Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Crawling Out From Under: A Physical Therapist’S Celebration Of The Power Of Occupational Therapy, Natalie Michaels

Funded Scholarship

Isaacs’ syndrome, also known as Acquired Neuromyotonia, is a rare condition caused by continuous firing of the motor units, leading to twitching muscles and cramping that will persist even during sleep. The medical treatment of Isaacs’ syndrome is nondescript and arbitrary. Because of the rare incidence of the disorder, very few studies have been conducted to help determine the appropriate intervention for individuals with this affliction. This paper is a narrative case-study that offers a first-person account of a physical therapist with Isaacs’ syndrome and her journey through rehabilitation with her occupational therapist. The progress of this individual over time …

The Effect Of Self-Perineal Care Education On Knowledge, Episiotomy Pain And Wound Healing Among Primipara Mothers, G.P Lazarus Lilly Mary

Student Works (2020-2029)

A nurse-midwife ensures all mothers receive the best care to be safe and healthy throughout pregnancy and childbirth. However, it is challenging for midwives to provide holistic nursing care as postpartum mothers spend only a brief period in the postnatal ward due to the high demand for the facilities there. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of self-perineal care education (SPC education) on knowledge, episiotomy pain, and wound healing outcomes among primipara mothers and explore their opinions regarding self-perineal care education and their challenges and practices at home. Mixed-methods research using the embedded design was …

From The Editor, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Environment Of Interprofessional Education In Graduate Education: Exploring Professional Programs Of Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, And Physical Therapy, Allison R. Kaczmarek

Theses and Dissertations

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an educational approach of increasing popularity in professional schools for the preparation of a collaborative ready healthcare workforce. The accrediting bodies of professional education programs in occupational therapy (OT), physician assistant (PA), and physical therapy (PT) have incorporated standards for outcomes addressing IPE. Although they have endorsed the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) consensus document on quality IPE, we do not have a contemporary snapshot of the IPE environments in the curriculum of their accredited programs. This dissertation, a collection of three distinct inquiries, has two aims: first, to provide a description of IPE as it …

The Impact Of Patient Characteristics On Dysphagia Therapy Utilization And Feeding Outcomes For Premature Infants In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Tiana Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Medical advances have significantly increased the survival rates of preterm infants at lower gestational ages. However, infants born at lower gestational ages have an increased risk for developmental disabilities and oral feeding difficulties. A stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is very costly and inadequate oral feeding is the most common barrier to discharge for premature infants. Infants can receive dysphagia therapy services during their NICU stay that focuses on the development of oral feeding and swallowing skills. However, literature to this date has mainly focused on the impact of therapy services for premature infants after NICU discharge. …

The Presentation And Impact Of Compassion Fatigue And Compassion Satisfaction In Occupational And Physical Therapists Working With People Who Have Sustained Burn Injuries, Miranda L. Yelvington

Theses and Dissertations

Therapists who work with burn survivors are frequently exposed to patients who are undergoing or have undergone severe trauma and pain. This exposure places burn therapists at risk for the development of compassion fatigue and diminished professional quality of life. Alternatively, the sense of purpose and altruism experienced by these same therapists have the potential to foster compassion satisfaction. This dissertation explores the prevalence and presentation of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in burn therapists in the United States. This three-paper design focuses on: 1) a scoping review of current literature, 2) a cross-sectional quantitative survey utilizing the Professional Quality …

Utilization Of Occupational Therapy Services For Patients With Cancer In Acute Care Settings, Christine Mcnichols

Theses and Dissertations

For patients with cancer diagnoses, effects from the disease or as a result of cancer treatments can cause profound impairments impeding patient functioning and independence. These assaults to the independent achievement of activities have far reaching implications and linkages to a patient’s length of stay and their likelihood of a hospital readmission. Unfortunately, occupational therapy services have frequently been found not to be ordered for patients with cancer, even when there have been demonstrated functional deficits and needs. Through the analysis of patient records from a National Cancer Institute hospital over 5 years, the current study investigated occupational therapy services …

Supervised Cancer Rehabilitation: Applications For Utilizing Existing Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Facilities For Cancer Patients And Survivors, Nancy A. Condit

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Currently, the NIH reports there are approximately 18 million Americans with a history of cancer. Cancer statistics are projected to rise to 22.1 million by 2030. In addition to cancer, cardiovascular diseases are globally the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The body of research in this area clearly demonstrates that greater amounts of physical activity correspond with a lower risk of cancer recurrence and all-cause mortality, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Exercise rehabilitation success in cancer patients, both during and after treatment, is limited by several barriers, including the lack of facilities, trained personnel and financial resources. In response to …

Exploring Jury Nullification: Its Political History, Current, And Potential Impact On Policy, David Harold Penny

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Jury nullification (JN) is when a jury knows a defendant is legally guilty, but states they are not guilty, believing that their verdict better serves justice in that case. The problem is the violation of the Constitution’s equal protection clause for all citizens, caused by the intentional omission in most judges’ instructions to juries of JN. The purpose of the study was to fill the gap in the literature on jury behavior and address the problem of JN. The study framework is chaos theory as applied by Horowitz to jury behavior. It describes judges and lawmakers mistrust of juries associated …

Occupational Therapists’ Perspectives On Using The Physical Environment In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Jennie L. Digrado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Occupational therapists (OTs) are among the health care professionals who assist individuals with neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) to engage in self-care and leisure skills in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) environment. Although the SNF environment has been researched, a gap exists regarding how OTs use the built environment to help clients with a NCD engage in self-care and leisure-related activities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how OTs use the physical environment in a SNF to help individuals with a NCD engage in self-care and leisure related activities. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the …

“It’S About Being Healthy”; A Novel Approach To The Socio-Ecological Model Using Family Perspectives Within The Latinx Community, Bethany Korom, Meghan Malloy, Caroline Remmers, Mari Cevilla, Kelly Dione, Paula E. Papanek, Jeffrey Condit, David Nelson

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

The Latinx community is at risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. Culturally appropriate, community facing physical activity (P.A.) and nutrition programs may provide the basis for families to improve their health status. Our objectives are as follows: 1. To investigate synergistic factors within this type of program that play a role in creating an environment for participants to learn and practice healthy behaviors. 2. To apply factors into a novel model of components that support health and wellness. 3. To design an intervention for future implementation and evaluation.

Methods

A two-year P.A. and nutrition program, …

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Of Overground Robotic Training Versus Conventional Locomotor Training In People With Spinal Cord Injury, Daniel Pinto, Allen W. Heinemann, Shuo-Hsiu Chang, Susan Charlifue, Edelle C. Field-Fote, Catherine L. Furbish, Arun Jayaraman, Candy Tefertiller, Heather B. Taylor, Dustin D. French

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Few, if any estimates of cost-effectiveness for locomotor training strategies following spinal cord injury (SCI) are available. The purpose of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of locomotor training strategies following spinal cord injury (overground robotic locomotor training versus conventional locomotor training) by injury status (complete versus incomplete) using a practice-based cohort.

Methods

A probabilistic cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a prospective, practice-based cohort from four participating Spinal Cord Injury Model System sites. Conventional locomotor training strategies (conventional training) were compared to overground robotic locomotor training (overground robotic training). Conventional locomotor training included treadmill-based training with body weight …

Effect Of Chronically Suppressed Plasma Angiotensin Ii On Regulation Of The Cyp4a/20-Hete Pathway In The Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat, Kathleen M. Lukaszewicz, John R. Falck, Julian H. Lombard

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

In Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats, impaired vascular relaxation can be restored by: (1) minipump infusion of a low (sub-pressor) dose of angiotensin II (ANG II) to restore physiological levels of plasma ANG II, (2) inhibition of 20-HETE production, and (3) introgression of a normally functioning renin allele from the Brown Norway rat (SS-13^BN consomic rat). Unlike SS rats, SS-13^BN rats have normal levels of ANG II on a normal-salt diet and suppressed ANG II on a high-salt (HS) diet. This study tested whether chronically low ANG II levels in SS rats upregulate cytochrome P450-4A (CYP4A) increasing the production …

Prehabilitation For Total Knee Or Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review, Kristin J. Konnyu, Louise M. Thoma, Wangnan Cao, Roy K. Aaron, Orestis A. Panagiotou, Monika Reddy Bhuma, Gaelen P. Adam, Daniel Pinto, Ethan M. Balk

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

We sought to systematically review the evidence on the benefits and harms of prehabilitation interventions for patients who are scheduled to undergo elective, unilateral total knee arthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty surgery for the treatment of primary osteoarthritis. We searched PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 1, 2005, through May 3, 2021. We selected for inclusion randomized controlled trials and adequately adjusted nonrandomized comparative studies of prehabilitation programs reporting performance-based, patient-reported, or healthcare utilization outcomes. Three researchers extracted study data and assessed risk of bias, verified by an independent researcher. …

Neural And Muscular Contributions To The Age-Related Loss In Power Of The Knee Extensors In Men And Women, David Wrucke, Andrew Kuplic, Mitchell Adam, Sandra K. Hunter, Christopher W. Sundberg

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

The mechanisms for the loss in limb muscle power in old (60-79 years) and very old (≥80 years) adults and whether the mechanisms differ between men and women are not well-understood. We compared maximal power of the knee extensor muscles between young, old, and very old men and women and identified the neural and muscular factors contributing to the age-related loss of power. 31 young (22.9±3.0 years, 15 women), 83 old (70.4±4.9 years, 39 women), and 16 very old adults (85.8±4.2 years, 9 women) performed maximal isokinetic contractions at 14 different velocities (30- 450°/s) to identify peak power. Voluntary activation …

Who Was Wearing A Mask In 2021? Update On Gender-, Age-, And Location-Related Differences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael H. Haischer, Rachel Beilfuss, Meggie Rose Hart, Lauren Opielinski, Emma Schmit, David Wrucke, Helena Zhao, Toni D. Uhrich, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Previous observational work from 2020 demonstrated gender-, age-, and location-related differences in mask-wearing behavior, despite the efficacy and public health messaging that emphasized face coverings in combatting the spread of COVID-19. In 2021, COVID-19 vaccinations and a corresponding change in public health policy became new considerations in deciding personal protective behaviors. To provide an update on mask wearers and resistors approximately one year after our initial study, we observed shoppers (n = 6,118) entering retail stores using the same experimental methodology. Approximately 26% of individuals wore a mask. Mask wearing has decreased across demographic groups compared to 2020. Aligning …

Rehabilitation For Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review, Kristin J. Konnyu, Daniel Pinto, Wangnan Cao, Roy K. Aaron, Orestis A. Panagiotou, Monika Reddy Bhuma, Gaelen P. Adam, Ethan M. Balk, Louise M. Thoma

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

We sought to determine the comparative benefits and harms of rehabilitation interventions for patients who have undergone elective, unilateral THA surgery for the treatment of primary osteoarthritis. We searched PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 1, 2005, through May 3, 2021. We included randomized controlled trials and adequately adjusted nonrandomized comparative studies of rehabilitation programs reporting performance-based, patient-reported, or healthcare utilization outcomes. Three researchers extracted study data and assessed risk of bias, verified by an independent researcher. Experts in rehabilitation content and complex interventions independently coded rehabilitation interventions. The team assessed …

Cognitive Challenge As A Probe To Expose Sex- And Age-Related Differences During Static Contractions, Hugo M. Pereira, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Despite activities of daily living being frequently performed simultaneously with a cognitive task, motor function is often investigated in isolation, which can hinder the applicability of findings. This brief review presents evidence that 1) performing a cognitive challenge simultaneously with a motor task can negatively impact force steadiness and fatigability of limb muscles during a static contraction, 2) the negative impact on old adults (>65 years old), particularly older women is greater than young when a cognitive challenge is simultaneously performed with a static motor task, 3) age-related mechanisms potentially explain impairments in motor performance in the presence of …

Promoting Student Understanding Of Occupation-Centered Practice And Updated Inter-Rater Reliability Of The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment, Kelly Little, Yongyue Qi, Vanessa D. Jewell

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) was developed as a reflective tool for students to improve their comprehension of occupation-centered practice. Finding new and innovative ways to incorporate occupation-centered assignments can serve as a strategy to develop student integration of occupation-centered practice and allow educators to appraise student comprehension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate student understanding of occupation-centered practice by utilizing various statistical analyses, including updated inter-rater reliability, of the OCIA using student assignments. Utilizing a methodological approach, 121 first-year students analyzed 10 physical rehabilitation videos utilizing the OCIA to rate the interventions for their level of occupation-centeredness. …

Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions Of Feedback During Pre-Fieldwork Simulation Debrief: Useful And Why, Kaitlin R. Sibbald, Diane E. Mackenzie, Jonathan Harris

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Simulation is increasingly used in occupational therapy education with the objectives of developing practice skill competency and enhancing clinical reasoning. Debriefing, an integral part of the simulation process, is critical to achieving these objectives. This study sought to determine the types of debrief feedback Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) students perceived as most useful and why, and how the advocacy inquiry model of debriefing influenced self-reported increases in clinical reasoning, client care, and planned implementation of feedback in practice. Using an embedded mixed method design with secondary data analysis, sixty-three first-year MScOT students provided 357 descriptions of the …

Effects Of Mental Health First Aid Course: Knowledge, Confidence, And Stigma Among Occupational Therapy Students, Jennifer L. Ostrowski, Sarah Sampson, Erin Mcgoldrick, Courtney Karabin, Kyra Shields

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In the United States, one in five adults are impacted by some form of mental illness in any given year, but only about 40% of individuals seek professional mental health support. While occupational therapists (OT) may work with individuals with mental illness to improve social skills, activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs, and neurocognitive interventions, research suggests there is not enough emphasis on this content in professional OT education. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is designed to educate individuals on mental illness, including how to recognize signs and symptoms and how to support individuals experiencing a concern or …

Perceptions Of Skill Development Among Occupational Therapy Students Who Participated In Virtual Fieldwork: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Spencer G. Morris, Kasia Smith, Benjamin Poirier, Shay L. Riker, Ellen Herlache-Pretzer, Stacey Webster, Jean Prast

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy fieldwork helps students refine their professional and technical skills to achieve competency required of entry-level occupational therapists. While fieldwork is traditionally completed in an in-person setting, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in some students completing fieldwork in a virtual format. Yet, minimal research has explored perceptions of skill development among students who complete virtual fieldwork placements. This qualitative descriptive study examined the perceptions of skill development among graduate-level occupational therapy students and graduates who participated in a virtual fieldwork placement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight participants from 3 different states completed semi-structured interviews of no longer than 60 minutes …

Expanding Practice In Trinidad And Tobago: Training Therapists To Implement Pediatric Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, Kimarah Reefe, Shasta Green, Raquel Martinez, Patty Coker-Bolt

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

While the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) recommends that occupational therapists (OTs) competently respond to changing environments and new clinical practice and research demands (WFOT, 2012), there are many challenges for therapists to engage in professional development in countries where resources and specialized expertise are limited. The purpose of this article is to describe a successful educational collaboration between therapists in Trinidad and the United States to further training of Trinidad and Tobago therapists on evidence-based pediatric intensive therapy models, with a focus on pediatric constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). The authors applied a translational framework to build capacity for …

Book Review: Clinical Simulation For Health Care Professionals, Loriann Helgeson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This paper is a review of Clinical Simulation for Health Care Professionals (Zapletal et al., 2022), which is designed to be a step-by-step manual for those interested in designing simulated learning experiences for students in health care fields and for clinicians who need to refresh or advance their skills to gain essential competencies for practice as a health care professional. Authors chose the Kern’s Model of Curriculum Development to serve as the theoretical framework for development of a simulated learning experience, which also lends itself to organization of the material in an easy-to-use resource. While the book is authored by …

Belonging: A Phenomenological Study Of Systemic Racism Experienced Among Black Students In Occupational Therapy Programs, Nardia A. Aldridge, Chloe Hill, Vanessa Johnson, Sierra Green, Cassandra Oladunni, Lillian Maglaris-Gabaldon, Victoria Madera, Ivanie Carswell

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Belonging, a crucial aspect of humanity and justice, is negated by racism. Formal analyses have shown that racial and ethnic minorities experience significantly higher rates of racial discrimination, with the greatest disparity being among Blacks. Incidences of racism toward healthcare professionals of color indicate that comprehensive and unbiased academic content is warranted in occupational therapy education. This study explored the lived experiences of systemic racism among Black occupational therapy students and their preparation to deal with racism and bias within didactic and clinical settings. This study featured a phenomenological design with data collection through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Transcripts …

Exploring Coloniality In Occupation-Based Education: Perspectives Of Ghanaian Occupational Therapists, Joana Nana Serwaa Akrofi, Amber M. Angell, Bright Gyamfi, Stefanie Bodison

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The history, scope, and practice of occupational therapy are taught in many parts of the world using western perspectives. Recently, occupational scientists have explored occupation-based education, including the extent to which occupation is central in occupational therapy programs and the mechanisms of teaching occupation. This study explores how western ideologies have influenced occupation-based education in Ghana by examining the teaching and practice of occupational therapy. We conducted a qualitative study using purposive sampling to recruit four participants from the first four cohorts of practitioners. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Our analysis yielded three main themes: Power, participants described power …

Occupational Therapy Graduate Students’, Recent Graduates’, And Educators’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Anatomy Knowledge, Karissa Legleiter

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This non-experimental descriptive survey study examined the relationship between occupational therapy (OT) graduate students’, recent graduates’, and educators' values of the regional and specific anatomy knowledge required for OT clinical practice. The researcher collected survey data from 94 OT graduate students, recent graduates, and educators at a private university. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics used to analyze the value of anatomical regions and structures and a one-way ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey to compare the group means on the value of anatomical structures. Results revealed that the regions of the highest value were the back and spine, thorax, and …

Applying An Anti-Racist Pedagogy To Develop And Deliver A Racial Microaggressions Workshop For Occupational Therapy Students, Shannon Giannitsopoulou, Jane A. Davis, Bismah Khalid, Ruheena Sangrar

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Many workshops about identifying, understanding, and responding to microaggressions have been designed and delivered to learners within health education. However, few workshops implement an anti-racist pedagogical approach, and none presented in the literature have been created specifically for occupational therapy students. Anti-racist pedagogical approaches explicitly link interpersonal and institutional/structural oppressions to ensure that the impacts of microaggressions are not minimized by focusing solely on interpersonal interactions. A specific workshop is needed to address the noted persistence of racial microaggressions directed at clients, families, students, and practitioners within occupational therapy contexts and due to the embeddedness of practitioners in clients’ daily …

The Editors’ Perspective: Evidence Informed Practice For Occupational Therapy Educators, Cindy Hayden, Dana M. Howell, Renee Causey-Upton

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Mental Health Of Occupational Therapy Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alisha Sharma, Andrea Tyszka

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of health professional students across the world. Although there are a growing number of studies regarding the mental health of other health professional students, there are currently limited studies regarding the mental health of entry-level occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students in the United States, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this mixed methods survey study was to understand the mental health status of entry-level OT and OTA students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to better support their mental …