Foreward
C. Michael Schuch, CPO, FISPO
In the foreword of the Spring 1995 issue of the Journal of
Prosthetics and Orthotics (JPO), I recognized the progress
of the NCOPE-accredited education programs in encouraging, requiring and guiding research. Two indirect impacts
of this acknowledgment of the need for research have been
a steady improvement in the quality of manuscripts submitted to the JPO and an increase in the number of research-based articles published.
I now would like to recognize the growing group of contributors of research articles to our journal, authors from
NCOPE-accredited residency programs. In the Volume 7,
Number 1 (Winter 1995) issue of JPO, Christopher F Hovorka, CO, co-wrote (with Terry J. Supan, CPO) the article
"A Review of Thermoplastic Ankle-Foot Orthoses Adjustments/Replacements in Young Cerebral Palsy and Spina
Bifida Patients,"
which was a retrospective study initiated
during Mr. Hovorka's residency program at Southern Illinois University.
Included in this issue is an article titled "Clinical Outcomes of the Townsend Knee Orthosis,"
co-written by Jason M. Jennings, CO (with William J. Barringer, MS, CO,
and Gary S. Trexler, CO). Initiated during Mr. Jennings' residency at the University of Oklahoma, this is a retrospective survey research-based article.
Congratulations to all of our education-based programs.
both basic entry-level programs and postgraduate residency programs, for fostering this increasing interest in O&P
research.
We continue to be fortunate enough to publish significant research articles as the lead article in each issue. However, our inventory of submitted research manuscripts is
never large enough, so we encourage all colleagues to submit more research-based manuscripts for review.
For those who wish to undertake the challenge of research in O&P, please refer to the Research Forum section
in each issue of the JPO. The articles published in this forum provide details about research with particular application to O&P Two articles appear in this issue's Research
Forum.
Finally, I would like to note that two of the authors in this
issue are PhDs/PTs. We are pleased to have these contributions from our allied health colleagues.
C. Michael Schuch
Editor, JPO
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