Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Preserving Function In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Thu Anh Lenguyen

MOT Student Capstones

Incidence of Parkinson's disease is growing due to the rise of the aging population requiring increased need for occupational therapy to facilitate independence and aging in place. Occupational therapy practitioners will need to have a general understanding of how to treat clients with the disease by becoming informed on the impact on occupations, evidence-based interventions, and available resources to clients and caregivers. Objectives of this project related to facilitating aging in place by maximizing client's quality of life and independence in their least restrictive environment. Three objectives were the focus of this project: • Occupational therapy practitioners will gain a …

Influencing Adults With Tbi One Ot Skill At A Time, Kala Powell

MOT Student Capstones

This capstone incorporated the skills and knowledge of an occupational therapy (OT) professional into the program at Hinds Feet Farm (HFF), a residential facility housing individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose of the project was to improve the staff members' knowledge and understanding of three areas of need affecting the members' 4 safety and participation in daily occupations. The identified areas of need included: (I) improving cognitive functions; (2) increasing knowledge of nutrition; and (3) learning relaxation techniques to reduce stress. This project was also intended to improve the staffs confidence in choosing and implementing activities addressing each …

The Response To Intervention Model And Occupational Therapy Input: A Strategic Plan To Promote Education About The Value Of Occupational Therapy, Decision Malting And Intervention Among Regular Education Teachers, Tanya Tucker-Hyatt

MOT Student Capstones

Occupational therapy can provide valuable input within the Response to Intervention (RtI) model in the public school setting. Staff education about occupational therapy's scope of practice within RtI is a tier 1 strategy. This present study used a pretest-posttest design in order to compare data about the knowledge base for kindergarten and first grade teachers' regarding occupational therapy and Rtl. A continuing education PowerPoint was developed that outlined the holistic, yet client-centered approach used by occupational therapists within Rtl. Additionally, decision trees that direct strategy implementation for visual-motor, visualperceptual, and fine-motor coordination difficulties were developed. A survey by occupational therapy …

Justifying The Use Of Touch Screen Devices For Use In The Skilled Nursing Setting As A Viable Occupational Therapy Intervention Tool With The Geriatric Population, Ashley Stanley

MOT Student Capstones

The use of technology and touch screen devices as occupational therapy intervention tools is minimal within the geriatric population. There is little research available for functional applications that address activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. A descriptive single group pre and post-test survey was conducted to justify introducing the use of touch screen devices in the skilled nursing setting as an occupational therapy intervention tool within the geriatric population. A total of 7 individuals participated in the pre-presentation questionnaire, attended the PowerPoint presentation, and completed the post-presentation questionnaire. The questionnaire sought information regarding participant demographics, years …

Program Implementation Of Using Bathing Checklist To Increase Client Performance During Bathing, Specifically With Home Health Aides, Whitney Weber

MOT Student Capstones

The bathing checklist program was implemented for five months in a home health care setting with clients who received occupational therapy and home health aide services. This program's main intention was to help clients become more independent with bathing by the occupational therapy discharge utilizing the home health aide to achieve this goal. The bathing checklist complied of 18 steps of bathing and an educational sheet to inform the client and caregivers of the program. At occupational therapy discharge, the bathing checklist was removed from the home for data collection. From the participating clients, IO out of 11 were more …

B1ending Of Worlds: A Massage And Occupational Therapy Intervention In-Service, Brandon S. Scott

MOT Student Capstones

The purpose of the Blending of Worlds capstone project is to provide an educational in-service to promote the use of complementary interventions, such as massage techniques, during occupational therapy practice with pediatric patients. It was hypothesized that intervention was underutilized in occupational therapy and could benefit clients in achieving occupational therapy goals. By creating this educational in-service, therapists would be educated on how massage would be part of an occupational therapist's scope and show connections to its practical application as a part of occupational therapy practice. It also provides evidenced based research to support the use of the intervention and …

Validation Of A Caregiver Guide Booklet, Carla Shepherd

MOT Student Capstones

Increasing the physical activity level for those with an intellectual disability (ID) is clearly supported in research and includes crucial relationships between community partners and caregivers. One local community partner was utilized to implement a program for ID individuals and their caregivers which included education and training, the use of a caregiver guide booklet, and monitoring member engagement during physical activity. The project resulted in benefits to caregivers by increasing their knowledge in the process involved in supporting the member, increasing their knowledge of the facility, and increasing their knowledge of the member as related to physical activity. Members experienced …

A Guide For Caregiver Self Stress-Management, Allison Huffman

MOT Student Capstones

This capstone project aims to investigate alternative approaches for home health occupational therapy practitioners to educate caregivers on self stress-management techniques. The demographics of the caregivers are female adults caring for an elderly ill spouse or friend in the caregiver's home. Literature reviewed supports the efficacy of using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to manage stress (i.e. lavender essential oil, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and yoga). The guide was designed by the occupational therapy student with the objective to provide occupational therapy practitioners in the home health setting a guide that is evidence-based and follows health literacy standards. The objectives …

Best Practice Guidelines For Therapeutic Intervention Of Disruptive Behaviors In The Preschool And Kindergarten Classrooms For All Peers In The Regular Education Environment For Academic Success, Crystal Mccain

MOT Student Capstones

Awareness of disruptive behavior in the classroom and how it effects the academic learning environment has become a concern for parents and educators as the classroom sizes continue to grow. By identifying techniques to better manage classroom behavior, we can reduce teacher and student stress and increase opportunities for academic success. The purpose of this study is to provide a good understanding of what disruptive behavior is and the role the occupational therapist can play, to provide educators with behavior management techniques that can be implemented into the kindergarten and preschool environment, to identify how disruptive behavior is affecting the …

Preparing Now For Successful Living In The Future, Karen T. Johnson

MOT Student Capstones

Purpose: The main purpose of this capstone project was to develop an introductory community education for how to prepare and seek out solutions that will enable the aging adult to increase their choices about where they live with age. It targets baby boomers within Durham County, ages 52-70 as they consider retirement, might be recently retired, considering relocation, or caring for loved ones. The secondary purpose of this capstone project was to facilitate increased awareness of how occupational and physical therapists can more routinely educate and provide resources for clients in order to promote productive aging. Procedures: The method for …

Fostering Parent To Foster Child Relationships-One Play Session At A Time: Development Of A Workshop For Easing Transitions And Improving Behaviors, Marlo C. Broyles

MOT Student Capstones

This report includes a review of literature to support development of a workshop to teach strategies for building relationships between foster parents and the children in their care. A search of the literature included locating peer-reviewed, evidence-based literature demonstrating how behaviors exhibited by foster children can make relationship building with the foster parents difficult. Successful strategies from the literature was reviewed to find supporting evidence for creation of the workshop. The literature provided evidence that abused and neglected children demonstrate poor behaviors that will affect their development, contribute to attachment issues with family and peers, produce sensory deficits, and children …

The Impact Of The Lsvt Big Program On Perceptions Of Fall Risks And Safety For Clients With Parkinson's Disease, Sarah Jackson

MOT Student Capstones

Parkinson's Disease is a common, neurodegenerative condition that can be a disabling, often causing injury and impairing quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the LSVT program by increase safety and decrease falls for clients with Parkinson's Disease. Using the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale, consisting of fourteen occupations performed inside and outside the home rated their confidence levels on a visual 0 analog scale of 0-10. Data was collected from therapists on most used and top five assessments along with the benefits of the MFES when completing the interventions and plan of care. …

A Guide For Occupational Therapy Professionals Using "Budding" Occupational Therapy Strategies: A Nature Approach, Jessie R. Gentz

MOT Student Capstones

The purpose of"Budding" Occupational Therapy Strategies: A Nature Approach was to develop a guide with sample activities and explanations to better understand why and how nature works. The guide provides a sample of nature based activities for occupational therapists working with children with sensory processing disorders to better understand how simple it is to incorporate natural materials and natural environments into treatment sessions to improve a child's occupational performance. The activities integrate plants, animals, the outdoors and everyday materials into treatment planning to improve performance skills by addressing the various components of the occupational therapy practice framework (OTPF). The guide …

A Systemic Literature Review Exploring The Effects Of Occupational Therapy Rehabilitation And Motivation On Geriatric Patients, Melissa A. Buckman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the effects of occupational therapy rehabilitation on geriatric patients by reviewing studies conducted on motivation in occupational therapy. In occupational therapy it is important that you set goals for your patients (Creek & Lougher, 2008). It is also important to understand what motivates a patient to achieve those goals because goals and valued activities are intimately connected to motivation. Motivation deals with why we perform certain behaviors. It can predict physical performance and how well a person might recover from an illness and has been suggested to be predictive for rehabilitation success …

Empower Me! Don’T Abuse Me”: An Occupational Therapy Approach To Violence Prevention, Canique Brown

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Domestic violence is becoming more prevalent among African American female ages 16 to 24 years. Occupational therapists are trained health care professionals that are able to work with these individuals. This is topic has limited research within the field of occupational therapy; hence, this Capstone Project was conducted with nine adolescent female African American women ages from a local church in the West Palm Beach, Florida, area.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of an occupational therapy violence prevention program for young African American females ages 16 to 24, the age at …

Container Culture: An Educational Program To Reduce The Overuse, Ashleigh R. Toy

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

The increased pace of society, improved safety, mobility and the need for parent efficiency have created a vast market of infant products to meet these demands: car seats that clip in and out of everything from the car to the grocery cart, jumpers, walkers, exersaucers, swings, bouncers and bumbos. These infant equipment products are helpful and can be beneficial if used effectively, however, the problem synthesized from the literature and clinical observation is that these containers designed to support safety and mobility are being overused causing a decrease in tummy time and human interaction which is leading to delays in …

Assesement Of An Occupation-Based Practice Module For An Occupational Therapy Assistant Curriculum, Mary Kim Qualls

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Occupational therapy practitioners who also serve as fieldwork educators are not utilizing the profession's historically distinctive qualities and purpose of occupation-based practice, and that the occupational therapy assistant student needs to be prepared with these skills upon beginning fieldwork.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this capstone is to improve the understanding of occupation-based practice by occupational therapy assistant students through an additional educational module focused on occupation-based principles by their ability to implement an occupation-based practice intervention.

Theoretical Framework: The occupation-based practice module has a knowledge component (look), an activity component (think), and evaluation/simulation component (act) (Skinner, …

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 …

Factors Influencing The Use Of Evidence-Based Practice Among Physiotherapists And Occupational Therapists In Their Clinical Work, Sofi Fristedt, Kristina Areskoug Josefsson, Ann-Sofi Kammerlind

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a process through which research is applied in daily clinical practice. Occupational therapists (OTs) and physiotherapists (PTs) are expected to work in line with EBP in order to optimise health care resources. This expectation is too seldom fulfilled. Consequently, research findings may not be implemented in clinical practice in a timely manner, or at all. To remedy this situation, additional knowledge is needed regarding what factors influence the process of EBP among practitioners. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that influence the use of EBP and the experienced effects of the …

Occupational Therapy Ph.D. Overview, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Non-Medical Use Of Cognitive Enhancing Prescription Medications Among Occupational Therapy And Speech Language Pathology Health Care Students: A Pilot Study, Randy P. Mccombie, Hannah Slanina

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: This research was designed to serve as a pilot study to generate baseline data on non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) for cognitive/academic enhancement purposes among students representing two healthcare professions, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Language Pathology (SLP) and to assess students’ opinions regarding whether use of these medications constitutes academic “cheating.” Introduction: NMUPD, such as Adderall ® or Ritalin ®, to reduce fatigue, improve memory, and increase concentration to ultimately improve grades has increased among college students in recent years, with estimated use put as high as 35% on some campuses. These drugs appear to be readily …

Through My Eyes: The Effect On Family Life Of Having Siblings With Autism Spectrum Disorder As Experienced By A Typically Developing Adolescent, Samantha L. Brand

Honors Theses and Capstones

As the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to increase, research efforts have begun to focus on the effects a person with ASD has on family life. The dominant voice in the extant literature is that of parents and caregivers, but only a small body of research explores the experiences of siblings. Using a phenomenological approach, a qualitative study was conducted to understand how a typically developing (TD) adolescent experiences the effects of having siblings with ASD on family routines and activities. Findings indicate that the family’s performance context—including routines, relationships, and activities—acts as the mediator of the bidirectional …

Through My Eyes: The Effect On Family Life Of Having Siblings With Autism Spectrum Disorder As Experienced By A Typically Developing Adolescent, Samantha L. Brand

Honors Theses and Capstones

As the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to increase, research efforts have begun to focus on the effects a person with ASD has on family life. The dominant voice in the extant literature is that of parents and caregivers, but only a small body of research explores the experiences of siblings. Using a phenomenological approach, a qualitative study was conducted to understand how a typically developing (TD) adolescent experiences the effects of having siblings with ASD on family routines and activities. Findings indicate that the family’s performance context—including routines, relationships, and activities—acts as the mediator of the bidirectional …

The Role Of Occupational Therapy In Primary Care With Older Adults, Kate Gearman, Tessa Richards

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The older adult population in the United States (U.S.) is projected to increase over the next 30 years (United States Census Bureau, 2014). With that, nearly two-thirds of older adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with at least one chronic health condition (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016b). These findings highlight a need for more specialized services for this population. Primary care is one sector of healthcare service delivery operating within the U.S. healthcare system. Presently, occupational therapy services are limited in primary care settings as defined in this scholarly project. Occupational therapy services have demonstrated efficacy in …

Student Organization For Accessibility And Resources (Soar) Program: A Policies And Procedures Manual, Molly Hofmeister, Kelsey Schiller

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Students with disabilities who attend college face many challenges with little support; and therefore are at a higher risk of preemptively dropping out of college (Mamiseishvili & Koch, 2011). Some of these challenges and barriers include but are not limited to roles and responsibilities of support staff and a greater demand for students’ self-reliance (Garrison-Wade, 2012). The Student Organization for Accessibility and Resources (SOAR) Program is a current peer mentorship program missioned to provide guidance and mentorship for college students with disabilities as they negotiate the complexities of transitioning and attending college (Morrison, personal communication, September 13, 2016). Peer mentorship …

Parent Guide For Therapeutic Play, Amber Brown, Corey Lof

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this project was to create a guide for parents of children ages three through six who have transitioned from early intervention services and did not qualify for early special education services. Delays may be present in many areas including cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, social-emotional, and adaptive development (North Dakota Department of Human Services, 2013), creating difficulty for the child to engage in everyday occupations including play.

An extensive literature review was conducted in order to obtain up to date information on the importance of play in development and facilitation of parent led play sessions. Research articles, …

Happy Hearts: A Caregiver's Guide To Assisting Patients With Heart Failure, Stephanie Carlson, Ashley Waller

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a holistic guide that could be provided by occupational therapists (OTs) to caregivers of individuals with heart failure (HF). A thorough literature review was completed on the impact that caregiving for individuals with HF has on mental, physical and environmental aspects of the caregiver and their role as a caregiver. The literature revealed that there is a significant number of individuals with HF and the role of caregiving is on the rise. As the need for caregivers’ increases, the demands associated with caregiving responsibilities increases accordingly. Activities that caregivers assist HF …

Enhancing Single Custodial Father's Parenting Skills: A Group Protocol, Jordyn Johnson, Alicea Steir

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The rate of single-custodial fathers is increasing (Leininger & Ziol-Guest, 2008). As single-custodial fathers have become more prevalent (Leininger & Ziol-Guest, 2008), programs are needed to provide them with support and information regarding the skills needed to raise children at each developmental stage (Panter-Brick et al., 2014). The purpose of this project is to create a set of group protocols that will provide single-custodial fathers that are living in transitional housing with the skills necessary to raise children at different stages of development.

An extensive literature review was conducted, and information pertinent to parenting programs for single-custodial fathers was collected …

Interdisciplinary Mental Health Approach To Equine Assisted Therapy For Veterans, Elizabeth Large, Brier Van Valin

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this program plan, Veteran Equine Therapy Services: An Interdisciplinary approach (VETS), is to provide an interdisciplinary, theory-driven structure to increase veterans’ occupational performance in the community using equines as a therapeutic medium.

Methods: A thorough literature review was completed focusing on current PTSD treatment options for veterans, beneficial effects of using animals and equines in treatment, and interdisciplinary team effectiveness. Scholarly articles were retrieved through databases found on the Harley E. French Library website located at the University Of North Dakota School Of Medicine and Health Sciences including PubMed, Google Scholar, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, and PsycInfo. …

Resource Guide For Secondary Complications Of Individuals Aging With A Spinal Cord Injury, Allison Laska, Emily Proctor

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop an easy to use resource guide to aid occupational therapists in working with those aging with a spinal cord injury (SCI) that have endured a secondary complication and advocating to other healthcare professionals the usefulness of occupational therapy in treatment of these individuals.

Method: An extensive literature review was conducted using Cinahl, OT Search, PubMed, PsycInfo, various medical journals, OT course textbooks, and documents obtained from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) website. Information was gathered about aging with SCI, common secondary complications in SCI, OT’s role in SCI, OT’s …