Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Restoring Meaning Through Leisure: Exploring The Benefits Of Leisure-Focused Occupational Therapy For Individuals With Neurological Diagnoses, Elizabeth Rose Stoutland May 2024

Restoring Meaning Through Leisure: Exploring The Benefits Of Leisure-Focused Occupational Therapy For Individuals With Neurological Diagnoses, Elizabeth Rose Stoutland

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

There are limited findings in occupational therapy literature on leisure, despite being a highly meaningful area of occupation that has implications for both physical and mental health. This poster describes an occupational therapy Capstone experience in adaptive sports and inpatient rehabilitation at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center related to leisure restoration. The student investigated the role of occupational therapy in restoring leisure and recreation for individuals with neurological conditions and achieved the following main goals: (Goal 1) to gain skills in adaptive recreation for individuals with neurological conditions, and (Goal 2) to determine how leisure exploration can be implemented in …


Experiences Of Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury And Return To Work: A Scoping Review, Soofia Naqvi Jan 2023

Experiences Of Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury And Return To Work: A Scoping Review, Soofia Naqvi

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Participation in productive work after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) can often be a challenging experience. This experience is unique to each individual and is often impacted by personal and environmental factors as well as government policies. Previous studies have aimed to identify the factors associated with promoting successful return to work after SCI, but often the perceptions of those who experience SCI are excluded from these studies. This study aims to gain insights regarding the experiences of persons with SCI and participation in productive employment. Purpose: To analyze existing literature about the perceptions of persons with (SCI) …


Reducing Caregiver Burden In Spinal Cord Injuries And Disorders (Sci/D), Heather Berto Aug 2022

Reducing Caregiver Burden In Spinal Cord Injuries And Disorders (Sci/D), Heather Berto

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

The following capstone project focused on the exploration of clinical and community-based resources that help reduce caregiver burden in the adult spinal cord injuries and disease (SCI/D) population. In order to best serve the chosen population, this capstone project aimed to help adults with SCI/D and their caregivers have access to resources that assist with handling adjustment, learning independent living skills, and navigating their relationship with one another, while ultimately taking into consideration their specific mental health needs.


Occupation And Time-Use: The Narratives Of One Individual With Tetraplegia, Amanda Balser Jan 2022

Occupation And Time-Use: The Narratives Of One Individual With Tetraplegia, Amanda Balser

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Successful health-management habits of individuals with tetraplegia have correlated with better quality of life and occupational engagement. Objectives: Little is known about the experience of time-use during these practices and the influence these routines have on participation in other meaningful occupations. This study aimed to explore the stories an individual with tetraplegia has about time-use in health management practices, influences on time-use, and feelings about quality of life and life satisfaction. Methodology: Narrative inquiry was used to explore the stories of time-use of one individual living with tetraplegia. Findings: Eleven interpretive stories were thematically represented illustrating the complexity of …


Effects Of Seat And Axle Position On Pain, Pathology, And Independence In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Hannah Frank Dec 2021

Effects Of Seat And Axle Position On Pain, Pathology, And Independence In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Hannah Frank

Theses and Dissertations

Manual wheelchair (MWC) users with spinal cord injury (SCI) rely heavily on their upperextremities to complete daily occupations. Due to repetitive shoulder use during wheelchair mobility and propulsion, MWC users are at greater risk of shoulder pain and shoulder pathology, and thus decreased independence, and lower quality of life. The relative fit of the wheelchair and its parameters are critical and can further impact the user’s propulsion biomechanics. Parameters such as seat angle and axle position may put the user in detrimental shoulder positions for longer periods of time, impacting health outcomes even more. Although the effects of wheelchair setup …


Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation: Application To Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation And Computational Modeling, Neil Mittal Jan 2021

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation: Application To Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation And Computational Modeling, Neil Mittal

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of motor function from spinal cord injuries (SCI) results in loss of independence. Rehabilitation efforts are targeted to enhance the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), but outcomes from physical therapy alone are often insufficient. Neuromodulation techniques that induce neuroplasticity may push the limits on recovery. Neuromodulation by intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) induces neuroplasticity by increasing corticomotor excitability, though this has most frequently been studied with motor targets and on individuals not in need of rehabilitation. Increased corticomotor excitability is associated with motor learning. The response to iTBS, however, is highly variable and unpredictable, …


Biomechanical Analysis Of Stroke Patterns And Functional Outcomes In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users, Paige Louise Aschenbrener Dec 2020

Biomechanical Analysis Of Stroke Patterns And Functional Outcomes In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users, Paige Louise Aschenbrener

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 88,0000 manual wheelchair (MWC) users are under the age of 21 in the United States (Kaye, LaPlante, & Kang, 2000). More than half of pediatric MWC users with spinal cord injury (SCI) report shoulder pain later in life and are at higher risk for developing upper extremity (UE) overuse injuries (Vogel & Zebracki, 2015). During MWC propulsion, a stroke pattern is the path the hand follows with respect to the pushrim (Boninger et al., 2002). Current clinical guidelines for adults recommend sole use of the semicircular stroke pattern as best practices because a MWC user is able to spend …


An Examination Of Mothering Occupations In The Context Of Spinal Cord Injury, Gohar Ghushchyan-Tigranyan Jan 2019

An Examination Of Mothering Occupations In The Context Of Spinal Cord Injury, Gohar Ghushchyan-Tigranyan

OT Student Capstones

An examination of mothering occupations in the context of spinal cord injury across cultures, motherhood is a desired life trajectory that is strongly influenced by cultural norms and expectations. Mental or physical injuries can become a barrier to fulfilling this life goal, leaving a great sense of loss and feeling of failure for women (Albright, Duggan, and Rahman, 2009). This paper aims to understand the lives of mothers with spinal cord injury, the physical challenges and adaptation that they found around the disability, and the psychosocial impact of mothering from a wheelchair. This project will also investigate professional involvement, such …


Independence Through Patient Education In A Spinal Cord Injury Population, Justin Mctish Dec 2018

Independence Through Patient Education In A Spinal Cord Injury Population, Justin Mctish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Know More, Live Better program was developed because the population of people with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) includes a substantial number of young people, who often readmit into hospitals for preventable causes such as pressure ulcers, respiratory infections, and bowel/bladder infections. These complications can be avoided through patient education. A needs assessment was conducted at the SCI unit at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, PA. This assessment included structured observation of patient education in the therapy process, semi-structured interviews about site needs and patient education topics completed with patients and occupational therapists on staff, and surveys of multi-disciplinary …


Exploring The Relationship Between Locomotor Training And Bowel And Bladder Outcomes In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Review And Feasibility Study., Anna Rudkovska Oct 2018

Exploring The Relationship Between Locomotor Training And Bowel And Bladder Outcomes In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Review And Feasibility Study., Anna Rudkovska

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explored the relationship between locomotor training and bowel and bladder function in individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Study 1 was a scoping review that identified and summarized literature describing the relationship between locomotor training and bowel/ bladder outcomes in individuals with SCI and identified research gaps in the existing literature on bowel/bladder outcomes during locomotor training. Results of the scoping review suggested there is evidence of a positive relationship between locomotor training and bowel/bladder outcomes, however, most of that evidence was not collected using clinical outcome measures. Study 2 evaluated the feasibility of using the Spinal Cord …


Evaluating Cardiovascular Dysfunction During Increased Activity And Exercise Rehabilitation Following Incomplete Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury In The Adult Rat., Kathryn A. Harman Dec 2016

Evaluating Cardiovascular Dysfunction During Increased Activity And Exercise Rehabilitation Following Incomplete Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury In The Adult Rat., Kathryn A. Harman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in whole-body dysfunction. While the majority of SCI research is focused on improving locomotor function after injury, cardiovascular (CV) disease continues to be the leading cause of morbidity in the chronic SCI patient population. The combination of injury-induced destruction of autonomic pathways, maladaptive plasticity within lumbosacral circuits, and the progressive decline in physical fitness contribute to the poor CV status of SCI individuals. Currently, there is little emphasis on implementing appropriately-timed acute rehabilitation techniques aimed to curtail maladaptive remodeling and improve CV outcomes. Furthermore, no pre-clinical or clinical studies have investigated the most appropriate time-course …


Assistive Technology Provision By Occupational Therapists : A Process And Tools For Managing Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Ikechukwu Anthony Igbo Jan 2016

Assistive Technology Provision By Occupational Therapists : A Process And Tools For Managing Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Ikechukwu Anthony Igbo

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. For clients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), a way of improving the connection between these three aspects is by providing assistive technology (AT). A fundamental issue identified by consumers regarding AT provision was abandonment, which is caused by a mismatch between aspects of the person, the assistive product, and characteristics of the environment. One solution is engaging collaboratively with clients and recognizing individual needs, thereby allowing therapists to meet clients’ occupational expectations and provide clients with increased functional independence. During this capstone project, barriers to AT provision were …


The Able Scale: The Development And Psychometric Properties Of A New Outcome Measure For The Spinal Cord Injury Population, Elizabeth Ardolino Jan 2010

The Able Scale: The Development And Psychometric Properties Of A New Outcome Measure For The Spinal Cord Injury Population, Elizabeth Ardolino

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.