Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Evolution Of Occupational Therapy Practice: Life History Of Paula Kramer, Phd, Otr/L, Faota, Shelby Wittenberg, Lexie Coalwell

Oral History Posters

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide current and future generations of occupational therapists a view of the history and how occupational therapy practice has evolved from its inception to current practice through the life history stories of occupational therapists who have held leadership roles at the national level and beyond. It is anticipated that the life history process will be a powerful way to gather this information.

Method: A life history qualitative approach was used by conducting two, 60-minutes semi-structured interviews at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The interviews …

Perceived Body Distortion Rather Than Actual Body Distortion Is Associated With Chronic Low Back Pain In Adults With Cerebral Palsy: A Preliminary Investigation, Hirofumi Yamashita, Tomohiko Nishigami, Akira Mibu, Katsuyoshi Tanaka, Masahiro Manfuku, Hikaru Fukuhara, Koichi Yoshino, Yoichi Seto, Benedict Wand

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether distorted body perception is a feature of the low back pain experience in people with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and whether any distortions noted are confounded by the presence of motor and postural impairments commonly seen in CP.

Methods: Forty‐five individuals participated in this study: fifteen adults with CP with LBP (CP_Pain group), fifteen adults with CP without LBP (CP_noPain group), and fifteen age‐matched adults with LBP but no CP (Pain group). Body perception was evaluated using the Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) and by assessing two‐point discrimination (TPD) thresholds …

Reviews May Overestimate The Effectiveness Of Medicines For Back Pain: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Matthew K. Bagg, Edel O'Hagan, Pauline Zahara, Benedict Wand, Markus Hubscher, G. Lorimer Moseley, James H. Mcauley

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: Systematic-reviews of analgesics for low back pain generally include published data only. Obtaining data from unpublished trials is potentially important because they may impact effect sizes in meta-analyses. We determined whether including unpublished data from trial registries changes the effect sizes in meta-analyses of analgesics for low back pain.

Study Design and Setting: Trial registries were searched for unpublished data that conformed to the inclusion criteria of n=5 individual source systematic-reviews. We reproduced the meta-analyses using data available from the original reviews then re-ran the same analyses with the addition of new unpublished data.

Results: Sixteen completed, unpublished, trials …

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Perceived Meaning In Work, Denise Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have conducted correlational studies on transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work; however, researchers have not used an experimental design to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reading information on transformational leadership, which focused on charisma and individualized consideration, influenced participants' hypothetical judgment of perceived meaning in work. The quantitative study included a 2 x 2 between-subjects design in which information on the independent variables of charisma and individualized consideration was manipulated in a description of a hypothetical leader. The dependent variable was the hypothetical …

Relationships Between Vocational Identity, Substance Use And Criminal Thinking Among Emerging Adults, Eileen Marie Delzell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful formation of a self-chosen, purposeful identity in personal, social, educational and vocational areas is a primary task for emerging adults, with failure to do so often resulting in cycles of substance use, unemployment, and delinquent/criminal behavior. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between vocational identity, substance use, and criminal thinking within the population of emerging adults. The expectancy value theory of motivation, which states that identity may be a motivational construct between self-efficacy and subjective self-values, provided the foundation for the study. The online inventory platform PsychData was used to garner data from a sample …

Perceptions Of Higher Education Health Science Faculty On Debriefing After Simulation-Based Activities, Maureen Ellen Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health science faculty striving to be academically competitive can adopt debriefing after simulation-based activities to help transition occupational therapy and physical therapy students from classroom skills to clinical competence. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the perceptions and experiences of health science faculty during and after their adoption of debriefing after simulation-based activities. The theory of diffusion and experiential learning theory were used as a conceptual framework. The research questions related to the perceptions and experiences of faculty from their training sessions and implementing debriefing sessions after simulation-based activities in their courses and how these experiences related …

Service Provider Promising Practice - Penn-Mar Human Services: Creating Their “2020 Strategic Plan”, Esther Kamau, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

At the beginning of the transformation process, Penn-Mar recognized the importance of robust strategic planning to understand what the organization needed to do differently to transform. Therefore, Penn-Mar created the 2020 Strategic Plan, a 5-year plan to help focus the organization, and to strategize about how to achieve their objectives. The 2020 Strategic Plan outlines Penn-Mar’s goal to close its sheltered workshop, with a set of action steps for achievement. The plan set a specific date for closure, as Penn-Mar staff argued that without it, the transformation process would “linger forever.” Penn-Mar established a task force to support the development …

Description Of Motor Control Using Inverse Models, Anton Sobinov

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Humans can perform complicated movements like writing or running without giving them much thought. The scientific understanding of principles guiding the generation of these movements is incomplete. How the nervous system ensures stability or compensates for injury and constraints – are among the unanswered questions today. Furthermore, only through movement can a human impose their will and interact with the world around them. Damage to a part of the motor control system can lower a person’s quality of life. Understanding how the central nervous system (CNS) forms control signals and executes them helps with the construction of devices and rehabilitation …

A 4-Week Multimodal Intervention For Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability: Examination Of Disease-Oriented And Patient-Oriented Outcomes, Cameron J. Powden, Johanna M. Hoch, Beth E. Jamali, Matthew C. Hoch

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context Individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) experience disease- and patient-oriented impairments that contribute to both immediate and long-term health detriments. Investigators have demonstrated the ability of targeted interventions to improve these impairments. However, the combined effects of a multimodal intervention have not been evaluated for their effects on a multidimensional profile of health.

Objective To examine the effects of a 4-week rehabilitation program on disease- and patient-oriented impairments associated with CAI.

Design Controlled laboratory study.

Setting Laboratory.

Patients or Other Participants Twenty adults (5 males, 15 females; age = 24.35 ± 6.95 years, height = 169.29 ± 10.10 cm, …

Response Shift After A 4-Week Multimodal Intervention For Chronic Ankle Instability, Cameron J. Powden, Matthew C. Hoch, Beth E. Jamali, Johanna M. Hoch

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context The accurate evaluation of self-reported changes in function throughout the rehabilitation process is important for determining patient progression. Currently, how a response shift (RS) may affect the accuracy of self-reported functional assessment in a population with chronic ankle instability (CAI) is unknown.

Objective To examine the RS in individuals with CAI after a 4-week multimodal rehabilitation program.

Design Controlled laboratory study.

Setting Laboratory.

Patients or Other Participants Twenty adults (5 men, 15 women; age = 24.35 ± 6.95 years, height = 169.29 ± 10.10 cm, mass = 70.58 ± 12.90 kg) with self-reported CAI participated. Inclusion criteria were at …

African American Students In Physical Therapy: Enhancing Diversity, Kimberly Renee Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are motivated by early exposure to the profession and future expectations for their personal career path including stability work-life balance and helping others. The elimination of barriers such as finances lack of support and cultural microaggressions influences their career path. Following statistical analysis of admissions data conclusions were made that the current admissions criteria does not successfully predict first year success for any students including African American students. Lastly African American physical therapy graduates from UMMC reported excitement upon admission concerns over quotas lack of African American faculty students and physical therapists and the presence of microaggressions while …

African American Students In Physical Therapy: Enhancing Diversity, Sherry T. Colson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are motivated by early exposure to the profession and future expectations for their personal career path including stability work-life balance and helping others. The elimination of barriers such as finances lack of support and cultural microaggressions influences their career path. Following statistical analysis of admissions data conclusions were made that the current admissions criteria does not successfully predict first year success for any students including African American students. Lastly African American physical therapy graduates from UMMC reported excitement upon admission concerns over quotas lack of African American faculty students and physical therapists and the presence of microaggressions while …

Service Provider Promising Practice - Work Inc.: Developing A Community Liaison Program To Address Holistic Needs, Esther Kamau, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Leadership at Work Inc., a provider in the Boston area, thought about the holistic approach to providing individual supports even before their agency’s transformation began. Work Inc. designed its community liaisons program to have three components: volunteerism, with the intention of identifying employment opportunities and contributing to the community; recreation, “because everyone wants to have fun”; and instruction, with a focus on skill-building and identifying interests and talents. In designing and implementing the program, Work Inc. staff considered each person’s interests, and turned former workshop staff into “community liaisons.”

Service Provider Promising Practice - Arc Of Westchester: Annual Employer Appreciation Breakfast, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Arc of Westchester was established in in New York State in 1949 as a day school for children with developmental disabilities. It has since grown to over 800 hundred employees serving over 2000 individuals throughout Westchester county supporting children, teens, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization’s vision is a world where the population that they serve enjoy fulfilled lives and an inspired future while the mission focuses on strengthening families and encouraging personal choices, abilities and interests. The programs focus on the individual, helping them discover their interests, develop their talents and prepare for meaningful careers. …

Determinants Of Self-Efficacy Among Individuals Who Are Hard-Of-Hearing, Sergio Cuevas, Roy K. Chen, Chia Vang, Shawn P. Saladin

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

Self-efficacy plays an important role in their lives of the estimated 48 million Americans who report having some degree of hearing impairment, helping them navigate through a myriad of communication challenges. The purpose of the present study was to assess the levels of self-efficacy in this disability group by examining an array of social, psychological, spiritual, disability, and demographic variables. A total of 114 persons who identified as hard-of-hearing took part in an online survey. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to answer the research question. The proposed regression model explained 24.7% of variance in self-efficacy among individuals who …

Client Assistance Programs And Protection And Advocacy Services, Charlene J. Blankenship, Roy K. Chen, Cynthia A. Serrata

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

Client Assistance Programs and Protection and Advocacy Services comprise the nationwide network of congressionally mandated, legally based disability rights agencies. Both of these programs and services were mandated as a response to the need for protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The authors will discuss both of these programs and the services they offer. Implications will also be addressed.

The Relationship Between Training Load And Injury Or Illness Symptoms Using An Acute And Chronic Workload Ratio In Collegiate Cross-Country Runners, Brennan T. Mickelson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

Objectives: Examining the relationship between workloads (miles ran) of collegiate cross-country (XC) athletes (n=18) and symptoms of injury or illness over the course of 10 weeks. This can assist sport coaches, athletic performance coaches, and athletic trainers in keeping athletes healthy and furthering adaptation throughout the course of the season, thus improving the team’s overall success during the season.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to show a relationship between an Acute and chronic workload ratio (ACWR) in miles run and weight lifted, ACWR in miles run grouped by z-scores, weight, age, years of collegiate XC experience, miles …

A Biomimetic Approach To Controlling Restorative Robotics, Matthew T. Boots

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Movement is the only way a person can interact with the world around them. When trauma to the neuromuscular systems disrupts the control of movement, quality of life suffers. To restore limb functionality, active robotic interventions and/or rehabilitation are required. Unfortunately, the primary obstacle in a person’s recovery is the limited robustness of the human-machine interfaces. Current systems rely on control approaches that rely on the person to learn how the system works instead of the system being more intuitive and working with the person naturally. My research goal is to design intuitive control mechanisms based on biological processes termed …

Service Dogs For Veterans With Ptsd: Taxonomy, Work Stress Reduction, And Matching, Lindsay Parenti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Research suggests that many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) struggle with reintegration (Sayer et al., 2010), but are unlikely to seek help or complete treatment (Schottenbauer et al., 2008). To make matters worse, available treatment options are often time consuming, challenging, and/or associated with negative side effects (Carafano & Hutchinson, 2017). Using animals as a treatment modality for veterans with PTSD is an emerging topic of interest and has shown promise (Owen, et al., 2016; Richie et al., 2016). However, several factors have hindered the advancement of this field. Obstacles include a lack of standard terminology and classification system, …

Evaluation Of A Cognitive Training Program And Its Effects On Healthy Older Adults, Nathan Jensen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

As one ages, some degree of cognitive decline is expected. Despite this, declines in cognitive abilities and the possibility of dementia is a common concern among older adults. In response to these concerns, a variety of cognitive training programs have been developed that aim to improve or maintain cognitive functioning. Prior literature has shown mixed or limited findings on cognitive changes after implementation of cognitive training. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a cognitive training program designed for older adults with no to minimal cognitive decline. The current study included 18 participants who engaged in two one-hour cognitive training sessions …