Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Collegiate Student-Athlete Mental Health In West Virginia: An Occupational Perspective, Natalie P. Gates, Bailey A. Riggs, Drew D. Altizer

Graduate Student Scholarship

Collegiate athletes must take on multiple roles while they are attending a college or university, which can negatively impact their mental health. These student-athletes must not only follow the role demands and expectations of an athlete but also of a college student, all while emerging into adulthood in the college environment. This can be overwhelming for many collegiate athletes, and they often find it difficult to balance all their responsibilities to live a satisfactory life. Therefore, a role for occupational therapy exists in this realm. A quantitative study design using survey methods was chosen in hopes of identifying and describing …

Exercise And Chronic Pain, Maren Wright Voss, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Casey Coombs, Gabriela Murza, Cindy Nelson, Elise Withers

All Current Publications

Chronic pain is perhaps the most pervasive medical issue in the United States. The long-term impacts of chronic pain often cause individuals to reduce or eliminate physical activity. Chronic pain can impact physical, mental, and emotional well-being, which can limit daily activity and quality of life. The purpose of this fact sheet is to address the common barriers to being physically active with chronic pain and provide suggestions for safe ways to be physically active even when chronic pain is present.

Recent Trends, Current Research In Cyberpsychology: A Literature Review, Amarjit Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Cyberpsychology refers to the study of the mind and behavior in the context of interactions with technology. It is an emerging branch, which has focused on the psychological aspects connected to the increasing presence and usages of technology in modern lives. This paper traces recent advancement and trends of Cyberpsychology is an emerging domain of knowledge and goes on the give a literature review of the same. An analysis of the recent research and literature covering 300 most relevant research papers from the period of 2012 to 15, August 2019 was conducted to determine and shape the research pattern based …

Assistive Utensil: A Spork For Hand Tremors And Spatial Awareness, Ana Font Hernandez, Jacob Kabariti, Troy Taylor

Publications and Research

In this poster, we present a 3D printed solution for hand tremors and special awareness. Our spork is an assistive device designed and 3D printed for patients suffering from scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, drug withdrawal, etc. The scale-based handle will act as a counterweight to offset the contents on the other end and reduce shakiness. The larger grip allows an easy and comfortable hold. The product will be 3D printed for a customizable fit and at an affordable price. Lastly, the product will include a haptic feedback sensor to assist the visually impaired in locating food contents on …

To Heal, Escape: Using Theatre Arts To Promote Holistic Health In The Clinical Setting, John Filegar

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an argument for the implementation of theatre arts therapy in the clinical setting. The effects of traditional art therapies involving visual arts, expressive arts, and music on the holistic health of the patient in the clinical setting have been thoroughly researched and understood. However, the extent of the influence of theatre arts therapy on the holistic health of individuals in the clinical setting lacks sufficient evidence and therefore cannot be compared to the influence of traditional art therapies on the holistic health of individuals in the same setting. Following an overview on …

Nebraska Sex Trafficking Survivors Speak – A Qualitative Research Study, Shireen S. Rajaram, Sriyani Tidball

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This exploratory, qualitative research study was conducted by researchers Dr. Shireen S. Rajaram in the College of Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Ms. Sriyani Tidball in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), and was funded by the Women’s Fund of Omaha. The purpose of this study was to document the perspectives of adult women survivors of sex trafficking about the “3Ps” paradigm: to identify strategies to prevent sex trafficking, provide protection and support for survivors and prosecution of the perpetrators to reduce the demand for sex …

Self-Care Project For Faculty And Staff Of Future Health Care Professionals: Case Report, Nancy Macrae, Kelley Strout

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Self-care among health care providers is an important component of their ability to provide quality health care to patients. Health care institutions have programs in place for students that emphasize health and wellness, but few programs are available for faculty and staff. To address this gap and facilitate modeling health and wellness strategies for students, a New England institution that educates health care practitioners began a pilot self-care project for faculty and staff. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The template used for this project could be used as a stepping-stone for future wellness self-care program in higher education …

Subsidized Housing, Public Housing, And Adolescent Violence And Substance Use, Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the separate relationships of public housing residents and subsidized housing residence to adolescent health risk behavior. Data included 2,530 adolescents aged 14 to 19 who were children of the National the Longitudinal Study of Youth. The author uses stratified propensity methods to compare the behaviors of each group—subsidized housing residents and public housing residents—to a matched control group of teens receiving no housing assistance. The results reveal no significant relationship between public housing residence and violence, heavy alcohol/marijuana use, or other drug use. However, subsidized housing residents have significantly lower rates of violence and hard drug use, …

Children's Cancer And Transplant Hospital: A Micro Town Within A Bubble, Kimia Samimi

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

As the greatest considerations in health-care design have traditionally been functional —hygiene, efficiency, and flexibility for changing technology— hospitals have evolved to become dehumanizing spaces. In this thesis two specific groups of chronically ill children who have among the longest inpatient stays are studied: cancer and organ transplant patients. Being under immunosuppressive drugs, these children are physically vulnerable thus are kept completely isolated. These long stays and isolation can be very depressing for them.

This thesis undertakes the challenge of designing a fully isolated space that doesn’t feel like one or in other words “a micro-town within a bubble”. The …

Rating Scale Analysis And Psychometric Properties Of The Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale For Transfers, Daniel Cipriani, Francine E. Hansen, Danielle L. Mcpeck, Gina L.D. Kubec, Julie J. Thomas

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Parents and caregivers faced with the challenges of transferring children with disability are at risk of musculoskeletal injuries and/or emotional stress. The Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale for Transfers (CSEST) is a 14-item questionnaire that measures self-efficacy for transferring under common conditions. The CSEST yields reliable data and valid inferences; however, its rating scale structure has not been evaluated for utility. The aims of this study were to evaluate the category response structure of the CSEST, test the utility of a revised rating scale structure, and confirm its psychometric properties. The Rasch Measurement Model was used for all analyses. Subjects included 175 …

A Qualitative Study Of Coping In Mothers Of Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Heather Miller Kuhaneck, Tajhma Burroughs, Jamie Wright, Theresa Lemanczyk, Amy Rowntree Darragh

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

A significant body of research exists that explores the stressors of raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are fewer studies, however, that examine specific effective coping strategies of mothers of children with an ASD. This qualitative study explored mothers’ perceptions of effective coping strategies for their parenting stressors. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 mothers to inquire about their personal coping methods. Interviews were coded and emergent themes identified which included coping strategies such as “me time,” “planning,” “knowledge is power,” “sharing the load,” “lifting the restraints of labels,” and “recognizing the joys.” The information from …

Reinvention Of Depression Instruments By Primary Care Clinicians, Seong-Yi Baik, Junius Gonzales, Barbara J. Bowers, Jean S. Anthony, Bas Tidjani, Jeffrey L. Susman

Publications from Provost Junius J. Gonzales

PURPOSE Despite the sophisticated development of depression instruments during the past 4 decades, the critical topic of how primary care clinicians actually use those instruments in their day-to-day practice has not been investigated. We wanted to understand how primary care clinicians use depression instruments, for what purposes, and the conditions that influence their use.

METHODS Grounded theory method was used to guide data collection and analysis. We conducted 70 individual interviews and 3 focus groups (n = 24) with a purposeful sample of 70 primary care clinicians (family physicians, general internists, and nurse practitioners) from 52 offices. Investigators’ field notes …

Area Specific Self-Esteem, Values, And Adolescent Substance Use, Joseph Donnelly, Michael Young, Rebecca Pearson, Tina M. Penhollow, Aida Hernandez

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The use of illicit and licit drugs continues to be a major public health concern. Many prevention and drug education programs address this issue by attempting to enhance self-esteem. The idea is that increased levels of self-esteem will serve as a protective factor in decreasing the motivation and increasing the resistance to use drugs. This study explored the relationship between area specific self-esteem and adolescent substance use. Participants (n = 700) completed a self-report questionnaire which included items measuring the use and expected use of selected substances. Results indicated significant differences in home and school self-esteem scores between users/expected …

The Acute Effect Of Aerobic Exercise On Anxiety Levels, Toni Devolder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study sought to determine whether or not state anxiety levels were significantly reduced when individuals participated in aerobic dance workouts of 15 minutes and 30 minutes. Undergraduate university students and faculty enrolled in an aerobic dance class were volunteers in this study. As hypothesized, subjects in the aerobic dance classes did reduce anxiety acutely following both their 15 minute and 30 minute workout as assessed by the STAI (Y-Form State Anxiety). Thus, results indicate that state anxiety may be reduced through aerobic dance with similar situations and individuals. In addition, the study also looked at the posttest state …