Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Ensuring A Knowledgeable Geriatric Workforce: Interdisciplinary Education In Long-Term Services And Supports, Gina Tucker-Roghi

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Scholarship

In this symposium, we describe five interdisciplinary educational programs to enhance the geriatric workforce in long-term services and supports (LTSS): Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), assisted living, and home health and hospice. The interdisciplinary teams that came together to offer the programs leveraged technology to maximize access to experts in both the curriculum development process and the delivery of the educational programs for a wide range of target learners. The first program, an interdisciplinary telementoring series on dementia care for therapists in SNFs, was developed by a team of experts from occupational, physical and speech therapy. The program included asynchronous online …

What Can Be Achieved With An Interprofessional Class?, Kitsum Li, Olivia Catolico

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Scholarship

Introduction Recently, educators advocated for interprofessional education to better prepare entry-level healthcare workers for efficient, effective, and respectful teamwork to lower the cost of healthcare and improve the delivery of collaborative quality patient care. This article describes the results of an educational program evaluation of an interprofessional class (IPC) taught over a five-year period between nursing and occupational therapy (OT) departments at a small private university.

Methods During the IPC sessions, a small group of nursing and OT students observed a simulated patient care scenario in which a nursing and an OT student provided care related to their respective discipline. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Formal Dementia Care Training Program: Abilities Care Experts™, Carmen Joaquin, Michelle D'Amato, April Perez, Louiza Alexandria Villarina, Sophie E. Miller

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Overview: Abilities Care Experts™ (ACE™) is an educational training program for nursing staff who care for individuals with dementia in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). The objective of the program is to provide the nursing staff with knowledge, and methods to engage residents’ remaining abilities in order to maximize occupational participation using a stage-specific dementia care approach. ACE™ training has yet to be evaluated for effectiveness in a controlled study design.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the ACE™ training.

Design: The study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design.

Participants: A total of 29 CNAs, 13 ACE™ trained …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Abilities Care Approach™ Training, Michelle E. D'Amato, Sophie E. Miller, April Perez, Carmen Joaquin, Louiza Alexandria Villarina

Student Research Posters

Approximately 50% of US nursing home residents have a diagnosis of dementia. Abilities Care Approach® was created by occupational therapists (OTs) to promote quality dementia care for residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are often the primary caregiver for residents with dementia. To ensure carryover of ACA principles, ACE dementia training was targeted towards CNAs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Abilities Care Experts®(ACE) training program which provides CNAs with an occupation-based dementia care approach by focusing on the importance of occupational engagement and knowledge of dementia stages. Results indicated that ACE trained CNAs …

Healthy Aging Website: Providing Online Occupation Based Information, Haley Caruthers, Samantha Talavera, Stephanie Vera, Jackeline Ulloa

Student Research Posters

Older adults (OAs) over the age of 65 are the fastest growing age group in the United States. They are also the fastest growing population of Internet users as they use the Internet to access health information related to optimizing independence, productivity, and social engagement. Although there is an abundant amount of information available that is devoted to healthy aging, the validity of the information can be questionable and the information may be confusing.

Dominican University of California’s (DUC) Healthy Aging website contains relevant and evidence-based research, including activities and local community based programs that promote healthy aging. To expand …

Facilitating Effective Communication Between First Responders And Older Adults During Fall Incidents: An Educational Intervention, Krystin M. Beeman, Erica L. Berger, Isabel A. Cabezas, Nicole M. Mathews

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

PURPOSE. The purpose of this project was to provide first responders with communication strategies for older adults that may help when responding to fall- related calls. General information was also provided to First Responders on working with older adults with a focus on the aging process, fall risk factors, and communications strategies.

METHODS. A series of educational sessions to first responders at a local fire district were developed and presented by occupational therapy students. Materials were developed by presenters from evidence-based resources and tailored to the target population. Each presentation focused on statistics about older adults, the aging process, fall …

Interprofessional Collaboration Between Occupational Therapists And Nurses In An Acute Care Setting: An Exploratory Study, Bethany Loy, Holly Micheff, Kelly Nguyen, Vincent O'Brien

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Background. Collaboration between occupational therapists and nurses is key to a positive prognosis for their patients. Currently, there is a gap in the research on professional relationships between occupational therapists and registered nurses in acute care settings.

Purpose. To examine interprofessional collaboration between registered nurses and occupational therapy in an acute care setting.

Methods. A phenomenological, qualitative design with use of semi-structured interviews was used. Interviewees were four occupational therapists and four registered nurses who currently work in acute care settings in Northern California and were recruited through a snowball, convenience and purposive sampling. Themes and subthemes that emerged from …