Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Integrated Education On Child Oral Health, Rachel Mcpherson

Doctor of Occupational Therapy Doctoral Projects

Background. Allied health professionals can apply their unique scope of practice to educate and promote oral health that best fits families’ daily habits, routines, and cultural practices (Anderson et al., 2020; Gold & Tomar, 2018; Iwao et al., 2019).

Purpose. The primary purpose of this capstone project was to increase family utilization of oral healthcare services and daily oral hygiene practices through cultivating positive oral health experiences for all children.

Approach. A child intake questionnaire and social story were created to prepare children for their dental exam, provide child-specific oral health education, and understand childrens’ oral health habits and dental …

Mental Health Literacy For Adolescents With Special Needs: A Pilot Occupational Therapy Curriculum In A Middle School, Elizabeth Gray

Doctor of Occupational Therapy Doctoral Projects

In school communities, addressing student mental health and establishing safe, supportive relationships have become part of our everyday work. National statistics currently report one in five children in the United States struggles with a mental disorder (One in Five Minds, 2020). Students are presenting with increasingly complex psychiatric, behavioral, and trauma experiences that impact their ability to access education and navigate the tasks of adolescence-with life-long health results. This doctoral project has explored youth mental health prevention and promotion interventions for the occupational therapy practitioner and contributing factors such as youth marginalization, social inequity, and youth health literacy deficits.

Throughout …