Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Serve Those Who Served Us: Life Skills Program Development To Decrease Homelessness In The Veteran Population, Hannah Hale Malone

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, veterans represent one fourth of the entire homeless population, which is approximately 200,000 individuals each night (NCH, 2009). Within Arkansas, it is estimated that more than 500 are homeless throughout the state (Jared, 2021). These veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than other Americans due to poverty, shortage of affordable housing, lack of social support networks, a number of stress-related conditions, substance abuse, and the disadvantage of their military occupation and training not being transferable when competing for employment in the civilian workforce (VA Office of Inspector General, 2012). Unfortunately, …

Program Development: An Adaptive Sports Program For Children With Disabilities To Promote Occupational Engagement, Haylee Whitehurst

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Very little is known about the correlation between children with disabilities and the benefits of participation in adaptive sports. It is well known what the benefits of sports are for typically developing children. Research shows the need for growth in the adaptive sports area due to the information known about typically developing children. People are often unaware, but people with disabilities are the United States largest minority group and the only group that you can join at any moment (Inclusive Playgrounds, n.d.). According to Inclusive Playgrounds (n.d.), 6.7 million school-age children live with disabilities in the United States. Camp Aldersgate …

Development Of A Vocational Skills Program For An Adult Day Treatment Center, Faith Jones

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Approximately 6.5 million people in the United States have an intellectual disability (Special Olympics, 2020). Worldwide, approximately one percent of the population has an intellectual disability (Mauliket al., 2011). For an individual to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability, they must display significant deficits in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that has an onset prior to 22 years of age. A score below 70 to 75 on an IQ test indicates that an intellectual functioning deficit is present (AAIDD, n.d.). Employment plays a significant role in community engagement and social interaction for many people throughout the world; however, historically, …

Incorporating An Occupational Balance Component Into A Community Physical Education In The Park Youth Program, Chineche Lilian Aniemena

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to incorporate an evidence-based occupational balance component into the “Physical Education (PE) in the Park” program to promote healthy behaviors and weight loss, and prevent obesity.

Victim Identification And Response Protocol Improvement For Human Trafficking Victims In Northeast Arkansas Region, Kylie Long

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The aim of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to improve screening methods and response protocols for victims of human trafficking in educational and medical settings in the Northeast Arkansas region.

Starting With The Soil: An Occupation-Based Agricultural Frame Of Reference, Sadie Beth Masterson

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the current study sought to develop a comprehensive Occupation-Based Agricultural Frame of Reference to increase occupational therapists' knowledge and skills needed to provide adequate services to conventional farmers within a community-based setting to enhance their occupational performance and safety. The frame of reference will also merge the gap between occupational therapists’ knowledge and their ability to understand the “unique person, environment, occupation, and performance dynamic of farmers” to “effectively address the multiple losses that can accrue” when a farmer endures a debilitating injury or chronic condition (Hissong & Wilhite, 2008, p. CE-1).

The Daily Mom: A Public Platform To Enhance Occupational Therapy’S Role And Scope In Supporting Maternal Role Transition, Ashlen Mcrae

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the project was to develop and disseminate a public platform to 1) promote awareness of occupational therapy’s role and scope in supporting role transition and 2) improve overall quality of life for postpartum women. The public platform, The Daily Mom, functions as an educational resource to enhance occupational balance for postpartum mothers.

Making The Most Out Of Mealtime, Melodie Palmer Penn

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to: 1) Educate on the importance of client-centered interventions in the occupation of feeding. 2) Provide evidence-based resources for patients/caregivers, community members, and staff at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital on client-centered interventions incorporating OT principles.

Upper Limb Differences Theory: Achieving Occupational Independence, Elisabeth Carrice Mcdaniel

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The project aims to develop a holistic theory that addresses the occupational needs of individuals with limb differences.

An Occupational Therapy Life Skills Community Reintegration Program For Individuals Recovering From Substance Use Disorder, Hope Smith

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Substance use recovery is a lifelong journey that is difficult to endure. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2020), 40 60% of people with a substance use disorder (SUD) will relapse following a period of sobriety. Within the SUD recovery process, rehabilitation has a primary focus on treatment approaches that lack the component of community reintegration skills needed for sustained sobriety. The primary approaches include the AA 12 step program, counseling techniques, methadone maintenance, and cognitive retraining (Sullivan & Fleming, 2008). Bleiler (2021) suggests that “treatment of SUDs may increase in effectiveness and efficacy when approached through the …

Sensory Strategies: Incorporating Sensory Components Into Connected Foster Care’S Visitation Center, Olivia Stanton

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the doctoral capstone experience is to incorporate an evidenced-based sensory component into Connected Foster Care’s ministry and visitation center through the development of a sensory room, educational database, and screening tool.

Ot In The Picu: Early Mobility And Parent Occupational Engagement In Medically-Fragile Pediatric Patients, Allison Tackett

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the capstone project is to 1) promote the health and wellness of PICU patients by fostering early mobility, and 2) encourage parental occupational engagement with their child in the PICU.

Merging The Gap: Human Trafficking Module And Value-Based Assessment Tool For Health Care Professionals In Northeast Arkansas, Jessica Towell

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to develop an educational module and value-based assessment tool for health care professionals to improve human trafficking victim identification in health care settings in Northeast Arkansas. The educational resources will bridge the gap between health care professionals and human trafficking identification–ultimately supporting the health, wellness, and quality of life of victims.

Leadership Styles Of Doctor Of Physical Therapy Program Directors, Dawn Sunshine Brown

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education requires Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program directors to have the necessary academic and professional qualifications to lead their programs, but many directors lack awareness of their leadership styles. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive correlational study was to examine the leadership styles of current DPT program directors within the United States, analyze the relationship between DPT program directors’ self-perceptions of their leadership style and effectiveness, and understand a relationship between leadership styles with race and ethnicity.Methods: Data were collected using the 45-item Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short Leader Form developed by …

Effect Of Simulation Learning On Graduate Student Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Teams And The Team Approach To Care, Norman Cadiz Belleza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to health care reports, more than 250,000 deaths annually are attributed to medical error, prompting interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives as one way to improve healthcare delivery. The problem is that little is known about the effect of simulation learning with standardized patients on occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students’ attitudes toward IPE. The purpose of this causal-comparative study using a pretest–posttest nonequivalent control group design was to investigate the difference in posttest scores on the Students’ Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education—Version 2 (SPICE-R2) between first-term graduate OT and PT students who participated in a simulation and those …

Relationship Between Ethnic Diversity Of Nursing Leadership And Bedside Nursing Engagement, Neneh Iyesha Kamara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethnic diversity in the U.S. nursing workforce had not been well researched. This aspect of nursing is important to the advancement of the profession because ethnic diversity of nursing helps reduce health care disparities. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the possible relationship between the perceived ethnicity of nurse leaders and the engagement of bedside nurses. Culture of care theory was the theoretical foundation for this study. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale with additional demographic questions was used to survey 53 bedside nurses with 2 or more years of experience. Simple regression was used to analyze …

Organizational Commitment As A Mediator Between Organizational Climate And Employee Silence, Jennifer Sherer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unethical organizational behavior negatively impacts organizations, and despite the benefits of whistleblowing, some employees are hesitant to report employee misconduct. The specific research problem examined factors that influence employee silence when confronted with employee misconduct. Prior researchers have explored how organizational climate and organizational commitment can contribute to or inhibit the decision to report misconduct. What remained unclear is how these factors may interact on their influence on employee silence. The purpose of this study was to examine whether organizational commitment mediated the relationship between organizational climate and employee silence. The theoretical foundations for this study were the social information …

Aac Camp As A Pre- And Post- Service Training Model, Joanne Kim

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of participation in an AAC-based day camp as a pre-service training opportunity for students of speech-language pathology and a post-training opportunity for practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Following the conclusion for the most recent iteration of the AAC Academy hosted by the Diagnostic Center of Central California, students and SLPs who volunteered within the past ten years were recruited via email to participate in semi-structured interviews. Upon thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, the following themes were conceptualized: (1) Many volunteers had some interest, if not experience, with AAC prior to …

Spouses Of First Responders: A Narrative Inquiry Of Survival, Recovery And Healing, Jennifer D. Geiger

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The nature of the work of emergency responders (i.e., firefighters, law enforcement, paramedics, and dispatch) includes high stress and direct experiences of traumatic situations. The experience of posttraumatic stress is common. The spouse or significant other is often the first person to see a change in their responder and the person most likely to be sought out for support from the responder, yet there is little support for the spouses or significant others of emergency workers. The purpose of this qualitative study using in-depth interviews and narrative inquiry was to learn about participants’ experiences at the 6-day residential treatment (retreat) …

Maximal Strength In Relation To Force And Velocity Patterns During Countermovement Jumps, Michael H. Haischer, John Krzyszkowski, Stuart Roche, Kristof Kipp

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Maximal strength is important for the performance of dynamic athletic activities, such as countermovement jumps (CMJ). Although measures of maximal strength appear related to discrete CMJ variables, such as peak ground reaction forces (GRF) and center-of-mass (COM) velocity, knowledge about the association between strength and the time series patterns during CMJ will help characterize changes that can be expected in dynamic movement with changes in maximal strength. Purpose: To investigate the associations between maximal strength and GRF and COM velocity patterns during CMJ. Methods: Nineteen female college lacrosse players performed 3 maximal-effort CMJs and isometric midthigh pull. GRF …

Resilience Among Older Adults With Multiple Sclerosis: Pattern And Correlates, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Ariel Kidwell, Rachel E. Bollaert, Robert W. Motl

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

There is an increasing number of older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) who present with significant challenges associated with aging in conjunction with a chronic, disabling disease. Resilience has been associated with healthy aging in the general population, yet there is limited research on resilience and its correlates among older adults with MS. The current study investigated the difference in resilience between older adults with MS and demographically matched healthy controls. We then examined the associations between resilience and functional, symptomatic, socio-behavioral, and QOL outcomes, along with demographic and clinical characteristics, among only older adults with MS. Method: The …

Hip And Knee Joint Angle Patterns And Kicking Velocity In Female And Male Professional Soccer Players: A Principal Component Analysis Of Waveforms Approach, Archit Navandar, Kristof Kipp, Enrique Navarro

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

This study used principal component analysis (PCA) of waveforms to extract movement patterns from hip and knee angle time-series data; and determined if the extracted movement patterns were predictors of ball velocity during a soccer kick. Twenty-three female and nineteen male professional soccer players performed maximal effort instep kicks while motion capture and post-impact ball velocities data were recorded. Three-dimensional hip and knee joint angle time-series data were calculated from the beginning of the kicking leg’s backswing phase until the end of the follow-through phase and entered into separate PCAs for females and males. Three principal components (PC) (i.e., movement …

Knee Cartilage T2 Relaxation Times 3 Months After Acl Reconstruction Are Associated With Knee Gait Variables Linked To Knee Osteoarthritis, Jack R. Williams, Kelsey Neal, Abdulmajeed Alfayyadh, Kendra Lennon, Jacob J. Capin, Ashutosh Khandha, Kurt Manal, Hollis G. Potter, Lynn Snyder-Mackler, Thomas S. Buchanan

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Osteoarthritis development after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is not well understood. Investigators have examined associations between knee biomechanical alterations and quantitative MRI (qMRI) variables, reflective of cartilage health, 12–60 months following ACLR; however, none have done so early after surgery. As part of an exploratory study, 45 individuals (age, 23 ± 7 years) underwent motion analysis during walking and qMRI 3 months after ACLR. For each limb, peak knee adduction moment (pKAM) and peak knee flexion moment (pKFM) were determined using inverse dynamics and peak medial compartment force was calculated using a neuromusculoskeletal model. T₂ relaxation times in the medial …

Use Of The Subject-Centered Integrated Learning Model And The Occupational Experience Profile To Promote Students' Connections Among Occupation, Self, And The Profession, Adele Breen-Franklin, Karen Atler

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Recent research related to occupational therapy education identified the need for a conceptual model to help guide the design and implementation of occupation-centered education. Spurred by this research, the Subject-centered Integrative Learning Model-Occupational Therapy (SCIL-OT) emerged as a model to enable educators and learners to keep the concept of occupation at the center of all occupational therapy education and learning. That work, largely focused on teaching students to connect non-occupation content to occupation (Hooper et al., 2020). However, teaching students about occupation directly can also benefit from using the SCIL-OT model to design learning experiences. The purpose of this paper …

The Impact Of International Doctoral Capstone Experience On Occupational Therapy Clinicians' Current Practice, Sarbinaz Bekmuratova, Lisa Bagby, Anna Domina, Angela Patterson, Keli Mu

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of an international doctoral capstone on occupational therapy clinicians’ current practice. The study used a cross-sectional descriptive online survey design with qualitative elements with 26 occupational therapy graduates. All participants identified as female and the majority were 25-34 years old. Participants reported that the international doctorate capstone experience positively impacted their cultural competence and professional growth. Qualitative outcomes supported these findings through three themes on culture, building rapport with patients, and professional growth. This study suggests that an international doctoral capstone experience is an important way for occupational therapy students …

Not Just Women’S Work: Recruiting Men To Occupational Therapy, Alexandra I. Zelin, Erin Melhorn, Kristen J. Black, Nicole Harty

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Compared to women, men are less likely to become occupational therapists (OT). To have a more diverse workforce, and to relate to various patient groups, reasons men do not enter the field of OT must be better understood. Our study compares men and women in their familiarity with OT and desire to work in the field. Data were gathered using an online, self-report survey administered to students at a public university in the southeast. The sample included 334 undergraduate students who were in majors that often serve as feeder programs to OT graduate programs. The average age was 19.8 years …

The Impact Of A Psychosocial-Focused Experiential Learning Activity On Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceived Clinical Reasoning, Molly Bathje, Kristi Escobar, Meghan Crisp, Catherine Killian, Charlotte Royeen

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

A primary objective of occupational therapy education is to facilitate development of clinical reasoning skills. These skills are complex and difficult to cultivate in classroom settings, therefore educators often use experiential learning activities to support clinical reasoning development. Most of the literature about experiential learning activities aimed at developing clinical reasoning focuses on activities occurring in-person, with individuals in physical disabilities settings. This research addresses the gap in the literature by evaluating the impact of a group based, psychosocial focused experiential learning activity that occurred virtually and in-person on entry-level occupational therapy students’ perceived clinical reasoning. Students (n=36) …

Use Of Metacognitive Techniques In Occupational Therapy Education: A Scoping Review, Monica L. Robinson, Christine Kroll, Emma Sabransky

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Efficient and effective occupational therapy curricular and course design is essential to develop competent and reflective practitioners. The intentional use of metacognitive strategies could improve the development of higher-order thinking and learning outcomes. The study explored the use of metacognitive strategies to improve learning and higher-order thinking in students within occupational therapy higher education. A targeted search for occupational therapy journals only was the primary method to identify studies. Arskey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-stage framework guided this scoping review. All studies demonstrated some aspects of metacognition, this included thinking about their learning, reflection, self-assessment, or sense-making. Through the PRISMA process, …

Permission To Learn: Intentional Use Of Art And Object-Mediated Strategies To Develop Reflective Professional Skills, Mary Anne Peabody, Susan Noyes, Mary Anderson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Reflective practice is considered a highly valued graduate attribute in the field of occupational therapy. Occupational therapy educators influence and shape how students develop into reflective practitioners. Reflective practice requires a set of complex thinking skills that are typically focused on personal experiences and can be broken down into pre-requisite skills that aid in the teaching and learning process. This article introduces a six component Permissions model used with graduate level students during their first semester that combines experiential learning and pre-requisite skills of reflective practice. The model includes three broad domains: self-awareness, observation, and effective communication and six pre-requisite …

Development Of Learning Materials To Address Social And Medical Factors Impacting A Minoritized Population, Whitney Lucas Molitor, Moses N. Ikiugu, Ranelle Nissen, Mejai Avoseh, Denyelle Kenyon, Sabina Kupershmidt

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Health outcomes are multi-factorial. Health professionals must weigh all factors when making recommendations and providing intervention, however, limited learning materials which describe the health of minoritized populations exist for students in health science educational programs, necessitating the development of content for interprofessional learning that address the health factors experienced by underserved populations. This study used a descriptive design. Eleven expert content reviewers from eight health science and medical professions were recruited and provided feedback on the quality and content of a developed case study that described the lifestyle and health status of an individual from an ethnic minoritized population. Participants …