Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Nonpharmacological Pain Management Of Adult Patients In The Burn Unit: An Interdisciplinary Toolkit Through The Occupational Therapy Lens, Taylor Harrison-Merrill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Interdisciplinary care is the standard for individuals admitted to a burn unit, yet there is a lack of uniform education among different professionals regarding pain management (Kuhlmann & Tallman, 2022). Occupational therapists offer a unique and holistic lens to pain management by using nonpharmacological interventions to reduce patients’ perception of pain (American Burn Association, 2017; Nielson et al., 2022). The purpose of this quality improvement doctoral capstone was to apply this occupational lens in an educational toolkit designed for the interdisciplinary team that addressed nonpharmacological pain management for adults in the burn unit; effectively closing the knowledge gap across disciplines …

Effectiveness Of A Workshop For Improving Awareness And Identification Of Racial Microaggressions Among Occupational Therapy Faculty And Students, Hannah Kalegzabher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a professor or student in occupational therapy (OT), an important role is advocating for students and clients. Taking action is important to practice and promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) within the profession. This quality improvement project aimed to determine the effectiveness of a racial microaggression workshop for OT, OT assistant (OTA) students, and faculty to improve awareness and ability to identify racial microaggressions to support Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Participants were recruited by convenience sampling through email to members of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) and COTAD-Educators (COTAD-ED). The workshop was …

A Pilot Program To Inform High School Students About Allied Healthcare Professions, Nhu Mac

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The literature revealed the lack of diversity in the workforce, limited recruiting and retention methods, and lack of exposure to these professions as the contributions to the shortage and demand for the profession of occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech- language pathology (SLP). As a result, the fourteen-week program to inform high school students about OT, PT, and SLP roles in the community and public health was implemented at Desert Pines High School in Clark County School District (CCSD) to see if it would influence their perceived attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, and the likelihood of pursuing these careers. Using …

An Ergonomic Approach For Esport Athletes: The Potential For Less Injury And Increased Occupational Performance, Nicholas Nalic Pierides Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of developing the case study was to determine the satisfaction of implementing an ergonomic protocol tailored to esport athletes in addition to tracking improvements in performance through KovaaK’s tracking trainer while reducing the risk of repetitive strain injuries. Occupational therapists are trained to assess individuals with a holistic lens while treating the deficits that prevent them from living a meaningful life. Occupational therapists advise ergonomically correct positioning for their clients to decrease the risk of injury and to optimize the person’s performance. There is a need for an ergonomic protocol tailored to esport athletes because of the increase …

Independent Living Skills Training For Individuals With Serious Mental Illness Through Program Development And Grant Writing, Bianca Rideout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Serious mental illnesses can affect an individual’s level of independence. Oftentimes, individuals with such mental illnesses require assistance from a family member or paid caregiver to live in the community successfully. Occupational therapists work with people across the lifespan to improve an individual’s independence and overall well-being through meaningful occupations. Activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are both comprised of tasks that are often completed by a person on a regular basis. Occupational therapists habilitate and rehabilitate people to be able to complete ADLs and IADLs as independently as possible. Many ADLs and IADLs …

Perceived Usefulness, Ease Of Use, And Satisfaction Of A Swaddle Bathing Educational Guide Among Parents/Guardians Of Nicu Premature Infants, Makenzie Leigh Hogbin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current availability of high-quality and comprehensive educational resources made available to parents and guardians with infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is limited in terms of content and provision. Additionally, there exists a plethora of information regarding the impact of the sensory environment on premature and critically ill infants as well as interventions to mitigate these effects that are not efficiently conveyed to their families. Previous research asserts that consistency with the application of sensory interventions with these infants bodes well for positive outcomes, leading one to believe that caregivers may benefit from learning these strategies so …

Exploration Of Occupational Therapy Program Development Through Nih Grant Writing, Larissa Silcox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is a gap in current literature which describes the effects of yoga-based exercise on the physical health, mental health, and well-being among adults with Down syndrome (Ds). In addition, there is limited research available which describes the impact these effects may have on participation in everyday occupations. Individuals with Ds are living longer lives and will require evidence-based occupational therapy (OT) interventions to ensure healthy growth, development across the lifespan, and ability to participate in meaningful occupations as they age. The current project explores the process of writing a National Institutes of Health R03 grant application that includes a …

Mental Health Education Protocol For Staff Members In An Inpatient Rehabilitation Center, Charles Nicholas Salvatera

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mental health illnesses have a significant impact on the lives of individuals and society. Despite the availability of effective treatments, many people with psychosocial issues or cognitive impairments do not receive the right care. This highlights the importance of timely care and effective help-seeking opportunities. Increased mental health literacy and supportive behaviors in the social networks of people with mental health disorders can be achieved by providing hospital staff with education on mental health disorders. It is believed that improvements in these areas increase the likelihood that people will seek effective assistance. When healthcare providers are educated about mental health …

Yoga As An Occupational Therapy Intervention For Inpatient Rehabilitation, Sydney Sladek

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this capstone project was to develop and determine if an adapted and individualized yoga-based program can support and have an impact on patients’ physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and improve patients’ perceptions of recovery at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Henderson. This was a project focused on quality improvement, focused on the ACOTE focus area of clinical program development in which the student developed and tested outcomes of an occupational therapy (OT) program in a clinical setting. The research design was a quality improvement design with pre and post-measures. Five patients participated in the program one …

Development And Usefulness Of An Advocacy Toolkit To Promote Systems-Level Advocacy Among Occupational Therapy Students In Nevada, Mary Angela Mendoza Terencio

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Advocating at the systems level to influence legislation and regulation can protect, promote, and progress the occupational therapy profession. This quality improvement project aimed to create and evaluate an advocacy toolkit for professional students in Nevada. The toolkit was developed under the guidance of a team of advocacy experts and leaders. Twenty-five students were recruited through convenience sampling to evaluate the toolkit. Data was collected through a one-group pretest-posttest qualitative improvement design to capture changes in awareness of Nevada-specific regulatory and legislative information, attitudes toward advocacy efforts, and the toolkit’s usability. Comparisons between the pre- and post-toolkit surveys were analyzed …

A Kinesio Tape ® Protocol To Improve Postural Stability And Mouth Closure For Feeding And Eating In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Ariana Naomi Valdez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Kinesio tape ® (KT) has been used in the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP) due to its ability to increase sensory input, normalize muscle tone, improve postural stability, and improve range of motion (ROM). KT can be applied and left on the skin for multiple days, allowing the tape to simulate the effects of manual therapy techniques outside of the outpatient setting. However, its use within occupational therapy (OT) to address the occupations of feeding and eating is limited, despite it being an effective treatment method when used in conjunction with traditional OT. Gaps in research limit occupational …

The Importance Of An Educational Occupation-Based Work Program For Young Adults With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, Jennifer Zielinski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Barriers to occupations and transitions to vocational opportunities can be difficult for adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)s to feel confident and pursue job opportunities. Some of the problems stem from the stigma related to the individual’s disability, the contexts surrounding them, and the performance of the work tasks expected. Individuals with I/DDs expressed that not having enough support in the community and the workforce creates significant obstacles to retaining a job. Occupational therapists (OT)s can play a unique role in transition and employment for individuals with an I/DD. With a focus on self-determination and successful …

An Adolescent Concussion Management Toolkit For Occupational Therapists, Coby Yoshimura

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this project was to demonstrate the role occupational therapists may serve during concussion recovery, by integrating current research and findings into an instructional resource from an occupational therapy (OT) lens. An OT-based toolkit was created to prioritize the identification, assessment, and treatment of two realms of concussion management: functional cognition and vision. The development of a pre and post survey using a modified version of the Generalized Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale was used to determine occupational therapists’ perceived self-efficacy before and after reviewing the created OT-based toolkit. A related samples Wilcoxon signed rank-test was used to analyze pre …

Exploring Relationships And Intimacy With Adults With Intellectual And/Or Developmental Disabilities (I/Dd), Gabrielle Kennedy, Jazminne Orozco Arteaga, Thais Petrocelli

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project, Exploring Relationships and Intimacy with Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD), was completed by a Doctor of Occupational Therapy candidate at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The purpose of the project is to increase adults with I/DD's access to intimate partner relationships, sexual expression, and occupations related to intimacy by providing adaptive, community-centered, and meaningful resources.

The current occupational deprivation that the population experiences surrounding intimacy, sexual expression, and intimate partner relationships must be addressed to improve the population’s overall quality of life, health, and well-being. This project aims to inspire and …

The Relationships Among Proprioception, Balance, And Cognitive Perception Of Body Awareness In College Students, Courtney Helmick

Honors College Theses

Introduction: Proprioception is an important physiological function that is essential for activities of daily living as well as exercise and sport performance. Integration of proprioceptive signals plays a key role in both static and dynamic balance. Previously, researchers have assessed the relationship between balance and proprioception, however, the effect of cognitive perception of body awareness has not previously been included in this research. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the relationships among lower extremity proprioception, dynamic balance, and cognitive perception of body awareness in college students.

Methods: Nineteen apparently healthy college students (age 21.26 ± 1.10 years, …

Neonatal Therapists' Perceptions Of Using Integrated Collaborative Care In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Sarah J. Elkington

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who have advanced clinical knowledge in gestational and infant development can work in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) as neonatal therapists (NTs). NTs apply their developmental expertise, therapeutic use of self, and client-centered training to create individualized goals for infants and families amid a complex, critical care medical setting. Each discipline (OT, PT, and SLP) brings a unique professional perspective and their own empirical knowledge to the NICU. Researchers have made efforts to capture work trends of NTs as they relate to direct patient care; however, researchers have also recognized …

Effectiveness Of Mechanical Versus Manual Traction In Reducing Cervical Radiculopathy Pain And Disability, Kelsey Ader, Nathaniel Apgar, Joel Clabaugh, Cody Frye, Caitlyn Harper, Brian Shenk, Michael Lehr

Physical Therapy Student Scholarship

Purpose

To compare cervical traction methods and determine the most effective method for treating cervical radiculopathy to reduce pain and disability in patients aged 20-70 years old.

Introduction

• Cervical radiculopathy is a common musculoskeletal disorder resulting in pain and disability among patients seeking physical therapy services.
• Radicular pain arising from irritation of cervical spine nerve roots affects approximately one in every thousand individuals and the cost associated with diagnosis and treatment for this condition places a substantial burden on the healthcare system.
• The estimated non-operative cost to an average patient is $1,143 and is often accompanied by up to 10 …

The Importance Of Mood And Motivation Of An Individual In The Success Of Physical Therapy, Spencer Wagner

Honors Theses

Physical therapy is a health profession that helps people improve their movement and range of motion in certain body areas. Since the time it was founded, physical therapists have mainly focused on the physical health of the patient. While that is their job, they may not have been as successful because they neglected the mental health of the patient. The mindset of an individual, particularly their mood and motivation, can influence how they progress through physical therapy and how successful they are in regaining functionality in their affected body area. The purpose of this study is to determine how the …

Comparator Groups In Icu-Based Studies Of Physical Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review Of 125 Studies, Heather K O'Grady, Julie C Reid, Christopher Farley, Quincy E B Hanna, Janelle Unger, David J Zorko, Jackie Bosch, Lyn S Turkstra, Michelle E Kho

Physical Therapy Publications

OBJECTIVES: To characterize comparator groups (CGs) in ICU-based studies of physical rehabilitation (PR), including the type, content, and reporting.

DATA SOURCES: We followed a five-stage scoping review methodology, searching five databases from inception to June 30, 2022. Study selection and data extraction were completed independently, in duplicate.

STUDY SELECTION: We screened studies by title and abstract, then full-text. We included prospective studies with greater than or equal to two arms enrolling mechanically ventilated adults (≥ 18 yr), with any planned PR intervention initiated in the ICU.

DATA EXTRACTION: We conducted a quantitative content analysis of authors' description of CG type …

Attitudes And Compassion Of Student Counselors-In-Training Toward Individuals Who Are Homeless, Kristine R. Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

With the increased numbers of homeless individuals over the past several years, it is important to consider factors that contribute to chronic homelessness, including barriers to service delivery that impede one’s ability to exit homelessness. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the attitudes and compassion among student counselors-in-training (SCITs) toward individuals experiencing homelessness as these students represent future mental health providers who will be serving the homeless, a highly marginalized population. A total of 162 graduate students from two southwestern Hispanic-serving institutions were recruited for the study. A correlational analysis, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVAs were conducted …