Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Addressing Adherence And Barriers To Long-Tenn Elimination Diet Therapy Through Occupational Therapy In Order To Improve Quality Of Life In Adults With Eosinophilic Esophagitis, Alexis White

MOT Student Capstones

The six-food elimination diet {SFED) is an effective treatment approach for eosinophilic esophagitis {EoE), but it can be challenging and affect patients' quality of life. The aim of this study assesses patients' potential factors influencing adherence to long-term elimination diets. This project employed participant questionnaires to measure attitudes and practice regarding living with EoE; and an education presentation ppt with a pre- and post-survey for key stakeholders synthesizing research findings while aligning patient-provider interaction to promote improved diet adherence. Using data electronic surveys, analysis was conducted using electronic statistical software to determine patient barriers; and to determine accuracy and impact …

Understanding Benefits Of A Community Garden On Those Impacted By Food Insecurity, Taylor Boone

MOT Student Capstones

Occupational therapy professionals can support individual and community interventions for improved health and wellness. Occupational therapists have the unique ability to assess the multi-faceted contexts that impact an individual's and/or community's ability to participate in daily occupations and their level of occupational performance. Addressing nutrition can improve the individual's overall health and wellness and subsequently improve occupational performance, and ability to participate in daily occupations. Many community-based programs act as resources, or access, to improved nutritional intake for community members working towards food security. Occupational therapy has a role in these community-based programs to facilitate improved nutritional intake through functional …

Validating Occupational Therapy's Role To Facilitate Aging In Place: The Need To Raise Clinical Awareness, Laura B. Ferguson

MOT Student Capstones

The concept of staying in one's home as they age, known as aging in place (AIP), presents an emerging area of practice in which occupational therapy (OT) professionals can utilize their skills within the clinic and community to fill a niche that has been underserved. However, lack of awareness of occupational therapy, as well as the complex nature of aging in place, may weaken the understanding of the important role that OT holds to facilitate aging in place. A systematic review of evidence-based literature was conducted to establish a platform to validate occupational therapy's complex role to facilitate aging in …

An Occupational Therapy Approach To Developing Empowerment: Supporting The Recovery Of Women Affected By Substance Abuse In A Residential Treatment Facility, Margaret Schneider-Adams, Molly Schneider-Adams

OTD Capstone Projects

An Occupational Therapy Approach to Developing Empowerment: Supporting the Recovery of Women Affected by Substance Abuse in a Residential Treatment Facility Capstone project poster and presentation in fulfillment of Doctorate of Occupational Therapy Program at Belmont University.

Environmental Interventions And Modifications For Individuals With Down Syndrome: Creating An Assessment Tool And Social Story For Increased Participation, Erica Williams

OTD Capstone Projects

This poster is part of the doctoral capstone project completed with Tucker's House, an agency whose mission is to create safer and more accessible homes and environments for children and young adults with disabilities. This project focused on creating an assessment tool for individuals with Down Syndrome to be used during the home assessment process. A social story was also created to explain the home assessment process in an age appropriate manner to children.

Culminating Capstone Project: Development Of An Experiential Learning Framework For Graduate Occupational Therapy Students, Daniel S. Pereira

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

The following capstone project was completed within an educational setting, consisting of education and program development focus areas. The objective was to construct a framework outlining standards and protocols required to implement an experiential learning program. The experiential learning framework would be adaptable to ensure efficacy among various intervention courses. Entry-level doctor of occupational therapy students at Nova Southeastern University were surveyed and identified a desire for experiential learning. Experiential learning for occupational therapy students improved evaluation skills, critical thinking, and inductive and deductive reasoning (Coker, 2009; Doucet & Seale, 2012). Furthermore, experiential learning for occupational therapy students improved student …

Creating Bridges Of Interprofessional Education: Opportunities For Collaborating Across Multiple Disciplines And Campuses, Norman Cadiz Belleza, Jim Mathews, Leiselle Pilgrim, Kaitlyn Cremer, Maureen Johnson, Elisabeth Mcgee, Evan Pucillo, Kathy Wheat, Vibhor Agrawal

Education Collection

Introduction and Purpose: The purpose of this special interest report is to discuss strategies used by to integrate simulation activities across multiple campuses and programs to foster inter- and intra-professional education. Inter-professional (IP) simulations were done between multiple campuses of a large scale, multi-state, health science university. These simulations utilized Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Master of Science Speech/Language Pathology (MS-SLP) students and faculty. IP simulations involved DPT students and faculty from the health sciences university in one state and physical therapist assistant (PTA) students and faculty from a different university in that same …

Exploring Animal Assisted Therapy As A Therapeutic Tool For Use In Occupational Therapy, Malia Proveaux

MOT Student Capstones

Occupational therapy (OT) is an evidence-based and effective therapeutic approach; however, patient compliance and participation are the most significant factors determining outcome measures. Animal Assisted Therapy (AA T) is a therapeutic approach used for various disorders and medical diagnoses and has been showing strong growth in recent years. Animal-assisted therapy is the interaction of a patient and a trained animal to aid the patients' progress toward their functional goals and is a valuable complement to OT. The purpose of this study is to examine the evidence-based research supporting the inclusion of AAT during skilled OT interventions to improve clinical impact. …

Establishing Ot Programming Within A Local Correctional Facility, Kayla Kennedy

OTD Capstone Projects

This OTD capstone project was completed in collaboration with Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN. The criminal justice system is an emerging practice area for occupational therapy with limited established OT programs in jails and prisons. Individuals who are incarcerated have limited social interaction promoting positive behaviors, limited access to quality rehabilitative services, are separated from family/friends, may be placed in isolation and overall experience occupational deprivation. This capstone project aimed to establish OT programming in a local correctional facility using the Recovery Model and MOHO to address needs of residents of the Behavioral Care Center in a long-term …

Strategies For Promoting Engagement In Youth Advocacy Program, Dana Murray

OTD Capstone Projects

The focus of this capstone project was to increase participation in and awareness of Thiiirdspace, a youth program through Family Voices of Tennessee. This was primarily done through the use of Instagram and the creation of a marketing procedure.

Equine-Assisted Activities: Increasing Participation And Quality Of Life For Individuals With Disabilities, Melissa Mabry

OTD Capstone Projects

The author partnered with a nonprofit organization, Saddle Up!, to incorporate an occupational therapy perspective in its work with children with disabilities and equine-assisted activities as part of the OTD capstone project.

Reimagining Room In The Inn’S Housing Readiness Program: Providing Teaching Strategies To Reach All Participants, Kara Reed

OTD Capstone Projects

The intent of this project was to provide housing readiness skills to obtain and maintain permanent housing for individuals transitioning off of Nashville's streets. This housing readiness project focused on improving Room In The Inn's current "Housing Power Week" program through updating content, expanding educational tools, and providing teaching strategies/ training to staff. The project expanded three primary modules including "Life Skills: Kitchen Readiness," "Grocery Preparation," and "Basic Budgeting." Each of these primary modules has between one and three subsections to further explore skills required for success in the home.

Developing Power Skills And Effective Partnerships With Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Madison Mclean

OTD Capstone Projects

This project partnered with Friends Life Community of Nashville, TN, in effort to advocate for, increase meaningful participation in, and promote independence in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the implementation of several training tools. Staff and families at Friends Life expressed a need for more classes in a virtual capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to tools to guide Friends Life staff from an occupational therapy perspective. An occupational therapy-based training module was introduced to promote inclusion and teach activity analysis, goal-setting, and how to adapt tasks and the environment to maximize engagement and independence in …

Acknowledgement Of Implicit Bias In Occupational Therapy Practitioners, Kellie Sawyer

Doctor of Occupational Therapy Capstone Projects

Background: The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has identified health and wellness as a key practice area in the 21st century, which includes a focus on health care disparities (AOTA, 2019). AOTA has explicitly stated its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (AOTA, 2020b). To our knowledge, there is no evidence discussing the acknowledgement of implicit bias among occupational therapy practitioners, which leads to disparities in health care when left unrecognized and unmanaged.

Objective: To understand the level of awareness of implicit bias among occupational therapy practitioners.

Study Design: Descriptive qualitative.

Participants: Three post-professional occupational therapy doctoral students.

Methods: Participants …

From Isolation To Connection A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Older Adults’ Social Participation Using The Cov19-Qol Scale, Kathleen Melei Otd, Jill R. Linder Dhsc, Otr

Other Specialties

Abstract

The current study evaluated the relationship between social participation and quality of life (QoL) for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community-dwelling adults (N = 230) age 65 or older completed an online survey providing demographic data to identify changes in lifestyle routine during the pandemic using the COVID-19 Quality of Life (COV19-QoL) scores. Analyses revealed significant differences in reported lifestyle routines in relation to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and significant differences in COV19-QoL scores across various demographic groups. Results demonstrated the close relationship between social participation and QOL, assisted with identifying individuals at increased risk, and …

Advocacy For Older Adults At A State Unit On Aging, Nicki Richardson

OTD Capstone Projects

As Tennessee’s state unit on aging, the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability (TCAD) advocates for the health, dignity, independence, and security of older adults through an array of programs and services that address multiple population needs. This doctoral capstone internship and project primarily consisted of activities to support the implementation, management, and sustainability of TCAD’s grant-funded statewide falls prevention program. Project outcomes included but are not limited to: completion of a grant proposal, analysis of data obtained from falls prevention program participants and presentation of results to stakeholders, and creation of resources to support the recruitment and training of …

The Role Of Occupational Therapy In The Multi-Tiered System Of Support Framework To Address Overall School Performance, Carolina Miller

MOT Student Capstones

The multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework is an evidence-based approach utilized in school settings to address academic and behavioral concerns for students. In the MTSS framework, early intervention is key to reducing the need for more intensive services in the future. The purpose of this capstone project is to determine the role of occupational therapy in the MTSS team. Unfortunately, occupational therapy practitioners are often not included in the multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework nearly as much as they should be. This can be due to many factors such as lack of knowledge of the scope of practice …

The Effects Of Teacher Education On Children With Sensory Feeding Difficulties, Heather Eager

MOT Student Capstones

Background: 3 According to recent studies, there is strong evidence to support the effectiveness for education over feeding therapy interventions and its link to promoting carryover within a client's environments. However, there is limited literature concerning the effects that teacher education over sensory feeding can provide to the pediatric population. This Capstone project was developed to provide evidence-based support for teacher education over this therapeutic concept and the positive outcomes it can have on student's goal progression. Furthermore, when a student's occupational performance is being negatively impacted by feeding aversions and behaviors, he/she is unable to successfully engage in meaningful …

Aquatic Therapy For Subacute Stroke Patients, Meaghan Buchanan

MOT Student Capstones

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the U.S. affecting patients physically and psychologically. A stroke can lead to significant functional deficits, depending on the location of the stroke, and level of rehabilitation. Currently, no rehabilitation protocol exists for stroke patients and often patients reach a plateau during treatment, without reaching their full potential, and with continued deficits that affect functional mobility. Interventions provided in an aquatic environment can promote continued therapeutic outcomes, not possible with land-based therapy. The purpose of this paper is to showcase aquatic therapy as a viable therapeutic intervention and to provide a …

Implementation Of Mental Imagery Training For Upper Extremity Recovery Post-Stroke, Jenna Curcio

MOT Student Capstones

Mental imagery is a powerful tool in upper extremity stroke recovery when used in conjunction with traditional rehabilitative therapies. ft is the process of cognitively visualizing fluid and functional movements of the affected upper extremity during everyday tasks. Substantial research has been conducted regarding the efficacy of this intervention with supported outcome measurement data. Mental imagery training is beneficial because it can be done with minimal set up and completed outside of therapy hours. Neuroplasticity is used to salvage motor pathways for functional return of the limb. This tool is not suitable for every person who has had a stroke, …

Self-Efficacy Of Professionalism: Online Modules To Improve Implementation On Level Ii Fieldwork, Leigh Leonard, Otd, Ms, Otr/L

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Professionalism is a fundamental component of occupational therapy. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has many official documents that reference professionalism including the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics, Standards for Continuing Competence, Standards of Practice for Occupational Therapy, and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 4th ed. There are high professional expectations of occupational therapy students, however, the definition of professional behaviors varies among fieldwork educators, faculty, and occupational therapy students. The literature revealed four themes of professionalism that were consistent across all stakeholders. Online education has increasingly become the norm for many programs and there is strong …

Navigating The Community With A Disability: How Ability App Can Help And Why Ots Should Get Involved, Hailey Scandin

OTD Capstone Projects

Ability App was invented and founded by Alex Knoll, an incredible teenager with a passion for helping provide resources for individuals with disabilities. The app strives to serve people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers by providing a road-map of accessible public spaces and business locations around the world while raising awareness about the importance of accessibility and inclusion. The project goal was to network the app to different occupational therapy programs in order to help expand the number of locations that are available for Ability App users. Occupational therapists can use Ability App to advocate for individuals with disabilities, …

Occupational Therapy In Youth Violence: An Occupation-Based Program For At-Risk Youth, Jasmine Shahin

Student Capstone Papers

Throughout the years, youth participating in violence has become an increased concern around the nation as there is an increase in media outlets displaying tragedies, such as mass school shootings caused by students. The at-risk youth population is a specific population disadvantaged in engaging in safe and health-promoting activities due to limited resources or opportunities. As a result, at-risk youth make decisions based on their disadvantaged environment (Farajzadegan et al., 2018; Gallagher et al., 2015a). Factors including socioeconomic status, social support from family or friends, and mental health impact an individual’s opinions, attitudes, and interests as well as their occupational …

Occupational Engagement And Integration Among Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Immigrants, Sherry Manoly

Student Capstone Papers

Background: The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox (Copt) population in America has grown exponentially due to religious intolerance in Egypt. Many Copts experience feelings of helplessness because of the stark difference in American culture compared to their home culture. Occupational therapy (OT) is a profession that can impact the experience of Copts through participation in meaningful occupations. This qualitative study sought to answer the research question, “what is the current state of occupational engagement for recently immigrated Coptic immigrants?”

Methods: Eighteen participants filled out the 9-question open-ended survey concerning overall perceptions about moving to America. Data was analyzed using thematic …

Qualitative Analysis Of Different Educational Physical Activity Interventions And Policies For Older Asian Americans In The United States, Raisa Kabir, Manoj Sharma, Sayeda Tazim Zaidi

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Physical activity (PA) provides numerous positive health benefits and minimizes chronic diseases and mental health issues, especially in older adults. The national survey data indicated that only 27.3% to 44.3% of older adults meet the recommended physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes/ week. There are limited data on PA behavior among older AA adults as very few to no local/national surveys are targeted for older AA and their marginalized subgroups. This qualitative analysis aimed to understand and review the effectiveness of physical activity interventions targeted for and done among older Asian American adults. The study included a comprehensive review based …

Let’S Dance: Exploring The Physical, Psychological, And Social Effects Of Dance In Children, Alexis Sunderlage

Senior Theses

Movement and dance have a lot of positive health benefits, physically, psychologically, and socially. Children love to intrinsically move and creating a structured dance program is one way to gain the benefits of dance. The purpose of this study is to explore the physical, psychological, and social effects of dance in children while gaining insights that could be applied to the setting of occupational and physical pediatric therapies. This was done by conducting a literature review and exploring how children react to learning and following dance videos in a classroom setting by evaluating ability, engagement, and enjoyment by creating Let’s …

Cooper Neurological Institute, Kayla Cupano

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

A Farewell To Ears: Hearing The Call And Answering, Ann Marie Brown

Student Journal of Occupational Therapy

A semi-humorous autobiographical account of one first-year MSOT student trying to do their part to support the local healthcare community and its clients during the time of COVID-19 and self-quarantine.

Beyond Surviving: Identifying How To Support Individuals Living With Mental Illness And/Or Substance Use Difficulties To Thrive Following Homelessness In Kingston, Ontario, Carrie Marshall

Occupational Therapy Publications

While unhoused, persons who have experienced homelessness are frequently consumed with securing the necessary conditions to meet their basic needs including finding a place to stay for the night, finding food, and keeping safe. In other words, they are simply trying to survive. It is frequently assumed that when individuals secure a tenancy following homelessness, that their life naturally improves for the better in most or all areas of their lives. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that many people who secure housing after homelessness languish and continue to live in a state of survival. While the importance of supporting individuals to …

Occupational Therapy’S Role In Addressing Sexuality And Intimacy For Individuals With Progressive Neuromuscular Disorders, Lindsay N. Richards

Student Capstone Papers

Individuals with progressive neuromuscular disorders (PND); specifically, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s Disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) often face physical, psychological, and social challenges related to sex and intimacy. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are experts in activity analysis and are equipped with unique knowledge of performance skills and client factors to address deficits in occupational performance.

Though there is literature presenting the effects of PND on sexual occupations, a gap exists as it relates to qualitative data from the perspective of the individual and their partners. A mixed-methods survey was conducted examining the lived experience of …