Recreational Therapy Commons^™

The Efficacy Of Equine Assisted Therapy In The Treatment Of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy Hofmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effects of equine-assisted psychotherapies in children with an autism spectrum disorder. The CARS-2 and Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire parent-report questionnaires were used for evaluation, as well open-ended questions. A single researcher contacted and visited many PATH-certified centers in the United States. Facilities that participated were all located in the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast region. There were 16 participants, from 11 different farms, that completed both the initial and follow-up questionnaires which were given 7 weeks apart. A $25 Amazon gift card was used as an incentive to increase participation. Participating facilities also completed a questionnaire.

Overall ...

Team Joseph's Bike Trailer, Keely Thompson, Curtis Wathne, Ryan Meinhardt

Mechanical Engineering

This final design report shows the results of this senior project’s design process of creating a custom bike trailer for Team Joseph. As done in the Scope of Work, Preliminary Design report, and Critical Design report, current products, relevant technologies, and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards are fully researched and benchmarked to aid in the design selection process. Customer requirements are looked at and developed into engineering specifications. A detailed design was created for CDR to show to Team Joseph, and manufacturing and testing plans were laid out. This final design report adds the final design ...

Dancing, Mindfulness, And Our Emotions: Embracing The Mind, Body, And Sole, Alisha M. Collins

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines dance, as an intervention and mindfulness practice that assists with managing our emotions. There is a need for dance therapy in social institutions such as, healthcare facilities, schools, and community centers. Dance therapy has the potential to reduce negative emotions, create mindfulness, improve self-expression, and promote a healthy well-being. I am proposing that dance therapy is applied as a regular practice in social institutions to develop mindfulness and promote emotional stability.

In this study, I argue that dance therapy can contribute to our well-being long term. In addition to this written thesis, a visual component of ...

Measuring Physiological Responses To Sensation In Typical Adults, Sarah Button, Kristen Christensen, Emily Minor

Graduate Master's Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Objective: Sensory processing issues can have a large negative impact on the ability to participate in daily occupations such as ADLs, access to work, school and leisure environments, and social interactions (Dunn, 2001). The evidence documenting sensory processing issues in adults is sparse. Physiological information can be used as objective evidence to support the claim that those with over-responsivity to sensations are experiencing their environment differently than the typical population. Understanding more about sensory processing in adults may lead to increased recognition of the problem and more opportunities for intervention to increase occupational participation. The purpose of this quantitative study ...

Posttraumatic Growth And Residential Therapy: Cultivating Environments That Support And Facilitate Posttraumatic Growth And Positive Well-Being., Tracey Bachrach

Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects

Residential therapy is intended for those needing mental health crisis intervention. The well-being of these people cannot be overlooked and should take an active role in the treatment process, especially for those struggling with the symptomology of posttraumatic stress. By utilizing both positive psychology and posttraumatic growth theory and practice, participants in residential therapy may strengthen personal well-being thus encouraging the posttraumatic growth process. Focusing on positive affect, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement can stimulate and support posttraumatic growth in an intentional setting such as residential therapy. This will shift treatment goals and outcomes away from deficit diagnosis and recovery ...

The Effects Of Self-Adherent Taping On Peak Inversion Angle And Eversion Moment Upon Landing During A Maximal Vertical Jump And A Depth Drop, Christopher M. Gregoire

Theses and projects

Ankle injuries are the most common injury in physically active adults with roughly 15% to 30% of all physical activity injuries being ankle injuries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-adherent ankle taping in reducing peak ankle inversion angle and peak ankle eversion moment upon landing during a max vertical jump and depth drop compared to jumping without a prophylactic ankle stabilizer.

Twelve volunteers participated in testing procedure on two separate days. Day one consisted of orientation while day two consisted of experimental data collection. The participant’s peak inversion angle and eversion moment ...

Stress Less With Art Therapy, Delaney M. Rogers

Undergraduate Theses and Professional Papers

According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is "a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem.” While creating art on your own at home is not the exact same as official art therapy, it has been shown that this form of art can help to decrease stress levels. For my Honors Capstone Project I have reviewed the research and studies ...

Changing Attitudes: The Impact Of A Disability Awareness Class, Christine Ann Masci

Honors Theses and Capstones

Attitudes towards people with disabilities can be either positive or negative. A undergraduate college course about disability awareness followed a structure focusing on awareness, interaction with PWD, and education in order to make a positive impact on attitudes. The study compared the disability awareness class to a general education humanities class. While results indicated that there was not a significant change in pre and post scores when comparing the classes, there was a significant change in the disability awareness class upon further analysis of data. There are additional suggestions to further the impact of the class within the disability awareness ...

To Heal, Escape: Using Theatre Arts To Promote Holistic Health In The Clinical Setting, John Filegar

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an argument for the implementation of theatre arts therapy in the clinical setting. The effects of traditional art therapies involving visual arts, expressive arts, and music on the holistic health of the patient in the clinical setting have been thoroughly researched and understood. However, the extent of the influence of theatre arts therapy on the holistic health of individuals in the clinical setting lacks sufficient evidence and therefore cannot be compared to the influence of traditional art therapies on the holistic health of individuals in the same setting. Following an overview on ...

Disaggregating The Relative Influence Of Genetic, Environmental And Individual Factors On Lcl And Hdl Cholesterols And Bmi For A Sample Of African American (Aa) Mothers And Daughters, C. Jayne Brahler, Jewel Harden, Michelle Mchone, Matthew Soules, Eric Evans, Ann Alyanak, Fred Diakpieng, Paul M. Vanderburgh

Paul M. Vanderburgh

There are many reports about the associations between blood lipids, body mass index (BMI) and dietary cholesterol intakes both within the individual and between related individuals. The purpose of this descriptive research project was to investigate the relationships between LDL and HDL cholesterols, body mass index and dietary cholesterol intakes for a sample of African American (AA) mothers and their daughters and to attempt to separate the contribution of genetic versus environmental factors. Mother and daughter participants (n =42 and 66, respectively) were 12-14-hours fasted when blood samples were drawn, heights and weights measured, and 24 hour food recalls completed.

Strategies To Improve Interdisciplinary Communication In An Acute Care Inpatient Pediatric Unit, Sarah Thompson, Haley Pelletier, Barbara Bush Children's Hospital-Inpatient, Maine Medical Center, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

Maine Medical Center

Interdisciplinary patient rounding has been shown to improve patient and family satisfaction as well as reduce patient length of stay and readmission rates. In an acute care inpatient pediatric unit, baseline metrics demonstrated that 100% of the time, nursing was not included in these rounds thus resulting in sub optimal communication.

The goal of this performance improvement project was to attain increased nursing participation. Data collection demonstrated several reasons for lack of participation and corrective actions were instituted. After undertaking this KPI goal and utilizing operational excellence, 95% of the time, nurses were called to morning rounds with the medical ...

Identification Strategies For The Very High Fall Risk Patient In An Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, P6 Inpatient Geri-Med Psychiatry, Haley Pelletier, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

Maine Medical Center

Patients falling as a result of geriatric and psychiatric impairments are at a much higher risk than the average patient population. An acute care inpatient psychiatric team used baseline metrics to demonstrate increasing fall rates per month that surpassed the unit’s target number. As a result, a quality improvement project around falls was felt to be warranted.

The overall goal of this study was to improve patient safety by reducing falls for their very high risk fall population. A root cause analysis determined that this population was not being properly identified and several tools were developed and employed to ...

Perceptions Of Athletes In Disabled And Non-Disabled Sport Contexts: A Descriptive Qualitative Research Study, Sheryl L. Chatfield, Michael Cottingham Ii

The Qualitative Report

The term supercrip suggests extraordinary feats but is sometimes applied to any proficiency demonstrated by an athlete with a disability. This use of the term potentially undermines spectator appreciation for achievements of the upper echelon of disability sports participants. Prior disability sport researchers have suggested that a comparison of individuals’ perceptions of athletic heroes with and without disabilities has potential to help disability sport marketers counter the supercrip stereotype. The purpose of this research was to explore differences in perceptions by comparing participant descriptions of role models with and without disabilities. Research participants, who consisted of undergraduate students at a ...

Alternative Interventions For Children Coping With Chronic Conditions: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Nina M. Pelsi, Kim S. Amer

DePaul Discoveries

Reduction of stressors and anxiety levels in adolescents with chronic illnesses is a critical concept in pediatric health care in America today. The many stressors associated with chronic illness include displaying physical and mental differences, social stigma, financial difficulty, and family stress. These stressors may affect the adolescent’s ability to learn and cope in everyday life. The current research was a critical review of the literature examining studies done with adolescents coping with chronic diseases and illnesses. The aim was to analyze the most efficacious non-pharmacological methods for reducing stressors in adolescents with chronic illness. A critical review of ...

Difference In Quality Of Life Between Group And Individual Exercise In A Faith-Based Sample, Everett Jackson Amburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is limited data on the quality of life of individuals who exercise in a group versus individuals who exercise alone. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in the quality life between adults who attend an exercise class and those who exercise alone. Using the WHOQOL-BREF, 27 adult females were surveyed in Central California at two Church of Latter Day Saints locations. Ten females were enrolled in a group exercise class while 17 were individual exercisers. The data was analyzed using a t-test for independent samples to determine if there is a ...

Community Engagement With Older Adults To Evaluate Interprofessional Education In Allied Healthcare Students, Scott Heinerichs, Mary Beth Gilboy, Stacie Metz, Melissa A. Reed, Barbara E. Harrison

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: To examine students’ perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) as a result of their participation in a community engagement experience with older adults. Methods: Thirty-six students enrolled in the undergraduate majors of athletic training, exercise science, and nutrition participated in an 8-week fall prevention program in two community dwelling senior centers. A one-group pretest-posttest evaluation design was used to assess the IPE experience of the students. Students completed the University of the West England Interprofessional Questionnaire pre and post intervention. Results: Both pretest and posttest student self-assessments of communication and teamwork skills ranged from slightly positive to neutral (means from ...

Restoration Of Attentional Deficits After Concussion, Katharine B. Earle

Theses and projects

Difficulties with concentration and attention are among the most prevalent symptoms experienced after concussion. Rest has been the most common form of recovery from concussion; however, new research is suggesting mild mental exertion to be an effective aid in recovery. Drawing from Attention Restoration Theory, this study evaluated the idea that cognitive engagement with natural environments can mitigate post-concussion directed-attention deficits. A between subjects repeated measures design was used to test directed-attention after video exposure to restorative/nature and nonrestorative/city environments. Measures of mood, connectedness to environment, and symptomology scores were also collected. No meaningful difference between exposure type ...

Young Adults In Transition: Factors That Support And Hinder Growth And Change, Mona Treadway

Dissertations & Theses

Young adults between 18 and 24 years of age with mental illness are significantly less likely to receive mental health services than adults in older age groups.Nationally, higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and psychiatric issues are reported in this age group.A therapeutic model referred to as young adult transition programs has emerged to better address the unique developmental challenges found in this age group.This study examined 317 critical incidents that supported or hindered young adults in a therapeutic transition program.The research design used a combination of an instrumental case study and critical incident technique (CIT ...

Play It Again! Individualized Music Improves Social Interaction Of Women, But Not Men, With Dementia, Emily Farrer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Dementia is tragic both for patients with the disease and for their family members. As this neurodegenerative disorder progresses, cognitive functions deteriorate, agitation and aggression increase, and mood worsens (McDermott, Orrell, et al., 2014; Spiro, 2010; Vasionyté & Madison, 2013). Non-pharmacological approaches, such as active music therapy or passive music listening, can be effective in reducing these symptoms. However, no past studies have examined how music listening affects the social interactions of patients with dementia. As such, this study examined whether nursing home residents with dementia are more engaged and interactive if they listen to individually selected music for 15 minutes ...

Practicing Therapeutic Recreation In A World Of Differences, Morgan Herrington

University Honors Program Theses

Therapeutic recreation (TR) services are available to any individual who wishes to increase quality of life and improve functioning. The profession is based on many conceptual foundations, including quality of life; perceived freedom; intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-determination; health, wellness, and disability; and recreation and leisure. However, these Western-ideological perspectives may hinder the introduction and practice of TR in countries with other worldviews. This study was designed to explore different worldviews and to evaluate the conceptual foundations of TR with respect to these differences. Findings attempt to identify ways to adapt and shape TR foundations so that it may be ...