Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Functional Cognitive Activities For Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury: Pilot Case Studies, Ajay Pala, Karen Huang, Ashley Cook

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of these pilot case studies were to investigate the effectiveness of the Functional Cognitive Activities for Adults with Brain Injury: A Sequential Approach (FCA) in generalizing functional cognitive skills across meaningful occupations for adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study was a pretest-posttest design consisted of two participants with TBI.

Both participants attended 14 out of the 16 intervention sessions, twice-a-week for eight-weeks. Pretest-posttest measurements, including the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Kohlman Evaluation of Living Skills, and Goal Attainment Scale (GAS), were used to measure changes in occupational performance. Additionally, a four-month follow-up phone interview using …

Living With Fragile X Syndrome: Occupations As An Outcome Measure In A Clinical Trial, Theresa Chase, Ty Duong, Ana Baldinger, Kaylee Gothelf

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of semi-structured interviews as an outcome measure in a clinical trial for children with fragile X syndrome (FXS). A qualitative approach was used to analyze twenty-five parent interviews with children with FXS who participated in a double-blind medication trial. Each participant received either sertraline or a placebo. The aim of this research was to assess differences in occupational functioning in the sertraline group and placebo group, that may not have been detected with the use quantitative outcome measures alone. Results showed greater improvements in the sertraline group in areas of …

Resilience And Protective Factors In Older Adults, Jessica Mcclain, Katelyn Gullatt, Caroline Lee

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Evidence suggests resilience promotes successful aging in place and protective factors promote resilience. This study sought to investigate whether or not the combination of three protective factors, physical health, social support, and self-efficacy are all of equal importance in predicting resilience among Marin County older adults, or if some individual protective factors have a greater impact on resilience than the others. Fifty-eight participants ages 62 and higher were recruited from senior community programs and personal contacts. Four self-report questionnaires were completed by the participants in this exploratory, cross-sectional, quantitative design. SPSS was used for a descriptive and multivariate analyses to …

Fall Risk Reduction Using Lifestyle-Integrated Functional Exercise (Life), Kayla L. Comer, Tiffany Huang, Kelly Schmidt, Matthew W. Tong

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

As the population and longevity of older adults’ increases, the prevalence of falls is becoming an ever-growing issue. Falls in older adults may lead to sedentary behavior, decreased independence, and lower quality of life. Evidence has shown that traditional exercise programs emphasizing strength and balance can decrease the fall risk in older adults, but may be difficult to sustain over time. Emerging evidence suggests that exercises that are integrated into daily life, as seen in the Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE) program, may have a more lasting effect in reducing fall risk in older adults. This study explored the effectiveness of …

The Duc Healthy Aging Website: Providing Online Occupation-Based Information, Haley Caruthers, Samantha Talavera, Jackeline Ulloa, Stephanie Vera

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Access to current, evidence-based health information is an important step to the promotion of health and wellness for all age groups, including OAs. Since the virtual world is easily accessible and is being used more frequently by OAs, an effective way to convey relevant up-to-date health information is through a website devoted to the dissemination of health promotion information tailored for OAs, including tips for integrating healthy habits into their lifestyle. Dominican University of California’s (DUC) Healthy Aging website, developed in May 2014, contains relevant and evidence-based research, including activities and local community based programs that promote healthy aging on …

Occupational Therapy In The Intensive Care Unit, Kelsie Colombini, Kristen M. Henderson, Michelle Huie, Courtney Malachowski

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

In recent years, the number of inpatient cardiovascular surgeries has significantly increased in hospitals around America. Occupational therapists in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame, California) lack a standard protocol for addressing physical, cognitive, and psychosocial factors in patients post cardiac surgery. Furthermore, individuals’ experience and clinical reasoning frequently guides interventions rather than current evidence. The American Occupational Therapy Association’s Centennial Vision encourages occupational therapists to pursue science-driven practices and provide evidence-based interventions. In response to this Vision, an evidence-based clinical pathway was developed for the occupational therapists at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center. The clinical pathway facilitates …

Facilitating Effective Communication Between First Responders And Older Adults During Fall Incidents: An Educational Intervention, Krystin M. Beeman, Erica L. Berger, Isabel A. Cabezas, Nicole M. Mathews

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

PURPOSE. The purpose of this project was to provide first responders with communication strategies for older adults that may help when responding to fall- related calls. General information was also provided to First Responders on working with older adults with a focus on the aging process, fall risk factors, and communications strategies.

METHODS. A series of educational sessions to first responders at a local fire district were developed and presented by occupational therapy students. Materials were developed by presenters from evidence-based resources and tailored to the target population. Each presentation focused on statistics about older adults, the aging process, fall …

Examining The Validity Of The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment, Christine Kim, Angelica Soltis

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Background and purpose. Executive function (EF) skills are necessary to set a strong foundation for play development, school readiness and social participation in young children. However, few ecologically valid assessments are available to detect potential executive function deficits in preschool aged children. The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a new tool that measures EF in preschool aged children. The PKTA was adapted from the Kitchen Task Assessment and The Children Task Assessment by Christine Berg, Ph.D., OTR/L. This study aimed to validate the PKTA as an ecological assessment of EF in preschool aged children.

Subjects. Twenty-four typically developing children …

The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (Pkta): Assessing Validity Of A Performance-Based Assessment Of Executive Function, Emily Fry, Hayley Gilligan, Liza Henty-Clark, Jennifer Weissensee

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Background and purpose. Executive function (EF) deficits is a growing area of focus in pediatric occupational therapy practice. However, there is a lack of performance-based assessments of EF in preschool-aged children. This study sought to establish preliminary criterion-related validity of the Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA), a test of EF in preschoolers developed by Christine Berg, Ph.D., OTR/L, in which children complete a multi-step craft project.

Subjects. Fifteen typically developing preschool-aged children participated in this study.

Methods. An exploratory design was used to assess criterion-related validity of the PKTA. Participants completed the PKTA along with several established neuropsychological assessments of …

Standardized Patients In Occupational Therapy Education, Andrea E. Battle, Jessica M. Borceguin, Joanna P. Dizon, Lai Zan Saechao

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The use of standardized patients (SPs) in occupational therapy (OT) education has greatly increased in recent years; however, there is limited research on the perceptions of student’s clinical readiness utilizing SPs and whether or not the utilization of SPs prepare students for fieldwork. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of SPs in OT education and the perceived clinical readiness of students. The use of SPs has been thoroughly researched in other healthcare related fields. It is important that the same critical attention be given to their use in our own field, which emphasizes the importance of …

A Matter Of Balance: Program Outcomes For Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Tiffany Lau, Victoria Reyes, Adrienne Angeles, Leslie Hollaway

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Aims: The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine if A Matter of Balance with volunteer lay leaders (AMOB/VLL) was effective in increasing fall self-efficacy, fall control, and fall management in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Participants included community-dwelling older adults over the age of 60 who were concerned about falls and attended at least five of the eight AMOB/VLL program sessions. Fear of falling, pretest, posttest, and 3-, 6-, and 12- month follow-up data were collected from program participants between 2012 and 2013.

Results: Participants demonstrated overall improvements in fall self-efficacy, fall control, and fall management. Qualitative analysis also …