Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Effectiveness Of Student Assessment Methods In Occupational Therapy Education, Breanna Adkins, Josh Bernstein

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The supporting evidence for student-centered assessment practices is well-documented in the literature for higher education, but not in the field of occupational therapy (OT) education. There is no agreed-upon best practice for student assessment in OT education from any professional OT governing body, nor is there current OT education research evaluating the relationship between types of assessment methods and their effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to determine OT educators’ perceived effectiveness of student assessment methods they used to measure student competency. A correlational design determined the strength of the relationship between these variables. Differences between OT Doctorate (OTD) …

Effective Communication With People With Dementia: An Exploratory Study Of Pre-Registration Occupational Therapy Students, Samita Kirve, Lucy Perkins

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Dementia is a major global concern, with 50 million people already affected worldwide in 2018, and this number is expected to triple by 2050. Healthcare practitioners, specifically occupational therapists, are responsible for providing care and ensuring the well-being of people with dementia. However, occupational therapy students may not always have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively communicate and support dementia patients, which could negatively impact the quality of care they provide. To explore this issue, a study was conducted with final-year pre-registration occupational therapy students at a public university in England. The study used a qualitative methodology, with semi-structured …

Using Experiential Geriatric Simulation To Foster Empathy Among Occupational Therapy Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Sabina Khan, Jacqueline Achon

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Due to advancements in medical science leading to increased life expectancy, the number of older adults is on the rise. Empathy is crucial in catering to the unique needs of this vulnerable population. The use of geriatric simulation suits to cultivate empathy among health science students is gaining traction. Nevertheless, the efficacy of this teaching approach remains unexplored among occupational therapy students. We recruited a convenience sample of 21 occupational therapy graduate students for a mixed methods study. Participants engaged in a two-hour session during which they performed daily tasks like meal preparation, laundry, and dressing while wearing various components …

Enhancing Health Professions Students’ Attitudes And Self-Efficacy To Care For Unhoused Populations, Jacob T. Greenfield, Brad Phillips, Kathryn L. Hoffman, Gina M. Baugh

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Health professions students, including occupational therapy students, often have limited exposure to unhoused populations, which may alter their attitudes and self-efficacy to participate in their care. In turn, this could reduce access and quality of care for these marginalized groups. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a phased multimodal learning approach on interprofessional health sciences students’ attitudes and self-efficacy in providing care to unhoused individuals. A pre-posttest single group design was used to evaluate a didactic presentation, poverty simulation, and street-based experiential learning experience. Findings revealed significant differences in students’ (N=257) attitudes and self-efficacy in …

Enhancing Student Perceptions Of The Role Of Occupational Therapy In The Intensive Care Unit: An Interprofessional Simulation, Elizabeth Yost, Julie Jacob, Denise Campbell, Nicholas Prush, Leslie M. Smith

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Early mobility in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can improve a multitude of patient outcomes, and occupational therapists (OTs) play a valuable role as part of the interprofessional team, with the ability to address activities of daily living, functional cognition, psychological and communication needs, and more. In 2022, the first iteration of an ICU interprofessional education simulation (Sim-IPE) yielded poor outcomes for OT students. This study aimed to modify existing pre-learning activities in the Sim-IPE’s second iteration to improve OT students’ perceptions and professional role awareness in interprofessional ICU care. Students from Doctor of OT, Bachelor of Science Nursing, Doctor …

Addressing Sexuality In Occupational Therapy Practice: A Qualitative Exploration Of Students’ Needs, Barriers, And Facilitators, Keren Shavit-Buckley, Amy J. Nwora, Renee Cadzow, Bryan M. Gee

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Disability and chronic disease can have a profound effect on individuals’ sexuality and sexual health, resulting in decreased quality of life for many. While sexuality and sexual health are identified within the domain of occupational therapy (OT), this topic is not routinely addressed in clinical practice. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceived needs, facilitators, and barriers to addressing sexuality in clinical practice by 10 graduate OT students recruited from one Western New York (WNY) university. Semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted utilizing a researcher developed interview guide. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used as the conceptual framework for the …

The Student Occupational Therapist Experience Of Bullying On Fieldwork Placement: An Exploratory Study, Jeffrey D. Boniface, Donna Drynan

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Bullying is a widespread issue in higher education, notably in healthcare disciplines like nursing, medicine, and physical therapy. However, there is a paucity of research addressing bullying within occupational therapy, which is a relational healthcare discipline emphasizing meaningful relationships, mutual trust, and respect. This study investigated the experiences of student occupational therapists in Canada regarding bullying during their fieldwork placements through exploratory phenomenology. Data from nine former occupational therapy students were collected via focus groups and interviews. Thematic analysis unveiled common experiences including passive aggression, demeaning comments, and a lack of support. Three key themes emerged: the impact of power …

A Comparison Of Level Ii Fieldwork Outcomes: Preparation With Simulation Vs Community And Clinical Level I Fieldwork Experiences, Katelyn Brady, Darla Coss, Stephanie De Sam Lazaro

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy programs can use a variety of delivery modes for Level I fieldwork. All experiences aim to contribute to the clinical and professional preparation for Level II fieldwork. This study compared the Level II fieldwork outcomes for two cohorts of students, one that participated in simulation-based Level I fieldwork and one that completed community and clinic-based Level I fieldwork. The student outcomes on the American Occupational Therapy Association AOTA Fieldwork Performance Evaluation (FWPE) for the Occupational Therapy Student were used for comparative data. The results indicated no statistically significant difference in the two cohorts’ midterm score ratings. Statistically significant …

Occupational Therapy Practitioners' Expectations Of Entry-Level Doctorate Versus Master's Graduates, Monique C. Chabot, Sara K. Frye, Nakia Lynn, Kristy Meyer, Laronda Lockhart-Keene, Lydia Navarro-Walker, Sue Persia, Wendy Watcher-Schutz, Kevin Wegner, Michelle Gorenberg, Catherine Goodman

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The dual-entry nature of occupational therapy has been a point of discussion for many years with explorations into the profession’s support for the different degree programs and definitions of entry-level practice being the primary foci in the literature. There has been no comparison of the expectations of occupational therapy educators and practitioners of entry-level doctorate and master’s students upon graduation despite differences in curricula and emphasis on advanced skills. This study utilized a descriptive quantitative survey to ask current educators and practitioners (n=124) to indicate their level of expectations of the two types of graduates for sixteen different clinical and …

Educational Interventions For Managing Ethical Problems In Occupational Therapy: A Survey, Brenda S. Howard, Payton Berger, Mckayla Hendricks, Allison Moll, Erin Rusconi, Abigail Shamdin, Julia Swindeman, Zoe Chasnick

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Little is known about how to mitigate moral distress within occupational therapy, but ethics education may reduce its impact by providing practitioners with tools for managing ethical problems. This study aimed to explore the impact of ethics education on managing ethical problems among occupational therapy practitioners within the first five years of practice using a pre-existing survey dataset collected in the spring of 2020. The investigators examined the formats and types of ethics education practitioners reported they received and how helpful they found that education. Investigators analyzed correlations between education and confidence with ethical problem-solving using Spearman’s rho. Results included …

3d Printing Technology Acceptance Through A Peer-Assisted Learning Continuing Education Course, Sara Benham, Casaundra Didomenico, Ashton Dluzneski, Erin Howley, Brenna Curley, Katelyn Amy

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

As rehabilitation technologies rapidly develop, the lack of evidence-based training remains a barrier to technology adoption. Continuing education (CE) may provide training opportunities for new technologies, specifically 3D printing. Current models of CE course design rely on traditional, pedagogical methods, including didactic delivery, as opposed to applying adult learning models, which integrate experiential, self-directed learning to promote collaboration and problem-solving. This study sought to determine whether the active learning approach of peer-assisted learning (PAL) promoted collaboration and transference of knowledge between rehabilitation clinician peers when learning 3D printing. In this mixed methods study, 35 clinicians from occupational therapy, physical therapy, …

Occupational Therapy Students' Perceptions Of Participation In A Novel Educational Intervention To Learn Hand Anatomy, Christine Myers, Michael Cricchio, Rebecca Piazza, Morgan Yacoe

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Learning anatomy via cadaver dissection is considered a best practice in anatomical education. However, occupational therapy programs commonly use alternative or adjunct teaching methods when teaching anatomy. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of learning hand anatomy through participation in the Dell Hand Instructional Module (DHIM), a novel educational intervention incorporating an animated video series and a translucent, three-dimensional model of the hand. Participants attended one anatomical instructional session and one assessment session, completed a questionnaire about their experiences, and participated in a focus group. Participants agreed or strongly agreed that the DHIM made learning about …

Ot/Ota Student Intraprofessional Collaboration: A Multi-University Remote Design, Karen Probst, Amy L. Brzuz, Geralyn Wallace

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Fostering intraprofessional collaboration (intraPC) between occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students is an integral piece of occupational therapy education programs. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) even expanded upon intraPC standards in their 2023 standards version. Despite the importance of intraPC activities, barriers exist to their implementation such as time, cost, and logistics. However, it is still important for OT program faculty to identify what types of intraprofessional education activities are a good fit for their program to ensure compliance with standards and prepare students for future collaboration. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used to …

Life Balance, Stress, And Occupational Burnout In Occupational Therapy Assistant Students: An Exploratory Study, Olivia Hammond, Pamela Talero Cabrejo, Laura Cruz, Linda Lilly

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Research indicates that United States healthcare workers face significant burnout. College is a crucial period for preparing occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students to manage life balance, stress, and burnout as they transition into the workforce. However, there is limited understanding of these factors within this population. This study examined the relationship between OTA students' life balance and their perceived stress and occupational burnout, considering variables such as employment status, residential status, years of study, and age. A cross-sectional Qualtrics e-survey was administered to OTA students aged 18 and older, comprising a demographic survey, Life Balance Inventory (LBI), Perceived Stress Scale-Short …

Occupational Balance And Temporal Satisfaction With Life Among Occupational Therapy Students Amid Transitioning To In-Campus Classes In The Philippines, Paolo Miguel P. Bulan, Nikki Y. Pestaño, John Ray O. Suerte

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

As students transitioned back to on-campus classes, challenges affecting occupational balance (OB) and temporal satisfaction with life (TSWL) influenced their overall health and well-being. This study aimed to assess OB and TSWL among 171 occupational therapy (OT) students in the Philippines and examine the correlation between them. Participants completed the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11) and the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS). The mean OBQ11 score was 16.71 ± 6.87, with a median score of 17. Based on this median score, nearly half of students 43.90% (n = 75) were classified as having low OB. The TSWLS scores indicated that …

The Potential Of Learner-Generated Podcasts For Reading In Occupational Therapy Education, Claire Giefer, Whitney Henderson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Research suggests that reading compliance among higher education students is low, warranting enhancement of educational practices to support reading, especially for students enrolled in health professional programs. Researchers used a cross-sectional study design to explore the effects of a learner-generated podcast assignment as a reading supplement in occupational therapy education using two different survey instruments assessing student perceptions and learning styles. Forty-three Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) students participated in this study. Descriptive statistics indicated positive attitudes towards creating and preparing the podcasts but remained mostly neutral towards listening and watching podcasts. Tukey’s HSD test for multiple comparisons detected tactile learners …

The Pet Principle: An Innovative Teaching Strategy To Provide Real-Time Critical Thinking Skills And Improve Self-Efficacy, Adam M. Story, Melinda Delbridge, Brandi Fulwider, Sue Dahl-Popolizio

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The person, environment, and therapist (PET) Principle is an innovative teaching strategy designed to improve recall of foundational information, facilitate critical thinking, and improve self-efficacy of student and novice therapists. Specifically, the PET Principle is a microlearning strategy that helps students and novice therapists break down segments of a treatment session using an acronym to promote a "just-in-time” thinking process. Therefore, they learn to consider all aspects of the person, environment, and therapist before, during, and after therapy sessions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the PET Principle and self-efficacy after learning the PET Principle, an 11-item survey containing nine forced-choice …

Exploring The Professional Identity Development And Leadership Capacities Of A Doctor Of Occupational Therapy, Sarah Bream, Julie Mclaughlin Gray

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy literature contains little evidence of the added value of clinical doctorate education, the professional identity of a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, or distinctions between master’s-prepared and doctorate-prepared occupational therapists. This study is intended to add to the literature base through the systematic and in-depth exploration of the experiences of graduates from a post-professional clinical doctorate program in occupational therapy. The goal of this study was to examine the professional identity transformation experienced by occupational therapists completing a doctorate degree, and to better understand the Doctor of Occupational Therapy identity. The study followed a qualitative descriptive design, including participant …

Supporting Those Who Support Us: An Exploration Of Strategies To Address Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Educators' Concerns And Needs, Karthik Mani, Diane M. Collins, Lima Ghulmi, Amy Boyd, Anita C. Zaricor

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Fieldwork (FW) education is integral to occupational therapy (OT) education and enables the transition of a student to an entry-level practitioner. Clinicians who serve as FW educators play a significant role in this process. To deliver OT education, universities must support FW educators and address their needs and concerns. This study surveyed OT FW educators who supervised entry-level OT doctoral students from a public university for Level I and/or Level II FW regarding strategies to address their concerns and needs. An anonymous survey was distributed to the FW educators (n=349) who supervised the students for FW between Spring 2021-2023. By …

Significant Student Debt Of Occupational Therapists Post- Graduation One To Five Years: Their Debt Context And Impact On Personal And Professional Lives, Brenda M. Coppard, Angie Lampe, Yongyue Qi, Samantha Torre, Stefany Shaibi, Gianluca Del Rossi

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

A growing amount of research examines the personal and financial burden of students in healthcare programs who graduate with large amounts of student loan debt. However, a paucity of literature addresses occupational therapists’ student loan debt burden. This study was conducted to describe the context of occupational therapists who have significant debt and the impact on their personal and professional lives. This study employed an exploratory sequential design in which quantitative data from a survey was collected first, followed by the collection of qualitative data from participant interviews to study occupational therapy graduates who accrued more than $100,000 in student …

A Survey Of Occupational Therapy Program Leaders: Perceptions Of The Essential Elements For Early Career Faculty, Kathleen Cummer, Angela Maccabe, Kurt Hubbard, Tracy Jirikowic

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The rapid growth of academic occupational therapy programs in the United States, combined with an increase in senior faculty retirement, requires a new, growing, robust and well-prepared faculty workforce. In addition to the growth of programs, faculty shortages necessitate proactive strategies for preparing transitioning clinicians for successful academic careers. Faculty development training should be a part of preparation to ensure success of early career faculty. However, it is unknown what the perceptions of occupational therapy leaders are towards faculty development training, what components should be included in training, and the importance of these components. Through this survey research, key findings …

Visualize Whole-Self Model - An Instructional Design For Occupational Therapy Education, Mark White, Mary Smith, Adebimpe Obembe, Kristin Haas

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Innovative teaching approaches are changing traditional approaches by using a variety of teaching and learning methods to allow learners to succeed. This paper describes a new instructional model for healthcare education based on the science of learning, educational theories, and best practices in lesson design. The Visualize Whole-Self (VW) Model was designed to provide a learning structure for faculty as they guide the instruction of students in health professions. From the beginning of the program, students visualize themselves as professionals while working with faculty to learn content. The Visualize Whole-Self Model requires students to continually assess their strengths and weaknesses …

Outcomes From An Intercollegiate Client-Centered Interprofessional Occupation-Based Assistive Technology Hackathon: A Pilot Program Evaluation, Kevin Berner, Jennifer C. Buxton, Loren F. Mcmahon

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Assistive technology (AT) supports engagement for individuals with disabilities by improving independence in daily living tasks, work and productive activities, learning activities, and societal participation. However, for many individuals, access to AT is limited due to high costs, device availability, and inability to be customized. The Maker Movement and hackathons provide an opportunity to educate health profession students, design students, and community members about AT while engaging these stakeholders in addressing unmet AT needs for individuals with disabilities. The current study examines outcomes from an Intercollegiate Assistive Technology Hackathon. Nine co-designers (community members with disabilities) and 36 students from three …

The Development Of An Interactive Multimedia E-Learning Module For Functional Cognition, Mckenzie R. Behrendt, Stacy Smallfield

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The rise in technology, social media, and video has led to the desire for short, interactive, and visually appealing instructional materials. Modern learners want flexibility, repeatability, accessibility, and low-stakes knowledge checks. A multimedia e-learning module may meet the learner’s desires. This article describes the conception, development, and implementation of a free, interactive, multimedia e-learning module designed to enhance understanding and application of occupational therapy (OT) theoretical approaches to address functional cognition. We discuss the considerations for choosing a multimedia e-learning module as an instructional tool, drawing from existing research demonstrating its effectiveness. Particularly, a multimedia e-learning module potentially benefits addressing …

Predicting Suicidality In Late-Life Depression By 3d Convolutional Neural Network And Cross-Sample Entropy Analysis Of Resting-State Fmri, Chemin Lin, Chih-Mao Huang, Wei Chang, You-Xun Chang, Ho-Ling Liu, Shu-Hang Ng, Huang-Li Lin, Tatia Mei-Chun Lee, Shwu-Hua Lee, Shun-Chi Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Predicting suicide is a pressing issue among older adults; however, predicting its risk is difficult. Capitalizing on the recent development of machine learning, considerable progress has been made in predicting complex behavior such as suicide. As depression remained the strongest risk for suicide, we aimed to apply deep learning algorithms to identify suicidality in a group with late-life depression (LLD).

METHODS: We enrolled 83 patients with LLD, 35 of which were non-suicidal and 48 were suicidal, including 26 with only suicidal ideation and 22 with past suicide attempts, for resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cross-sample entropy (CSE) analysis …

Insights Into The Assembly And Regulation Of The Bacterial Divisome, Todd A Cameron, William Margolin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The ability to split one cell into two is fundamental to all life, and many bacteria can accomplish this feat several times per hour with high accuracy. Most bacteria call on an ancient homologue of tubulin, called FtsZ, to localize and organize the cell division machinery, the divisome, into a ring-like structure at the cell midpoint. The divisome includes numerous other proteins, often including an actin homologue (FtsA), that interact with each other at the cytoplasmic membrane. Once assembled, the protein complexes that comprise the dynamic divisome coordinate membrane constriction with synthesis of a division septum, but only after overcoming …

A Signal Injection Attack Against Zero Involvement Pairing And Authentication For The Internet Of Things, Isaac Ahlgren, Jack West, Kyuin Lee, George K. Thiruvathukal, Neil Klingensmith

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Zero Involvement Pairing and Authentication (ZIPA) is a promising technique for auto-provisioning large networks of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. In this work, we present the first successful signal injection attack on a ZIPA system. Most existing ZIPA systems assume there is a negligible amount of influence from the unsecured outside space on the secured inside space. In reality, environmental signals do leak from adjacent unsecured spaces and influence the environment of the secured space. Our attack takes advantage of this fact to perform a signal injection attack on the popular Schurmann & Sigg algorithm. The keys generated by the adversary with …

A Growing And Maturing Field, Jonte Bernhard, Shannon Chance, Tinne De Laet, Kristina Edström

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The 8^th SEFI Doctoral Symposium in Engineering Education Research, held at the campus of EPFL on Sunday, September 1^st, preceded the SEFI 2024 Annual Conference. In all, 31 Ph.D. researchers attended. They came to share and further probe their Ph.D. research topics and study plans and to strengthen and extend their professional networks. During this full and intense day, 22 established scholars provided the Ph.D. researchers with personal feedback and ideas regarding their research. Highlights, according to the Ph.D. student participants, were the welcome and sense of support and belonging they experienced from the engineering education research …

Statistical Analysis For Water Quality Data Using Anova (Case Study- Lake Burullus Influent Drains), Mohamed Hussein Hegazy

Civil Engineering

Lake Burullus is considered one of the most valuable northern lakes in Egypt due to its unique ecological system and special location. Over the past four decades, the lake has suffered from high contamination levels due to expansion in fish farming and increasing of agricultural drainage water entering the southern side of the lake through eight influent drains. This research aims to assess the current situation of the lake’s influent drains. For this purpose, two types of statistical analysis, Mean average method, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used. The water quality conditions for six major drains (Therah (Tira), Nashart, …

Humanising Commercial Streets As A Tool For Social Sustainability, Mona Helmy, Nada El-Hama

Architectural Engineering

Commercial Streets are the beating heart of any city, the hubs of leisure, business, and social gatherings, in which they also reflect cultures and be used to assess the level of well-being of citizens. Recently, due to the world population increase and other various factors, such as excessive urbanism and the domination of vehicle movement over pedestrianization rights, some commercial streets suffer from dehumanisation causes and symptoms. Those vary between substandard planning and construction, inhospitable landscaping, and excessive visual pollution, among other causes and symptoms. Thus, this research investigates various Humanisation strategies adopted worldwide. It discusses the potential of applying …