Digital Commons Network^™

Occupational Therapy In Primary Care: Progressive Neurological Disorder, Amanda Callahan, Danielle Chartier

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project is to provide occupational therapists with a quick reference guide describing the unique role of occupational therapy to provide treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis within a primary care setting.

A substantial literature review was completed to gather knowledge on multiple sclerosis, occupational therapy, primary care, and the intertwining of these three concepts. The findings from the literature review assisted to guide the development of the product.

A collaborative client and therapist guide was developed to guide treatment for individuals with multiple sclerosis within a primary care setting. Occupational therapists bring a holistic perspective …

Engaging Caregivers In Family-Centered Pediatric Occupation Therapy, Sidney Carlson, Sarah Schwartz

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose Family-centered care is considered the gold standard when working with children and their families (Darrah, Wiart, Magill-Evans, Ray, & Andersen, 2010). Despite there being a strong push toward family-centered care, there remains a disconnect in outpatient pediatric settings when working with children ages 3-18. The purpose of this scholarly project is to raise awareness of the need for caregiver engagement in pediatric, outpatient occupational therapy and identify best practice principles for caregiver engagement.

Methods An extensive literature review was conducted in order to understand caregiver engagement in pediatric occupational therapy. The information obtained from the literature review was analyzed …

A Group Protocol For Promoting Wellness In Rural Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Emily Bachmeier, Laurel Busch

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: In the United States, there are currently 46 million citizens aged 65 and older. This number is projected to more than double by the year 2060 (Mather, 2016). As the elderly population continues to grow, the need for evidence-based, client centered prevention programs for community-dwelling older adults becomes more crucial to promote independence and preserve well-being in the community. Older adults living in rural areas are at an even higher risk of losing independence secondary to decline in activity tolerance, which further elevates their need for targeted interventions (Park, Kim, & Lee, 2015). Creating a preventative program to maintain …

Occupational Therapy With An Adventurous Twist, Ashley Cambronne, Mikaela Karpen

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project is to increase knowledge and awareness of adventure therapy (AT) for occupational therapists (OTs) practicing in mental health settings or who are interested in practicing in mental health settings within the United States. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge and awareness of AT by OTs practicing within the United States. This lack of knowledge and awareness is due to a lack of research, especially research focused on AT implementation by OTs. The process for gathering data and creating the scholarly project was first, identifying a problem, then searching CINAHL, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Academic …

Toda La Familia: An Occupational Therapy Resource Guide For Working With Latino Children Diagnosed With Asd And Their Families, Rachel Fritzler, Stacey Sigmond

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project was to create a resource guide for occupational therapists working with Latino children diagnosed with ASD and their families. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that has become increasingly prevalent within the United States (Baio, Wiggins, and Christensen, 2018), with ASD rates triplining in Hispanic children between the years of 2002 through 2006 (Pedersen et al., 2002). Blanche, Diaz, Barretto, and Cermak (2015) indicated that multiple family members, not just primary caretakers, are aiding in caring for a child diagnosed with ASD. However, many extended households which may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, …

The Experiences Of Occupational Therapists Working In Oncology Care And The Implications Of The Referral Process, Samantha Albrigtson, Jade Clement

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this independent study was to explore the current role of occupational therapists working in oncology care and to understand the implications of the referral process for this specific population.

Methodology: A phenomenological research design, derived from Giorgi and Giorgi (2008), was used to implement this study. The researchers interviewed 6 occupational therapists, from a variety of settings, in the Midwest region using a semi-structured interview style. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and broken down into key constituents (Giorgi & Giorgi, 2008).

Results: The subsequent results from the 6 interviews were developed from 11 key constituents that …

From Here To There: An Occupational Screening Tool For Transitioning Soldiers, Bailey Fruit, Hannah Williams

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Time has shown that it can be difficult for military personnel to resume their typical life roles within civilian life. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the longest wars in United States history and involved some of the most intense ground engagements since Vietnam (Cogan, 2014). This left many soldiers to deal with the traumatic experiences they went through. This study aimed at developing a screening tool to address the difficulties experienced by veterans during their transition into civilian life.

The researchers began with a thorough review of literature to identify the occupational challenges the project would address. Following …

Secondary Tia Outpatient Prevention (Stop) Program: Addressing Individuals Of Lower Socioeconomic Status, Mackenzie Funke, Kasey Nieland

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project was to provide secondary prevention in an outpatient setting to individuals who have experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA) and are of lower socioeconomic status (SES). Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of long-term disability (National Stroke Association, 2018). An estimated 795,000 plus Americans experience a stroke each year (Benjamin et al., 2017). Of this estimation, about 185,000 Americans experience a recurrent stroke (Benjamin et al., 2017). Roughly, one half of patients fail to seek medical attention within 24 hours of a TIA (Sharry …

Access To Occupational Therapy Practice: A Review Of Current Licensing Processes In The United States, Melissa Groth, Martha Scoby

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose This study was conducted to gain insight on the 50 United States and Washington D.C. occupational therapy (OT) licensure application process. This study sought to examine the accessibility of the OT licensure websites as well as the compliance each OT state licensure application has with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The researchers predicted that, while the profession of OT seeks inclusion for all individuals, there is discrimination prominent in the OT state licensure process for individuals living with disabilities.

Methodology A two-fold process was used to collect information regarding accessibility and accommodation within licensing processes for OT licensure …

Occupational Therapy Community Reintegration For Inmates With Co-Occurring Disorders, Miranda Hosking, Kara Moore

Occupational Therapy Capstones

A co-occurring disorder (COD) is the coexistence of a substance use disorder and mental health disorder (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). The prevalence of inmates with COD in correctional facilities is disproportionately high (Grant, Stinson, & Dawson, 2004). Despite the high incidence, correctional facilities are not equipped to meet the complex needs of individuals with COD, which often leads these individuals to re-offending or re-incarceration (Sacks, Chaple, Sacks, McKendrick, & Cleland, 2012). The role of occupational therapy in this area of practice is not clearly distinguished. However, occupational therapy’s holistic, client-centered, and occupation-based principles position the profession …

Occupational Therapy At Stable Days: Supporting A Christian Worldview, Liz Nerhus, Jordan Mooney

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to provide a framework for use by an occupational therapist providing integrated services from a Christian worldview perspective within a faith-based setting.

Methodology: An extensive literature review was completed on the topics of occupational therapy in integrated faith-based settings, with an emphasis on spirituality, experience of practitioners, current tools of the profession, and the basic tenants of the Christian faith. The search databases used included: CINAHL, OTSEARCH, Pubmed, SocIndex, and PsycINFO. The literature review revealed that nearly 80% of Americans identify spirituality as an important part of their life (Williams-Reade, Lobo and Gutierrez, …

Addressing Role Transitions In Young And Middle-Aged Adults Post-Stroke In The Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting: An In-Service For Occupational Therapists, Ashley Ystaas, Kelsey Raymond

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Young and middle-aged adults experience disruptions to their daily life roles and responsibilities due to the variety of impairments they may face following a stroke. This population is in the time of their lives where they have a variety of roles and responsibilities that are important to them such as work, parenting, home management, education, driving, community re-integration, and social participation (Harris & Bettger, 2018; Lawrence, 2010, Maaijwee et al., 2015). An extensive literature review was conducted to determine if and when occupational therapists address roles during the rehabilitation process with young and middle-aged adults post-stroke. The thorough review of …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …

Breath Practices For Survivor And Caregiver Stress, Depression, And Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder: Connection, Co-Regulation, Compassion, Patricia L. Gerbarg, Richard P. Brown, Chris C. Streeter, Martin Katzman, Monica Vermani

NYMC Faculty Publications

Does compassion itself benefit the healing process or does the activation of neurophysiological processes, from which the experience of compassion arises, trigger a cascade of physical and psychological changes that support health and well-being? Exploration of the neurological substrates of compassion reveals multiple healing pathways that can be activated by mind-body practices. Furthermore, these pathways affect physical health, emotion regulation, and how we perceive and relate to others.

Physiological states affect the capacity for empathy, compassion and understanding. A state of calm alertness based on sympatho-vagal balance may support such high-level prosocial functions. Evidence suggests that polyvagal-informed mind-body practices, particularly …

Human Rights, Think Aloud Protocols And Magic Drums: Revealing Character In Pre-Service Teachers, Leticia De Leon, Kara Bennett

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This paper describes a qualitative study that examined how preservice teachers engaged in a Second Life activity intended to help them reflect on how knowledge of human rights may affect their professional practice. This process utilized a problem-solving strategy to determine their goal-oriented character traits. Therefore, the research question explored was, how do preservice teachers create a character that respects human rights? Through a symbolic introspective journey, participants engaged in think aloud protocols to reveal goal-oriented behavior guided by a strong moral compass. Data analysis utilized a means-end process, and results were recorded along two dimensions: stability and change and …

Project Access: High School Student Learning Of Academic Vocabulary In The Rio Grande Valley, Angela M. Chapman

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Academic language can be a major obstacle to students’ learning in science and math. For English Language Learners this challenge can be even greater. One reason this challenge prevails is the persistent deficit perspective toward students whose native language is Spanish. One way to address this issue is to leverage students’ knowledge of Spanish and personal culture to develop a deeper understanding of academic vocabulary in high school math and science courses. Project ACCESS (Acquisition of Curricular Content for Exceptional Success in STEM) seeks to challenge the assumptions and biases toward students in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) who have …

Artificial Intelligence-Based Suicide Prediction, Mason Marks

Scholarly Publications

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are an international public health problem contributing to 800,000 annual deaths and up to 25 million nonfatal suicide attempts. In the United States, suicide rates have increased steadily for two decades, reaching 47,000 per year and surpassing annual motor vehicle deaths. This trend has prompted government agencies, healthcare systems, and multinational corporations to invest in artificial intelligence-based suicide prediction algorithms. This article describes these tools and the underexplored risks they pose to patients and consumers. AI-based suicide prediction is developing along two separate tracks. In "medical suicide prediction," Al analyzes data from patient medical records. In …

Community-Based Climate Change Adaptation Action Plans To Support Climate-Resilient Development In The Eastern African Highlands, Tino Johansson, Emmah Owidi, Sarah Ndonye, Sarah Achola, Weyessa Garedew, Claudia Capitani

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Smallholder farmers in the Eastern African Highlands depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. Climate adaptation and sustainable development goals must be targeted in an integrated way to better match farmers’ realities and address local priorities and vulnerabilities in these areas. To support climate-resilient development in the Eastern African Highlands, 224 local stakeholders were engaged in the development of community-based climate change adaptation action plans for the Jimma Highlands in Ethiopia, Taita Hills in Kenya, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Participatory methods, high-resolution climate projections, and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) guidelines were used in the design of these …

Effects Of The Juvenile Hormone Mimic Nc-184 On The Development Of The Reproductive Organs And Mating Behaviour Of Nymphs Of The Desert Locust, Schistocerca Gregaria (Orthoptera: Acrididae), Satoshi Hiroyoshi, Elizabeth Kokwaro, Sai Mettupalli, Takayuki Mitsunaga, Shigemi Yagi, Gadi V.P. Reddy

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The insect growth regulator NC-184, a juvenile hormone mimic, prevents moulting to the adult stage in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Male nymphs treated in the penultimate or fi nal nymphal instar with NC-184 exhibit precocious mating behaviour in the fi nal instar. We examined whether this chemical affects the development of the internal reproductive organs of crowded nymphs. In treated males, both accessory glands and seminal vesicles were underdeveloped, and no sperm was found in the seminal vesicle, whereas these organs in control individuals had greatly increased in size 10 days after treatment, when all the …

Association Of Phlebotomus Guggisbergi With Leishmania Major And Leishmania Tropica In A Complex Transmission Setting For Cutaneous Leishmaniasis In Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya, Barrack O. Owino, Damaris Matoke-Muhia, Yasser Alraey, Jackline Milkah Mwangi, Johnstone M. Ingonga, Philip M. Ngumbi, Aitor Casas-Sanchez, Alvaro Acosta-Serrano, Daniel K. Masiga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background Phlebotomus (Larroussius) guggisbergi is among the confirmed vectors for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) transmission in Kenya. This scarring and stigmatizing form of leishmaniasis accounts for over one million annual cases worldwide. Most recent CL epidemics in Kenya have been reported in Gilgil, Nakuru County, where the disease has become a public health issue. However, little is known about the factors that drive its transmission. Here, we sought to determine the occurrence, distribution and host blood feeding preference of the vectors, and to identify Leishmania species and infection rates in sandflies using molecular techniques. This information could lead to a better …

Beyond Vawa: Protecting Native Women From Sexual Violence Within Existing Tribal Jurisdictional Structures, Jessica Allison

University of Colorado Law Review

One in three American Indian women will be raped in her lifetime. This rampant assault is only exacerbated by the fact that tribes have not been able to prosecute non- Indians for any crime, including rape, since the 1970s. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 took a small step toward filling this jurisdictional hole by creating provisions under which tribes can prosecute certain non- Indian defendants for a limited set of sexual violence crimes. However, VAWA is not enough to protect Indian women from the astronomical rates of violence they experience. This Comment explores mechanisms used by tribes …

Who Guards The Guardians? Simplifying The Discovery Of Electronic Medical Records, Joseph Deangelis

University of Colorado Law Review

As medical errors reign as a leading cause of death and injury in the United States, the efficient and effective resolution of medical negligence disputes becomes increasingly necessary, albeit uncommon. Despite the frequency of medical errors, the quality of medical care in the United States has increased over the last several decades. This improvement has been due in no small part to the widespread adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) by healthcare providers across the country. While EMR systems have done their part to improve patient care, they are not designed for litigation. Indeed, the widespread use of EMR technology …

Limiting The Right To Buy Silence: A Hearer-Centered Approach, Burt Neuborne

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Powerful Speakers And Their Listeners, Helen Norton

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Macguffin And The Net: Taking Internet Listeners Seriously, Derek E. Bambauer

University of Colorado Law Review

To date, listeners and readers play little more than bit parts in First Amendment jurisprudence. The advent of digital networked communication over the Internet supports moving these interests to center stage in free speech doctrine and offers new empirical data to evaluate the regulation of online information. Such a shift will have important and unexpected consequences for other areas, including ones seemingly orthogonal to First Amendment concerns. This Essay explores likely shifts in areas that include intellectual property, tort, and civil procedure, all of which have been able to neglect certain free speech issues because of the lack of listener …

Press Speakers And The First Amendment Rights Of Listeners, Ronnell Anderson Jones

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Data Subjects' Privacy Rights: Regulation Of Personal Data Retention And Erasure, Alexander Tsesis...

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Electricity Competition And The Public Good: Rethinking Markets And Monopolies, Jonas J. Monast

University of Colorado Law Review

The United States electricity sector is engaged in a long-term experiment regarding the proper role of market competition. Many states that transitioned to competitive electricity markets in the early 2000s are again reconsidering the relationship between market competition and public policy goals. Low natural gas prices, falling costs of renewable energy and energy storage, and improvements in efficiency are causing early retirements of coal and nuclear power plants and thus affecting environmental policy goals and economic interests. States that continue to rely on monopoly utilities for electricity are also reconsidering the role of competition, but from a different angle. Rather …

Best Interests In The Long Term: Fiduciary Duties And Esg Integration, Susan N. Gary

University of Colorado Law Review

Two persistent misconceptions continue to affect the way fiduciaries think about sustainable investing: (1) fiduciary duties block a fiduciary investor from considering environmental and social factors; and (2) the portfolio will suffer financially if a fiduciary investor engages in sustainable or responsible investing. An examination of socially responsible investing; ESG integration (an investment process that considers material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors alongside traditional financial metrics); corporate social responsibility; and impact investing, shows that neither of these assumptions is correct. Analyses of different forms of sustainable investing have found no necessary cost to a portfolio when sustainable funds are …

Mine Reclamation's Reliance On King Coal: Meeting Legacy Environmental Obligations With A Declining Industry, Claire Jarrell

University of Colorado Law Review

Coal mines throughout Appalachia have left the land scarred and the water damaged. Although mine reclamation programs are the only major system of recourse for addressing environmental degradation caused by mining, the downturn of the coal market has put reclamation programs in a precarious position for achieving that end. Funds for coal mine reclamation are derived from the current coal industry's profits. As coal profits continue to atrophy, so too does the pot of money designated for reclamation efforts. These dwindling financial resources are particularly problematic because there is still significant need for reclamation funding throughout Appalachia.

This Comment explores …