Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Playful Progress: A Parent's Guide To Growth And Development, Gabriella N. Lawrey

Honors Theses

This thesis presents a creative project aimed at empowering parents to recognize developmental achievements, as well as address potential developmental delays in their children. Grounded in the principles of child development, this project focuses on creating age-appropriate activities that facilitate the identification of developmental milestones. By utilizing foundational resources in the field of child development, this toolkit of engaging activities has been curated to support parental understanding and observation. The primary objective of this applied knowledge project is to better equip parents with the vocabulary and tools to facilitate their child’s development. Throughout these activities, parents are encouraged to engage …

Covid-19 Pandemic’S Effect On Occupational Therapy Students’ Time-Use And Occupational Engagement On Returning To In-Person Learning, Jhannell Hannah D. Ocampo, Susan Macdermott, Karen Mccarthy

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic emotionally and physically impacted students in occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs. College students lost autonomy and access to meaningful occupations and environments. As students returned to campus, they struggled to navigate and adapt to in-person occupations and how they use their time. This study uses a mixed method descriptive research design to understand how the pandemic affected occupational therapy students' time-use and occupational engagement during the transition to in-person learning. Seventy-three students completed an online survey, while 12 of those students additionally participated in a follow-up time-use diary and interview. Eighty-three percent of the participants …

Instrumental Assessment Of Aero-Resistive Expiratory Muscle Strength Rehabilitation Devices, Angela M. Dietsch, Rahul Krishnamurthy, Kelsey Young, Steven M. Barlow

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose

Expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) is increasingly being used to treat voice, cough, and swallowing deficits in a wide range of conditions. However, a multitude of aero-resistive EMST models are commercially available, and the ab-sence of side-by-side comparative data interferes with clinicians’ ability to assess which model is best suited to a particular client’s needs. The primary aim of this research was to test and compare the pressure and flow parameters of six currently available EMST models to help inform clinical decision making.

Method

We identified and tested five devices of each of six different EMST models to generate …

Church Of Christ's Organizational Involvement Related To Human Trafficking: Awareness, Knowledge, And Prevention, Veronica D. Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if any relationship exists, and to what extent, between human trafficking and prevention measures taken by Churches of Christ located along Highway 20 corridor between Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, GA. The goal of this study brings awareness to any gaps identified in Churches of Christ organizations related to their awareness, knowledge base, prevention, service to community, youth, and victims related to trafficking. The researcher also examined whether there is a relationship with local law enforcement related to human trafficking prevention and making basic referrals for medical services. Human trafficking is …

Online Versus Face-To-Face Communication Sciences And Disorders Graduate Student Outcomes: A Causal-Comparative And Correlational Study, Nicole Christine Shears

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative and predictive correlational study was to investigate how online CSD graduate students compare to their face-to-face peers based on three measurable student outcomes with an additional investigation of how their age impacts these outcomes. This study is important because the number of online graduate programs in CSD is growing despite a lack of evidence in the research that online programs in this field have similar student outcomes as their face-to-face counterparts. This ex post facto study investigated outcomes from 188 students who graduated from or were previously enrolled in a CSD graduate program from …

Services Provided To Aging Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: Survey Of Speech Language Pathologists, Claire H. Gatewood

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Purpose: The present study explored current speech-language pathology service provision for aging individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States, including areas and domains of services, factors restricting service provision, and reported knowledge and confidence of individuals within the field of speech-language pathology in providing services, to identify possible gaps of service and needed improvement.

Methods: Participants (n = 272) from across the United States completed an online survey to gather descriptive information about current speech-language pathology service provision for aging individuals with intellectual disabilities. Participants were recruited through state speech-language hearing associations and universities with speech-language pathology clinics …

Effects Of A Mindfulness Intervention To Improve Teachers’ Well-Being, Andrea P. Almaguer-Botero, Eva L. Miller, Roy K. Chen, Ralph Carlson

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teacher attrition has increased by 50% over the past 15 years. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a mindfulness-based intervention would be effective for reducing stress and increasing mindfulness, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and well-being among teachers at Title I (low-income) schools. The researchers evaluated the effects of a mindfulness intervention created specifically for teachers using a four-way ANOVA (2 × 3 × 2 × 5) with two between subjects’ factors, groups and levels, and two within subjects/repeated measures factors, pretest-posttest and scales. While the study did not show significant effects for mindfulness, stress, self-efficacy, and well-being, teachers …

Student Physical Therapists’ Perceptions Of A Novel, Small-Group Presentation Method In The United States: A Cohort Study, Bhavana Raja, Leslie Bayers, Lott Hill, Alicia Rabena-Amen

Academic Affairs Faculty and Staff Articles

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to explore perceptions of student physical therapists of a new, small-group presentation model called Presentation-Station-Rotation (PSR). Our hypothesis is that the PSR format will be a more effective, interactive, and stimulating mode of delivery than large group presentations. Method: Thirty-six first year student physical therapists were divided into groups of three students to give a presentation about their clinical experience. Presenters rotated to two other groups to present for three repetitions; listeners heard six different presentations. Thematic analysis was conducted on the questionnaire completed by the students regarding their experiences of the PSR …

The Importance Of Mood And Motivation Of An Individual In The Success Of Physical Therapy, Spencer Wagner

Honors Theses

Physical therapy is a health profession that helps people improve their movement and range of motion in certain body areas. Since the time it was founded, physical therapists have mainly focused on the physical health of the patient. While that is their job, they may not have been as successful because they neglected the mental health of the patient. The mindset of an individual, particularly their mood and motivation, can influence how they progress through physical therapy and how successful they are in regaining functionality in their affected body area. The purpose of this study is to determine how the …

Comparison Of Flex Vs. Residential Clinical Education Program Outcomes: Physical Therapy Students’ Self-Efficacy, Confidence, And Clinical Competence, Derrick F. Campbell, Jean-Michel Brismée, Brad S. Allen, Troy Hooper, Manuel A. Domenech, Kathleen Manella

Education Collection

Purpose: Alternative flexible (Flex) path Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs may have an emerging footprint. The differences between Flex and traditional residential DPT program clinical experience outcomes remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Flex and residential DPT students’ clinical reasoning self-efficacy, confidence with treating, and Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) clinical reasoning and summative scores during clinical experiences.

Methods: A descriptive and exploratory cross-sectional survey was used with a voluntary convenience sample of 211 university DPT students during Fall 2020 full-time clinical experiences. Descriptive and inferential statistics evaluated differences in Flex and residential DPT program …

Is Vision Essential To Physical Therapist Practice? Perceptions Of Interested Parties In Dpt Education, Megan Flores, Kathryn Sawyer, Kathleen Manella, Kristy Demers, Germaine Ferreira, Derrick F. Campbell, Allan Besselink, Manuel A. Domenech

Education Collection

Introduction: The perceptions of students, faculty, staff, and clinicians regarding blindness or visual impairment (BVI) and physical therapist practice were explored before, during, and after interactions with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) student with BVI.

Review of Literature: Information is sparse about the prevalence of students with disabilities in DPT programs in the United States. Medical school programs that welcome students with disabilities report positive interactions with faculty and student peers.

Subjects: 36 (20 students, 11 faculty, 2 staff, and 3 clinical instructors)

Methods: A recent DPT graduate (pseudonym JM) with BVI classified as …

Impact Of Forearm Pronation On Ultrasound-Measured Forearm Muscle Thickness In Children And Adolescents, Takashi Abe, Hayao Ozaki, Akemi Abe, Jeremy P. Loenneke

Faculty and Student Publications

Background and Aim: It was unknown whether ultrasound-measured forearm muscle thickness was impacted by pronation of the forearm. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of forearm pronation on two forearm muscle thicknesses (MT-ulna and MT-radius). Participants and Methods: Fourteen healthy children and adolescents sat on a chair with their right arm comfortably on a table, and their hands were fixed to the board with elastic bands. The probe was placed perpendicularly over the forearm, and the angle of the board was then pronated in 5° increments from -10° to 30°. The average value of the two …

Psychometric Properties Of The 26-Item Eating Attitudes Test (Eat-26): An Application Of Rasch Analysis, Natalie M. Papini, Myungjin Jung, Amanda Cook, Nanette V. Lopez, Lauren T. Ptomey, Stephen D. Herrmann, Minsoo Kang

Faculty and Student Publications

Background: The 26-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) is a commonly used tool to assess eating disorder risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the EAT-26 with a combined sample: (1) of adults with overweight and obesity enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program and (2) general adult sample (n = 469; age = 36.17 ± 17.83 years; female = 72.5%; white = 66.3%; obese BMI category = 58%). Methods: Rasch modeling was used to assess model-data fit, create an item-person map to evaluate relative distribution items and persons, item difficulty, and person’s eating disorder …

Effectiveness Of Simulation-Based Learning Compared To Integrated Clinical Experience In Development Of Dpt Students’ Clinical Decision-Making Skills, Derrick F. Campbell Pt, Dpt, Sc.D, Kristy Demers, Masoor Alameri, Fabian Bizama

Education Collection

Background: Simulation-based learning has a significant footprint on entry-level physical therapy programs. Students’ clinical decision-making (CDM) skills development through simulation-based learning (SBL) format when compared to the Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE) remains unknown. Self-efficacy of Clinical and CDM skills tool measures clinical skills, clinical decision-making, and total self-efficacy of clinical and CDM skills.2 A need to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based learning compared to ICE in development of CDM skills

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of simulation-based learning and the Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE) in the development of DPT student clinical decision-making skills as …

Osteoporosis Knowledge And Health Beliefs Among Middle-Aged Men And Women In The Southern United States, Stacy Chelf, Robert E. Davis, Martha A. Bass, M. Allison Ford, Ali D. Firouzabadi, Jonathan T. Leo, Vinayak K. Nahar

Faculty and Student Publications

Context: The most common skeletal disease, osteoporosis, causes bone fragility due to decreased bone mass and bone microarchitecture destruction. The health belief model is often applied to asymptomatic, prevention-related diseases such as osteoporosis. Steps to mitigate the insidious nature of osteoporosis, including education, motivation, and monitoring of bone mineral density, must begin at an earlier age. Objectives: This study evaluates the knowledge and health beliefs surrounding osteoporosis in a population of males and females 35–50 years old to determine sex-based differences in osteoporosis knowledge and beliefs and to assess the correlation between perceptions and health motivation. Methods: Participants (81 males, …

Blood-Flow-Restriction-Training-Induced Hormonal Response Is Not Associated With Gains In Muscle Size And Strength, Gilberto C. Laurentino, Jeremy P. Loenneke, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Marcelo S. Aoki, Antonio G. Soares, Hamilton Roschel, Valmor Tricoli

Faculty and Student Publications

The aim of this study was to determine whether increases in post-exercise endocrine response to low-load resistance exercise with blood flow restriction and high-load resistance exercise would have association with increases in muscle size and strength after an 8-week training period. Twenty-nine untrained men were randomly allocated into three groups: low-load resistance exercise with (LL-BFR) or without blood flow restriction (LL), and high-load resistance exercise (HL). Participants from LL-BFR and LL groups performed leg extension exercise at 20% of one repetition maximum (1RM), four sets of 15 repetitions and the HL group performed four sets of eight repetitions at 80% …

Occupational Therapy Newsletter, Summer 2022, Occupational Therapy Department

News, Magazines and Reports

Highlights: Letter from Department Chair and Program Director Dr. Sharon McCloskey -- 20th year program celebration slideshow -- Alumna Anastasiya Akay advocates for orphans in Ukraine -- Faculty focus on Amanda Wheeler (PhD, OTR/L) -- Dr. Sheelagh Schlegel (DrHSc, MPH, OTR/L, CHES, CAPS) facilitates patient simulations -- Dr. Lola Halperin (Ed.D., OTR/L) presents at the ConnOTA and AOTA conferences and participates in the Dean's Speaker Series -- Dr. Sharon McCloskey (Ed.D., MBA, OT/L, DipCOT, CTP) presents "Understanding the Impact of Trauma and ACE's on Learning and Participation in Schools" -- Pilot social simulation training program for occupational therapy students -- …

Doctor Of Physical Therapy Students’ Clinical Reasoning Readiness And Confidence Treating With Telehealth: A United States Survey, Derrick F. Campbell, Jean-Michel Brismée, Brad Allen, Troy L. Hooper, Manuel A. Domenech, Kathleen Manella

Education Collection

Purpose: Telehealth has an emerging footprint on entry-level physical therapy programs. Students’ readiness for clinical reasoning with virtual versus traditional face-to-face treatment remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students’ preparedness for clinical experiences with and without telehealth.

Methods: A descriptive and exploratory cross-sectional survey was employed, with a voluntary convenience sample of 211 second- and third-year university DPT students during Fall 2020 clinical experiences. Descriptive and inferential statistics evaluated differences in DPT students’ (1) Physical Therapist Self-Efficacy (PTSE) scale scores, (2) confidence with treating initial and subsequent same-patient visits, …

Supporting Students After Concussion: What College Faculty Need To Know, Susan C. Davies

Thomas C. Hunt Building a Research Community Day

Returning to university life following concussion can be challenging for students. Our Brain Health Collaboratory, in conjunction with the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training, developed set of online resources to inform college faculty members about brain injuries. The module includes information about concussion effects, academic and environmental accommodations, and the role of college faculty in providing support. This session will share our research that led to development of the module, as well as our plan to evaluate its efficacy.

Effect Of Repeated Eccentric Exercise On Muscle Damage Markers And Motor Unit Control Strategies In Arm And Hand Muscle, Sunggun Jeon, Xin Ye, William M. Miller, Jun Seob Song

Faculty and Student Publications

To examine the contralateral repeated bout effect (CL-RBE) on muscle damage markers and motor unit (MU) control strategies, seventeen healthy adults performed two bouts of 60 eccentric contractions with elbow flexor (EF group; n ​= ​9) or index finger abductor (IA group; n ​= ​8) muscles, separated by 1 week. All participants randomly performed eccentric exercise on either the right or left arm or hand muscles, and muscle damage markers and submaximal trapezoid contraction tests were conducted pre, post, 1- and 2-day post eccentric protocol. One week after the first bout, the same exercise protocol and measurements were performed on …

The Perceptions Of Educators On Transition Planning & The Postsecondary Transition Readiness Outcomes Of Students With Disabilities, Marisa Duarte

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative descriptive research was to gain the perspective of educators on transition planning for students with disabilities in two public school districts in the state of Kentucky. The Individual Disabilities Education Act and Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act are laws requiring students with disabilities to be transition ready upon their graduation from high school. A sample of 12 educators, representing two Kentucky districts, who participate in transitioning students with disabilities, completed The Secondary Educator Transition Questionnaire survey. Data from the districts’ state report cards indicated students with disabilities were not transition ready in comparison with students without …

Self-Serving Bias In Performance Goal Achievement Appraisals: Evidence From Long-Distance Runners, Moonsup Hyun, Wonsok F. Jee, Christine Wegner, Jeremy S. Jordan, James Du, Taeyeon Oh

Faculty and Student Publications

While working with a long-distance running event organizer, the authors of this study observed considerable differences between event participants’ official finish time (i.e., bib time) and their self-reported finish time in the post-event survey. Drawing on the notion of self-serving bias, we aim to explore the source of this disparity and how such psychological bias influences participants’ event experience at long-distance running events. Using evidence of 1,320 marathon runners, we demonstrated how people are more likely to be subject to a biased self-assessment contingent upon achieving their best finish time at the event. The study samples were split into record-high-achieved …

Clinical Reasoning Readiness And Confidence Of Dpt Students With Pt Interventions Using Telehealth, Derrick F. Campbell, Jean-Michel Brismee, Brad Allen, Troy L. Hooper, Tony A. Domenech, Kathleen Manella

Physical Therapy Collection

Telehealth service-delivery content has an emerging footprint on entry-level physical therapy programs. This study evaluated clinical reasoning readiness and confidence in third-year DPT students during clinical experiences with and without telehealth.

Students’ clinical reasoning readiness and confidence were determined using the Physical Therapist Self-Efficacy (PTSE) score, self-confidence rating treating patients, and final APTA Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) clinical reasoning and summative ratings.

DPT students providing PT interventions using telehealth reported lower clinical reasoning self-efficacy (PTSE) when compared to traditional service-delivery. Confidence treating using telehealth was greater at the initial visit compared to subsequent visits, suggesting a lack of student readiness …

Admission Variables Predict Success In A Hybrid-Online Physical Therapist Education Program, Evan M. Pucillo, Rossniel Marinas, Christine Salmon, Vibhor Agrawal

Physical Therapy Collection

Purpose: Screening student applicants can be a valuable measure for hybrid-online Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs.Institutions embrace a wide variety of measurements that drive admissions decisions. However, uncertainties exist regarding the most accurate admission predictors of academic outcomes, especially among hybrid-online DPT programs. The purpose of this study was to examine predictive relationships between applicants’ admission variables and program grade point average and National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) performance in a cohort of entry-level hybrid-online DPT students. Methods: A retrospective cohort design and convenience sampling method was used across two entry-level hybrid-online DPT programs in the Southeastern US. Hybrid-online …

The Influence Of An Acute Bout Of Aerobic Exercise On Vascular Endothelial Function In Moderate Stages Of Chronic Kidney Disease, Jeffrey S. Forsse, Zacharias Papadakis, Matthew N. Peterson, James Kyle Taylor, Burritt W. Hess, Nicholas Schwedock, Dale C. Allison, Jackson O. Griggs, Ronald L. Wilson, Peter W. Grandjean

Faculty and Student Publications

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is directly influenced by the deleterious effects of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. The vascular endothelium may transiently respond to aerobic exercise and improve post-exercise vascular renal function in moderate stages of CKD. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is a nitric-oxide-dependent measure of endothelial function that is transiently potentiated by exercise. The purpose of the study was to determine the acute influence of a single bout of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) or steady-state moderate-intensity exercise (SSE) on endothelial dysfunction in moderate stages of CKD. Twenty participants (n = 6 men; n = 14 women) completed 30 …

Optimal Frequency Intensity Of Physical Activity To Reduce The Risk Of Hypertension In The Korean Population, Jang Won Son, Sukho Lee, Minsoo Kang, Yun A. Shin, Jae Hyun Kim

Faculty and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Regular physical activity (PA) is an effective lifestyle modification for preventing hypertension. This study aimed to analyze the optimal frequency of PA required to reduce the incidence of hypertension in the Korean population. Most Korean studies have included only small samples and limited age ranges. METHODS: The present study analyzed 16,299,865 participants aged ≥20 years (44.25±12.74 years) from the 2009 to 2012 Korean National Health Insurance Corporation Survey database. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess the frequency and intensity of physical activity. Hazard ratios for incident hypertension were analyzed by physical activity participation, age, and sex …

Use Of Real-Time Cadence To Prescribe Aerobic Physical Activity Intensity And Its Comparison With Existing Methods, Heontae Kim, Wei Sun, Mary Malaska, Bridget Miller, Ho Han

Faculty and Student Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of physical activity intensity prescription using real-time cadence on achieving the required intensities for health benefits. Forty adults (18–65 years) participated in the study. The intensity prescriptions included Rating of Perceived Exertion, Talk Test, Heart Rate, and Real-Time Cadence. The participants performed a2-min trial for both moderate- and vigorous-intensity according to each prescription. Atri-axial accelerometer was used as acriterion measure. After completion of the trials, participant’s preference for the prescriptions was assessed by three domains (e.g., understanding, performing, maintaining). The compliance and achievement rates of RC were calculated and compared …

Characteristics Of Patient Encounters For Athletic Training Students During Clinical Education: A Report From The Aate Research Network, Cailee E. Welch Bacon, Julie M. Cavallario, Stacy E. Walker, R.Curtis Bay, Bonnie L. Van Lunen

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: To enhance the quality of patient care, athletic training students (ATSs) should experience a wide variety of clinical practice settings, interact with diverse patient populations, and engage with patients that have a wide variety of conditions. It is unclear in what ways, if any, ATSs have diverse opportunities during clinical experiences.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of patient encounters (PEs) ATSs engage in during clinical experiences. Design: Multi-site, panel design.

Setting: 12 professional athletic training programs (ATPs; 5 Bachelor, 7 Master's).

Patients or Other Participants: 363 ATSs from the ATPs that used E*Value software to document PEs during clinical …

Content Validation Of The Athletic Training Milestones: A Report From The Association For Athletic Training Education Research Network, Cailee E. Welch Bacon, Barton E. Anderson, Julie M. Cavallario, Bonnie Van Lunen, Lindsey E. Eberman

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

The Athletic Training Milestones were developed as a comprehensive framework to assess athletic trainers' knowledge, skill, and behavior acquisition across the continuum of athletic training practice. However, without established content validity, it is unclear whether the Athletic Training Milestones can be used effectively as a clinical evaluation and research tool to evaluate competence and performance across multiple users and sites. We conducted a highly conservative content validity index (CVI) with data from 12 content experts. Our findings revealed an extremely high overall scale CVI of 0.99, and CVI scores of the 28 individual subcompetency items assessed ranged from 0.83 to …

Core Competency-Related Professional Behaviors During Patient Encounters: A Report From The Association For Athletic Training Education Research Network, Cailee E. Welch Bacon, Julie M. Cavallario, Stacy E. Walker, Curtis Bay, Bonnie L. Van Lunen

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: To enhance the quality of patient care, it is important that athletic trainers integrate the components of the core competencies (CCs; evidence-based practice [EBP], patient-centered care [PCC], health information technology [HIT], interprofessional education and collaborative practice [IPECP], quality improvement [QI], professionalism) as a part of routine clinical practice. In what ways, if any, athletic training students (ATSs) are currently integrating CCs into patient encounters (PEs) during clinical experiences is unclear.

Objective: To describe which professional behaviors associated with the CCs were implemented by ATSs during PEs that occurred during clinical experiences.

Design: Multisite panel design.

Setting: A total of …