins with a list of objec-tives to guide the reader, along the lines of‘... by the end of this chapter you will ...’and at the end of each chapter there areexercises with solutions supplied. The chap-ters deliberately play down the mathematicsinvolved, on the reasoning that this will bedone by computer — a style which willappeal to most readers. The examples usedin the text are based on analysis by SPSS.The book is not a guide to the use of SPSS,however, but it is a useful help to under-standing the output from the package. Thisis valuable as the output can sometimesconfuse the occasional user. (On a specificnote, the authors continually refer to theoutput displaying the significance value asp = 0.000. This is a common cause of con-fusion, and it is better referred to asp<0.001; the SPSS setting used allows onlythree decimal points.)

There is a useful glossary and the bibli-ography is fairly extensive, with a largely,though not exclusively, nursing flavour.

I would recommend this book as auseful addition to a library for physiothera-pists. It is also worth considering as apersonal buy for those with research

Book reviews

PRI 7(3)_crc 28/11/02 1:04 PM Page 188

involvement. It is a particularly good initialreference for people wanting to come toterms with the more advanced techniques.

Denis MartinQueen Margaret University College

Edinburgh

PHYSIOTHERAPY FOR RESPIRATORY AND CARDIACPROBLEMS — ADULTS AND PAEDIATRICS

Jennifer A Pryor and S Ammani Prasad(eds). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.2002. ISBN 0 443 07075 X

The previous editions of this book areestablished as standard textbooks for under-graduate and postgraduate study, and thesecond edition is recommended as essentialreading for undergraduates and postgradu-ate physiotherapy programmes. Thisexpanded and updated third edition shouldfind a similar position.

The layout and structure is readily acces-sible to the reader, and the repositioning ofthe ‘Mechanical support’ and ‘Non-invasiveventilation’ chapters into Section 2 seemsthem more comfortably placed. Illustrationimprovement and additions have added clar-ity to the text and aid the absorption ofinformation. The greatly expanded refer-ence lists reflect the increasing emphasis onthe evidence base for the profession, andprovides, if not a systematic review, a soundplatform for further investigation.

The greater emphasis on paediatrics iswelcome and will support the knowledgebase underpinning paediatric practice.Although requiring specialized skills, themanagement of paediatric problems shouldbe included in standard, general textbooks.

Introducing lung development, anatomicaland physiological differences and assess-ment of children in Section 2, Chapter 13 islate in the text, however, the material andpresentation here and overall is readilydigestible. The book provides comprehen-sive coverage of the main presentingproblems of childhood and their up-to-datemanagement, but perhaps an opportunity todiscuss child protection and consent issueswas missed. These are very real concernsthat affect day-to-day practice.

Many topics have been updated in thelight of new evidence and changing meth-ods of management of the conditionspresented, such as the inclusion of minimalaccess surgery, developments in ventilatorysupport, revised oxygen transport pathwaysand updated neurophysiology subsections.The inclusion of standard outcome mea-sures establishes the importance of their usefor future practitioners. The completelyrevised chapters on pulmonary and cardiacrehabilitation are based firmly on best evi-dence and practice to date for theseeffective interventions.

This textbook will fill and expand theposition held by the second edition. Thetext will support undergraduate and post-graduate studies as well as providing avaluable resource for new and returningpractitioners or those changing directionwithin the profession.

Jan MortonGlasgow Caledonian University

NEUROMUSCULOSKELETALEXAMINATION AND ASSESSMENT

NJ Petty and AP Moore (eds). Edinburgh:Churchill Livingstone. 2001. ISBN 0 44307061 X

Book reviews 189

PRI 7(3)_crc 28/11/02 1:04 PM Page 189