Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Burnout Solutions Through Wellness And Outdoor Adventure, Cassidy Bizzell

OTD Capstone Projects

For this doctoral capstone project I partnered with Abundant Life Adventure Club, a wellness company that curates group travel and outdoor events for Black professionals and entrepreneurs to experience the connection and self-care needed to thrive in life and work. The purpose of this project was to determine the club’s points of service, show the club’s effectiveness of providing burnout solutions, and support the mission for Abundant Life Adventure Club to expand membership and provide nature-based wellness interventions to Black professionals and entrepreneurs. Through research and collaboration, I created a member survey to determine the effectiveness of the club in …

Promoting Client-Centered Learning And Education Of Teenage Mothers, Katie R. Hartline

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed through a partnership with Nurses for Newborns, a nonprofit organization that sends registered nurses to the homes of families who have a greater risk of infant mortality. By delivering prenatal/postnatal care, education, infant developmental assistance, educational resources, community resources, and facilitating long-term plans with the families, Nurses for Newborns takes active measures to prevent child abuse, neglect, and infant mortality. This project was driven by the organization’s need to increase engagement, participation, and learning outcomes by their teen mother clientele. The primary focus of this project was to create a client-specific booklet to promote …

Developing Resources To Promote Proficient Telehealth Service Delivery And Increase Knowledge About Making Changes To A State’S Practice Act, Cassandra M. Howe

OTD Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was to provide up-to-date resources for occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and occupational therapy students about legislative updates to the Tennessee occupational therapy practice act regarding the emerging area of telehealth practice. The pandemic was a catalyst for further legitimizing telehealth and telemedicine as a method of occupational therapy service delivery to be included in a state’s practice act as well as, being worthy of payment parity. The Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association(TNOTA) seeks to provide their constituents with timely, meaningful resources to assist in guiding practice and providing exemplary OT services. The TNOTA Telehealth …

Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Skills Handbook, Brooke Edwards

OTD Capstone Projects

The focus of this capstone project was to create a pediatric manual wheelchair skills group for the Vanderbilt Pediatric Seating & Mobility Clinic. Most current literature focuses on adult manual wheelchair mobility skills programs and this project seeks to contribute to the resources for the pediatric population. This was done through collaboration with stakeholders, review of manual wheelchair skills programs already developed, a literature review to identify skills needed for independent functional mobility and assessments of skills, and acquisition of manual wheelchair skills. The result was a handbook including both beginner and advanced pathways with instructions for skill acquisition and …

Community Accessibility For Individuals With Disabilities, Marshall Dumas

OTD Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of individuals with disabilities and to identify what accessibility barriers may exist in community settings. Individuals with disabilities may face increased environmental barriers that influence their ability to successfully access and fully participate in community settings. This project attempts to provide community accessibility resources for individuals with disabilities in order to make community outings as successful as possible for all persons.

Believe In All: Adaptive Gymnastics Program, Pooja Patel

OTD Capstone Projects

This poster is part of the doctoral capstone project completed with the gymnastics facility, Believe Gymnastics. The project focused on developing a gymnastics program for children with cognitive, physical, or neurological needs or impairments. The goal of this project was to increase the opportunity for children with disabilities to participate into the leisure activity of gymnastics.

Assessment Of Independent Living Skills For Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: The Brightstone Experience, Amy Mack

OTD Capstone Projects

Mission: ”To provide a comprehensive work, social
support, and residential community for adults with
special needs, expanding their potential and helping
them develop mentally, physically, socially, emotionally,
and spiritually.
- Vision: “Our vision is to provide whole life care,
meeting the needs of job, home, recreation and social,
physical, and health in a God-centered, caring
environment.”
- Background: BrightStone recently purchased 138 acres of land in Williamson County, which will be used to
provide job training, life skills classes, therapeutic
activities, and community living opportunities for adults
with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Promoting Therapist’S Use Of Iadls: Establishing A Pet Care Protocol With Stallworth Inpatient Rehab, Christa Schmieder

OTD Capstone Projects

Inpatient rehabilitation at Stallworth has shown a need for a comprehensive overview of pet care as an IADL along with resources to assist in guiding patients in determining the appropriate steps to ensure their pet is well taken care of. This need was found through surveying the therapy team as well as shadowing therapists and connecting with patients. This project was centered around creating tools such as an IADL kit with instructions for therapists to use with patients, a resource bank containing adaptation recommendations and pet care service apps, a resource explaining how to certify animal as service animal, emotional …

The Development And Evaluation Of A Pediatric Interprofessional Education (Ipe) Experience For Occupational And Physical Therapy Graduate Students, Lorry Liotta-Kleinfeld, Nancy Darr, Tamara Lemmonds, Teresa Plummer

Funded Scholarship

Interprofessional competence is needed to improve health care outcomes. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of theoretically grounded interprofessional education (IPE) experiences to advance interprofessional competencies for occupational and physical therapy doctoral students. In addition, a pretest/postest survey was designed to determine the participants’ perceptions of knowledge attainment, roles, and attitudes. Two cohorts of students (N=115) completed surveys pre and post IPE experiences. Statistically significant changes were found on perception of roles and knowledge attainment. Additional studies are needed to determine if IPE leads to behavioral changes in practice and improves patient outcomes.

Occupational Therapy And Animal Assisted Interventions: Professionalizing The Field, Annie Hudson

OTD Capstone Projects

This poster represents a capstone experience focusing on occupational therapy and the inclusion of animal assisted interventions (AAI). Working with Pet Partners, two organizational publications were created in hopes of professionalizing the field while also allowing the use of AAI to be a simpler and smoother process. Domain mapping was completed to explore the education and resources available to professionals seeking to use AAI in practice. A wide range of qualitative interviews were completed in order to best represent the professional's perspective.

Occupational Therapy Service And Clinic Development Within Student-Run, Pro-Bono Outpatient Rehab Clinic, Nicole Versace

OTD Capstone Projects

This poster details my capstone project that I completed as a degree requirement for my Doctorate of Occupational Therapy through Belmont University. For this project I partnered with Tennessee State University’s Tiger Community Rehab Clinic. This is a student-run, pro-bono clinic that strives to provide free OT and PT services to those with limited healthcare access. After an initial audit of the clinic, I determined the clinic needed help in developing the OT portion of the clinic as well as help to grow the foundation of the clinic through community and financial partners. You can see my specific goals here. …

Social Communication In Learners Using Transactional Supports, Brittany Clark

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed through a partnership with Illuminate Academy, a tutorial program for children aged 3-18 with Autism and developmental disabilities. The primary focus of this project was to create and implement materials and transactional supports to facilitate the subject-verb-noun communication method commonly associated with the SCERTS Model. These materials created include packets created for teachers, packets created and customized for students, digital templates and copies of all materials, and instruction binder with samples to help teachers create more packets as needed.

Illuminate Academy Interoception Curriculum & Resources, Paige Poole

OTD Capstone Projects

The main focus of my project is on implementing and expanding upon the Interoception curriculum at Illuminate Academy. My project goals included researching best practice for the Interoception curriculum, implementing and expanding upon the Interoception curriculum, building rapport and collaborating with staff and students at Illuminate Academy, collecting data to measure occupational engagement and completing management tasks, and researching best practice to develop sensory strategies to facilitate participation and success of learners.

Creating An Occupational Therapy Supported Wellness Program: Nurture Your Postpartum Body, Lincoln Elliott

OTD Capstone Projects

The focus of this capstone was to create a 3-week postpartum program for Nurture Nashville, a local yoga and wellness studio focused on promoting wellness and creating community for pregnant and postpartum people throughout their journey in motherhood. The program, Nurture your Postpartum Body, consisted of weekly restorative exercise classes and women’s support sessions to promote holistic wellness in the postpartum period.

Gigi's Playhouse Program Development, Tatianna Balis

OTD Capstone Projects

This capstone project was completed through a partnership with GiGi’s Playhouse in Nashville, Tennessee. GiGi’s Playhouse is a Down syndrome achievement center that offers free programming for individuals of all ages with Down syndrome. The focus of this project was the development of programming for adults and children with Down syndrome. One of the programs developed was GiGi Prep, a program for adults focused on communication skills, money management, fitness, and healthy cooking skills. The other program developed was GiGi Fit Kids, a fitness program for children ages 7-12. Both programs were modified to fit the local population and additional …

Life Skills Curriculum For Lower Middle School Students At Benton Hall Academy, Elizabeth Atkins

OTD Capstone Projects

This capstone project focused on the creation of a life skills curriculum for the lower/middle school students at Benton Hall Academy, a school for children who learn differently, in Nashville, TN. Through collaboration with stakeholders, students' top 3 life skill needs were identified, including: social and communication skills, money management and spending skills, and vocation planning. Current literature and materials, as well as students' overarching needs, were examined and used to create the above mentioned units, totaling 13 individual lessons with all needed materials also included.

Addressing Comorbidity Education Needs In Tristar Skyline’S Readmission Reduction Program, Savannah Carroll

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone experience was completed in partnership with TriStar Skyline Medical Center’s inpatient rehabilitation Readmission Reduction Program. This project was driven by a need to increase the provision of education for patients qualifying for this program to promote successful comorbidity management upon discharge to reduce avoidable readmissions. The primary focus of this project was to develop educational materials to promote an understanding of how to successfully manage Diabetes Mellitus, COPD, and CHF to reduce disease complications and avoidable readmissions. The educational materials were developed as online interactive modules for in-room education at the patient’s own pace with voice over …

Clinicians' Perspectives On The Permobil Explorer Mini, Hannah Guffey

OTD Capstone Projects

Clinicians' Perspectives on the Permobil Explorer Mini

Clinicians' Perspectives On The Permobil Explorer Mini, Searcy Fox

OTD Capstone Projects

Clinicians' Perspectives on the Permobil Explorer Mini

Clinicians Perspectives On The Permobil Explorer Mini, Lilly Otoole

OTD Capstone Projects

Clinicians Perspectives on the Permobil Explorer Mini

Lipscomb Ideal: Promoting Independent Living Skills In Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Abigail Hamblen

OTD Capstone Projects

Lipscomb IDEAL: Promoting Independent Living Skills in Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Withdrawing Without Withholding: A Quantitative Report Of Factors Indicative Of The Need For Early Rehabilitation Services After Intrauterine Drug Exposure, Brooke G. Bohanan

OTD Capstone Projects

Maternal opioid use is a proliferative epidemic leading to a widespread increase in cases of Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and intrauterine drug exposure (IUDE). Much information has yet to be discovered regarding best practice in treatment and the long-term effects of these diagnoses. This retrospective chart review was conducted to increase awareness and achieve a greater understanding of early developmental deficits and intervention in this population. The researchers hypothesized that there are predictive factors of a later need for therapy services. Potentially influential factors and the prevalence of rehabilitation services provided after discharge from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) …

Integration Of Occupational Therapy Into Primary Care, Averie Conn

OTD Capstone Projects

The Integration of Occupational Therapy into Primary Care is an emerging practice area only beginning to be explored. There has been a noticeable shift to support primary healthcare and its practitioners as it becomes clear the system is unsustainable for optimal patient quality care and outcomes. An occupational therapist has an in depth education in kinesiology/anatomy/pathophysiology, human development across the lifespan, cognition/perception, and psychology. Combined with their specific interest in client-centered clinical reasoning, an occupational therapist has a unique lens that allows them to facilitate a functional and fulfilling lifestyle for each person they work with. Throughout this project, the …

Integrating Occupational Therapy And Animal Assisted Therapy, Erin Trella

OTD Capstone Projects

Pet Partners is a non-profit organization that works to educate and register handlers of multiple species as volunteer therapy teams. While therapy animal programming offered by volunteer handlers provides an invaluable service to communities, there is also a growing body of practitioners who aim to incorporate the healing power of animals into their professionalized settings. The purpose of this project was to delve into the world of AAI in the professional setting and understand the current needs of practitioners in the field. Through interviewing a variety of professionals who utilize AAI in their practice, clear gaps in services were identified, …

Supporting Working Family Caregivers And Older Adults Through An Educational Employer-Based Eldercare Program, Chanté Bowens

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with AgeWell Middle TN, a non-profit agency that focuses on informed, positive aging, and being a champion, advocate, and trusted community resource for older adults. Working family caregivers of older adults are struggling to balance work and caregiving duties, while employers are experiencing loss in productivity and financial return. In response, AgeWell is developing a program called “Eldercare Coach” to provide guidance to employers and working caregivers. Thus, the primary focus of this project was to develop educational materials for AgeWell’s Eldercare Coach program. These educational materials include a list of interview …

Promoting Awareness And Healing In Persons In Mental Health And Addiction Recovery In Middle Tennessee, Savannah Rain Flint

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Healing Arts Project, Inc., also known as HAPI. HAPI exists to fill a gap in recovery and rehabilitation services by providing free art supplies and art classes at partnered facilities, by providing art exhibition and publication opportunities for HAPI program participants, and by participating in outreach events throughout the year. These opportunities help spread awareness and inclusivity of mental health and addiction recovery within the community and helps artists to externalize their personal struggles, thoughts, and feelings through various creative outlets.

My project focus was to increase community awareness of HAPI …

Creating Home Modification Solutions For Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury, Ryan Heuer

OTD Capstone Projects

Tucker's House provides home accessibility assessments and modifications to children with disabilities and their caregivers. As a small non-profit Tucker's House is not able to tailor its process to specific conditions and diagnoses. The present project focused on creating and enhancing the evidence-based resources that Tucker's House can provide to individuals with spinal cord injury and spina bifida. These resources are designed to help this population safely participate in the home environment and improve their occupational performance and wellness.

An Occupational Therapy Approach To Developing Empowerment: Supporting The Recovery Of Women Affected By Substance Abuse In A Residential Treatment Facility, Margaret Schneider-Adams, Molly Schneider-Adams

OTD Capstone Projects

An Occupational Therapy Approach to Developing Empowerment: Supporting the Recovery of Women Affected by Substance Abuse in a Residential Treatment Facility Capstone project poster and presentation in fulfillment of Doctorate of Occupational Therapy Program at Belmont University.

Environmental Interventions And Modifications For Individuals With Down Syndrome: Creating An Assessment Tool And Social Story For Increased Participation, Erica Williams

OTD Capstone Projects

This poster is part of the doctoral capstone project completed with Tucker's House, an agency whose mission is to create safer and more accessible homes and environments for children and young adults with disabilities. This project focused on creating an assessment tool for individuals with Down Syndrome to be used during the home assessment process. A social story was also created to explain the home assessment process in an age appropriate manner to children.

Establishing Ot Programming Within A Local Correctional Facility, Kayla Kennedy

OTD Capstone Projects

This OTD capstone project was completed in collaboration with Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN. The criminal justice system is an emerging practice area for occupational therapy with limited established OT programs in jails and prisons. Individuals who are incarcerated have limited social interaction promoting positive behaviors, limited access to quality rehabilitative services, are separated from family/friends, may be placed in isolation and overall experience occupational deprivation. This capstone project aimed to establish OT programming in a local correctional facility using the Recovery Model and MOHO to address needs of residents of the Behavioral Care Center in a long-term …