Occupational Therapy Commons^™

The Parents' Perspective: Experiences In Parent-Mediated Pediatric Occupational Therapy For Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Allison Klowan, Mary Beth Kadlec, Stefanie Johnston

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Parent-mediated occupational therapy (OT) is a family-centered method of providing care for children and their families. This study aimed to understand and describe the parents’ perspectives of whether parent-mediated OT services improve child participation and parent-child social interactions in the home and community.

Method: This study was performed with a qualitative, phenomenological research design using focus groups. Eight participants were included in the study who were parents of children with at least one NDD, such as autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Results: Four major themes were developed: It’s a Family Affair, Sometimes it Just Takes …

Predictors Of Daily Activity Performance Of Children With Autism And Its Association To Autism Characteristics, Neta Katz Zetler, Eynat Gal, Batya Engel Yeger

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The daily activity performance of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a central focus of occupational therapists. Yet, the existing performance-based assessments of basic and instrumental daily activities in children are limited and their application on children with ASD is scarce. The purpose of this study is to examine if daily activity performance of children with ASD is impaired as compared to children with typical development (TD), and to examine possible predictors of daily activity performance in children with ASD.

Method: The participants included 39 children with ASD and 40 children with TD, 6–10 years of …

Holistic, Person-Centered Evaluation To Understand The Experiences And Needs Of Displaced Refugee Youths: A Descriptive Mixed Methods Narrative Study, Rebecca S. Lord, Jaime P. Muñoz

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Refugee youth face acculturation stress, language barriers, xenophobia, and difficulty accessing resources. These factors, combined with migration trauma, negatively impact youths’ psychosocial health. This study aimed to conceptualize evaluation in an occupation-focused, person-centered framework with the goal of informing therapists working with displaced children.

Methods: This mixed methods, descriptive study used narrative research methodologies to understand the experiences of refugee youths. A variety of assessment tools were used to elicit these youths’ stories and create in-depth occupational profiles. The evaluation protocol that was created generated extensive data used to inform programming at a community non-profit to ensure …

State Of The Journal: Introducing Assistant Editors, Diane Powers Dirette

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Coaching In Context Model (Version 4), Marie-Christine Potvin, Maryjane Mulcahey, Nicole Gerhardt

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Coaching in Context (CinC) is a conversation-based approach intended to foster clients’ goal attainment through coach-facilitated self-discovery of insights and solutions. Anchored in positive psychology, CinC situates clients as resourceful experts, and builds upon clients’ strengths to promote awareness and insights about factors that potentially impact their goals, and to strengthen problem-solving skills. CinC conversations are contextualized within lived environments including tasks demands and life roles. CinC intends to operationalize and organize professional coaching competencies into a model that health, rehabilitation, education, and human service professionals can embed into their practice.

The CinC model was developed and published in four …

Occupational Transitions Of Family Caregivers Of Loved Ones With Dementia, Katherine L. Groezinger, Cameron J. Honsa, Darcey A. Wilkinson, Emily K. Simpson

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to explore how family caregivers of people with dementia experience transitions in occupations as they assume the caregiver role. Because unpaid family caregivers play a vital part in the scheme of health care, it is important to understand their supports, their perceptions of themselves as caregivers, and the impact of caregiving on relationships, identity, and physical and mental health. Many researchers have studied the effects of caregiver burden, yet minimal attention has been given to the lived experiences of caregiving on their daily roles and routines. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was …

Mealtime Experiences Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder From The Perspectives Of Filipino Occupational Therapists In Cebu: Implications For Practice, Blaise Audre V. Barrientos, Alyanna Freyse T. Badajos, Erika Faye M. Bucog, Rosse Velle C. Mauro, Paolo Miguel P. Bulan

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Occupational therapists (OTs) handle children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and a common concern is how their sensory processing issues affect their feeding habits. There is limited information regarding interventions about this issue both locally and internationally. This study aims to know the experiences of OTs providing feeding interventions associated with sensory issues for children with ASD. It will also describe what approaches they used for these interventions. Method: Qualitative phenomenology using in-depth interviews with nine OTs in Cebu, Philippines was conducted, and data underwent thematic analysis. Results: Five themes emerged: 1) a family that feeds together, stays …

Professional Behaviors On The Fieldwork Performance Evaluation: Perspectives Of Fieldwork Educators, Jessi S. Clark

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Occupational therapy (OT) students are assessed on their professional behavior skills during Level II fieldwork (FW) by fieldwork educators (FWEs) as measured by the Fieldwork Performance Evaluation (FWPE). Most of these professional behavior skills are not required components of entry-level OT education, therefore academic preparation may be variable. The purpose of this Capstone project was to study the perspective of FWEs regarding the seven professional behavior items on the FWPE, primarily the relative importance of and academic preparation for these items. Participants included FWEs who completed the FWPE in the last 15 years. They completed an online survey that utilized …

Moving Forward Together: Reflections Of A National Survey Of Ot/Ota Students’ Perceptions Of Culturally Aware Educational Content Delivery, Adair M. Sanchez, Iris W. Burns, Tina M. Deangelis, Maclain Capron, Abigail Mills, Taylor Kligerman

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In June of 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the additional atrocities against historically marginalized people and communities across the United States, the Commission on Education (COE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) sought to act within its scope. A retrospective survey (N= 1,692) was developed, deployed, and analyzed in accordance with the COE’s standard operating procedures relating specifically to monitoring trends that impact the education of occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students. This survey aimed to capture perspectives from OT/OTA students regarding the delivery of culturally aware educational content in curricula …

Metacognition And Self-Regulation Influence Academic Performance In Occupational And Physical Therapy Students, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

An understanding of student learning strategies is an important component of supporting academic success and avoiding difficulty. Prior inquiry has demonstrated certain learning strategies are more closely related to academic performance than others. The purpose of this study was to describe predictive relationships between the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and grade point average (GPA) in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) programs. A multi-center convenience sample of N=75(100%) entry-level students [OT: 34(45%); PT: 41(55%)] was included from Florida 32(42.7%), California 21(28%), and Texas 22(29.3%). A hierarchical linear regression analysis demonstrated the combination of …

An Intentional Wholeness Focus And The Association With Burnout In Graduate Students, Stacey B. Cunningham, Susanne B. Montgomery, Brian J. Distelberg, Qais Alemi

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout for university students are concerning. As in other competitive professional fields, graduate students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech language pathology face many performance pressures. Creating supportive learning and wholeness climates along with individual grit, resilience, and healthy spirituality have the potential to positively impact these pressures. The study’s purpose was to examine factors related to burnout within an institution committed to creating supportive learning and wholeness environments. Three hundred and fifty-three graduate students from occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech language pathology graduate programs were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional …

Promoting Student Understanding Of Occupation-Centered Practice And Updated Inter-Rater Reliability Of The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment, Kelly Little, Yongyue Qi, Vanessa D. Jewell

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) was developed as a reflective tool for students to improve their comprehension of occupation-centered practice. Finding new and innovative ways to incorporate occupation-centered assignments can serve as a strategy to develop student integration of occupation-centered practice and allow educators to appraise student comprehension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate student understanding of occupation-centered practice by utilizing various statistical analyses, including updated inter-rater reliability, of the OCIA using student assignments. Utilizing a methodological approach, 121 first-year students analyzed 10 physical rehabilitation videos utilizing the OCIA to rate the interventions for their level of occupation-centeredness. …

Promoting Student Success In The Flipped Online Classroom: Learning And Accountability Through Homework Strategies, Melisa P. Kaye, Brian K. Kim

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

As online and hybrid classes have become increasingly more prevalent in higher education, the flipped classroom structure has emerged as a viable, evidence-based, option for healthcare programs. In a flipped classroom, students view pre-recorded video lectures and complete reading assignments before class, and synchronous class time can then be used for active learning activities. Class sessions offer opportunities for group work, review of complex content, and access to instructor assistance with assignments. To effectively implement a flipped classroom approach, students must prepare prior to class time. One method for encouraging student accountability is to assign preparatory homework. This experimental study …

Exploring The Experience Of Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students On The Use Of Anatomage® Table To Learn Anatomy – A Survey, Karthik Mani, Amber B. Armstead, Lima Ghulmi, Flor Nunez, Amy Boyd

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Technology has transformed health science education delivery over the past decade. Students in all health science disciplines must learn and master anatomy to be successful in their education and career. Several virtual resources are available to learn anatomy. The University of Texas Medical Branch introduced Anatomage Table to its entry-level occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students in 2021 to supplement anatomy learning. As students’ usage of educational technology depends on perceived usefulness, user-friendliness, and positive user experience, this study explored the experiences and perceptions of the students regarding the use of Anatomage Tables to learn anatomy. Students in the class of …

Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions Of Feedback During Pre-Fieldwork Simulation Debrief: Useful And Why, Kaitlin R. Sibbald, Diane E. Mackenzie, Jonathan Harris

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Simulation is increasingly used in occupational therapy education with the objectives of developing practice skill competency and enhancing clinical reasoning. Debriefing, an integral part of the simulation process, is critical to achieving these objectives. This study sought to determine the types of debrief feedback Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) students perceived as most useful and why, and how the advocacy inquiry model of debriefing influenced self-reported increases in clinical reasoning, client care, and planned implementation of feedback in practice. Using an embedded mixed method design with secondary data analysis, sixty-three first-year MScOT students provided 357 descriptions of the …

On-Campus Occupational Therapy Clinic: Exploring A Supervision Model For Level I Fieldwork Within Curriculum, Kelly Erickson, Serena Hutson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This study explored how a revised on-campus occupational therapy clinic model impacted occupational therapy graduate student professional development and clinical practice educator confidence in areas related to the on-campus clinic environment, professionalism, student learning, and collaboration. Specifically, clinical practice educator and student confidence were compared through quantitative survey data across multiple cohorts and clinical educators. This data was used to triangulate qualitative findings from focus groups and open-ended survey questions. Analysis across five years of qualitative data revealed themes related to professionalism including time management, planning, feedback, observation, collaboration, and communication. Quantitative data analysis found significant differences between clinical practice …

Ot Graduate Students’ Perceived Preparedness For Level Ii Fieldwork: Traditional, Nontraditional And Mixed Fieldwork I Experiences, Reagan Bergstresser-Simpson, Emily Sweetman, Claudia Maloberti, Miranda Hall, Francis Hermes, Brody Worl

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This study explored the perceived level of preparedness of occupational therapy (OT) graduate students for entering Level II fieldwork after completing nontraditional, traditional, and mixed Level I fieldwork experiences. This mixed-methods exploratory study included an online 22-question survey that was delivered to Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) and Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) programs throughout the United States. Participants were selected through voluntary convenience response sampling. Students (N=145) self-reported their level of preparedness for Level II fieldwork experiences. The quantitative data collected in this study reflected a statistically significant difference between Level I fieldwork experience-related questions for the three groups, …

The Editors’ Perspective: Evidence Informed Practice For Occupational Therapy Educators, Cindy Hayden, Dana M. Howell, Renee Causey-Upton

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Mental Health Of Occupational Therapy Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alisha Sharma, Andrea Tyszka

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of health professional students across the world. Although there are a growing number of studies regarding the mental health of other health professional students, there are currently limited studies regarding the mental health of entry-level occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students in the United States, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this mixed methods survey study was to understand the mental health status of entry-level OT and OTA students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to better support their mental …

A Simulation Of Auditory Hallucinations Improved Empathy Among Occupational Therapy Students, Molly Whitlow, Anna E. Carl, Andrea Thinnes

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Clinical empathy has been identified as an essential skill for healthcare workers to provide quality healthcare. One teaching strategy for improving clinical empathy towards people with psychiatric disabilities is the Hearing Voices Simulation. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to evaluate change in clinical empathy among occupational therapy students after participating in the Hearing Voices Simulation. Participants (N=71) completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy- Health Professions Student Version (JSE-HPS) prior to and following the simulation. A paired samples t-test compared whether the change in scale scores was equal to zero. Subsequently, focus groups were used to collect …