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Integrating Art And Narrative To Enhance Quality Of Life In Palliative Care, Jennifer Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Lacie Lee Wallace, a mixed-media artist from Wheeling, West Virginia, is featured on the cover of the Fall 2018 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). The photograph depicts Lacie holding a self-portrait painted by artist CeCey Rose. Lacie’s physical appearance in the photograph is strikingly different from the physical appearance of the woman featured in the painting. The portrait was created 4 years before Lacie was diagnosed with advanced stage colon cancer. In the year following the diagnosis, Lacie lost nearly 100 lbs. as a result of an aggressive treatment regimen. When the palliative care team at …

Quality Of Life, Stress Perception, And Quality Of Social Networks In Persons Living With Brain Injury: An Exploration Of The Effectiveness Of A Community-Based Program, Barbara P. White, Abigail Brinkman, Barbara P. Kresge, Lisa Couture

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: This paper examines specific program elements of a community-based program for individuals living with brain injury. Results from a previous study suggested that members who attended regularly reported lower stress perception, higher quality of life perception, and higher social connectedness than did peers living in the community without such supports. In this study, we sought to understand reasons for their perceptions about how the program may have been helpful in shaping their perspectives of living with the effects of brain injury.

Methods: An explanatory case-study approach was applied, using multiple cases. Nine individuals were randomly selected from a subsample …