Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

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 …

Nursing Management And Mirror Therapy For Phantom Limb Pain, Bridget Henry

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Phantom limb pain may occur after the accidental removal or surgical amputation of a limb. Phantom limb pain is the experience of pain in the limb that is no longer present. The clinical management of phantom limb pain is essential in the overall reduction of patient rehabilitation and poor patient outcomes. A patient’s degree of phantom limb pain is influenced by their personal response to loss and pain and can have devastating effects to a person’s social performance, occupational role, family role, relationships, and involvement in activities or hobbies. Like most chronic pain, phantom limb pain decreases the quality of …

Water First Aid Is Beneficial In Humans Post-Burn: Evidence From A Bi-National Cohort Study, Fiona M. Wood, Michael Phillips, Tom Jovic, John T. Cassidy, Peter Cameron, Dale Edgar, Steering Committe Of The Burn Registry Of Australia And New Zealand (Branz)

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: Reported first aid application, frequency and practices around the world vary greatly. Based primarily on animal and observational studies, first aid after a burn injury is considered to be integral in reducing scar and infection, and the need for surgery. The current recommendation for optimum first aid after burn is water cooling for 20 minutes within three hours. However, compliance with this guideline is reported as poor to moderate at best and evidence exists to suggest that overcooling can be detrimental. This prospective cohort study of a binational burn patient registry examined data collected between 2009 and 2012. The …

Surviving Critical Illness: What Is Next? An Expert Consensus Statement On Physical Rehabilitation After Hospital Discharge, M Major, R Kwakman, M Kho, B Connolly, D Mcwilliams, L Denehy, S Hanekom, S Patman, R Gosselink, C Jones, F Nollett, D Needham, R Engelbert, M Van Der Schaaf

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: The study objective was to obtain consensus on physical therapy (PT) in the rehabilitation of critical illness survivors after hospital discharge. Research questions were: what are PT goals, what are recommended measurement tools, and what constitutes an optimal PT intervention for survivors of critical illness?

Methods: A Delphi consensus study was conducted. Panelists were included based on relevant fields of expertise, years of clinical experience, and publication record. A literature review determined five themes, forming the basis for Delphi round one, which was aimed at generating ideas. Statements were drafted and ranked on a 5-point Likert scale in two …

Using A Community Of Practice To Evaluate Falls Prevention Activity In A Residential Aged Care Organisation: A Clinical Audit, J Francis-Coad, C Etherton-Beer, C Bulsara, D Nobre, A Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objective This study evaluates whether a community of practice (CoP) could conduct a falls prevention clinical audit and identify gaps in falls prevention practice requiring action.

Methods Cross-sectional falls prevention clinical audits were conducted in 13 residential aged care (RAC) sites of a not-for-profit organisation providing care to a total of 779 residents. The audits were led by an operationalised CoP assisted by site clinical staff. A CoP is a group of people with a shared interest who get together to innovate for change. The CoP was made up of self-nominated staff representing all RAC sites and comprised of staff …

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, …

Airline Pilots In Recovery From Alcoholism: A Quantitative Study Of Cognitive Change, Heather Christina Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In order to perform their duties, airline pilots must have no clinical diagnosis of mental illness or any substance use disorder. However, provisions have been in place since the 1970s that provide for a return to work for airline pilots with alcohol problems. To date, over 5,000 airline pilots have undergone rehabilitation for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and successfully returned to work. An important gap in the literature remains with regard to what extent improvements in cognitive performance may be experienced by airline pilots who complete treatment and to what extent age influences the amount of change. This study examined …

16pf® Traits As Predictors Of Emergency Medical Service Worker Tenure, Beverly J. Paschal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) paramedics. The job outlook for paramedics (EMT-P) for the years 2012-2022 is predicted to increase by 23%-33%, which is much faster than the 4% average increase of other first-response professions. The average tenure of paramedics is less than 4 years. There is a significant gap in the literature concerning paramedic personality traits and tenure. The primary objective of the current study is to provide empirical data on the personality traits possessed by long-term paramedics (5+ years), and compare them to those with shorter tenure (< 5 years). Using Allport's Trait Theory, I predicted that personality would affect paramedic longevity. The 6 personality traits tested were warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, liveliness, social boldness and openness to change. A socio-demographic questionnaire, determined the length of their EMS career, while the 16PF® Assessment, tested their personality traits. Using t tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and a set of regression analyses, data were examined to determine if length of career and personality traits predicted paramedic tenure. The research sample consisted of long term paramedics and former paramedics. The results showed that of the 6 personality traits, only warmth was a significant predictor of paramedic tenure. A logistic regression showed for every additional point in warmth, the odds of leaving EMS prior to 5 years increased by a factor of 2.77. This study provides support for positive social change by helping EMS to learn how to increase recruitment and tenure. It also helps by advising EMS agencies to attend to the mental and emotional health of their paramedics by being aware of the level of their warmth personality trait.

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, And British Nurses' Intention To Leave Employment, Brendan Edward Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In spite of decades of research, concerning nurse's intention to leave their employer (ITL), in 2011, 31.2% of the British nurses surveyed indicated they had formed an ITL. Grounded in reasoned action theory as developed by Ajzen and Fishbein, the purpose of the correlational study was to provide hospital managers with information regarding the relationship among nurse's job satisfaction (JS), organizational culture (OC), and ITL. The archival data from the 2011 NHS Staff Survey included responses from nurses (n = 21,257) across the British National Health Service. The Spearman's rho correlates rs (21,257) indicated relationships among nurse's job satisfaction, organizational …

Meaningfulness Of Work As Perceived By Women From Diverse Social Classes: A Grounded Theory Exploration, Jennifer L. Hutmire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite research connecting the meaningfulness of work with positive organizational outcomes, such as increased employee well-being, job satisfaction, engagement, and retention, there remains a lack of adequate, inclusive research explaining differences in women's perceptions of the meaningfulness of work. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to address this gap in the literature by developing a theory about the formation of perceptions of the meaningfulness of work and about the impact of those perceptions. Research questions explored perceptions that women from diverse social classes have of the meaningfulness of work, what influenced those perceptions, the impact of those …

Predictive Factors Of Compassion Fatigue Among Firefighters, Teresa Michelle Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Few existing studies have examined compassion fatigue among emergency responders even though firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have repetitive direct exposure to traumatic events. This study focused on identifying predictor variables for the development of compassion fatigue in firefighters. Karasek's demand-control model, a commonly used work stress model, was the study's theoretical framework as it focuses on specific construct interactions that predict employee well-being. Accordingly, this correlational study examined the predictive nature of EMS license level, years of service, and personality type on the development of compassion fatigue in career firefighters. Data collection occurred with surveys incorporating the …

Relationship Between Workplace Aggression And Employee Job Satisfaction, Tashua Lashun Grizzle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace aggression incidents are increasing and, thus, becoming more difficult to address in the United States. Health care workers in particular are at an increased risk of burnout compared to individuals working in other occupations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the propensity for workplace aggression among health care professionals and the association between job satisfaction and the propensity for workplace aggression. The conservation of resources theory was used to frame the study. The Work Environment Scale and the Conditional Reasoning Test of Aggression were used to collect data from 89 mental health clinicians, nurses, and …

Strategies For Increasing Employee Engagement In The Service Industry, Tonia Ann Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The annual loss to U.S. organizations consequential to a lack of employee engagement was approximately $300 billion in 2013. Employee engagement is vital to the business sustainability of an organization. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore successful strategies that business leaders of a service organization used to increase employee engagement. The conceptual framework guiding this study was the behavior engineering model theory developed by Gilbert. A purposeful sample of 6 engineering managers was selected based on their success in creating strategies resulting in increased employee workplace engagement in a monopoly service organization in Connecticut. Semistructured …

Chronic Low Back And Pelvic Girdle Pain 10 Months Post-Partum: A Case Study, Heidi Hansen

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose

Due to the increase in relaxin hormone during pregnancy women often experience increases in joint and ligament laxity. The result of this increase in laxity during or after pregnancy can lead to problems with postural and/or gait abnormalities, diastasis recti (separation between left and right side of rectus abdominus muscle) and pain, specifically, low back and pelvic girdle pain. Activities of daily living are often impacted because of these problems. The purpose of this case study is to highlight some of the principal issues and therapeutic options for postpartum women as presented through the case of one …

A Case Report: Cerebrovascular Accident, Kayla Andreasen

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background: Cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) are one of the leading disabilities in America resulting in mild to severe functional limitations. These functional limitations can be addressed in physical therapy (PT).

Purpose: The purpose of this case report is to review background, treatments, physical therapy interventions and outcomes of a patient with a sub-acute stroke, treated in an inpatient setting.

Case Description: The patient was a 70 year old male with a severe ischemic CVA following surgery to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The patient was transferred to a nursing home to recover and returned to the hospital 5 …

Timed Up And Go (Tug) Test And Its Effectiveness In Fall Risk Screening And Assessing The Success Of The Stepping On Program In Fall Prevention, Eric Estes

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background: The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is a functional assessment that has been proven effective at identifying individuals at a risk for falls. The Stepping On program aims toward fall prevention through education, exercise, and shared experiences among participants. With previous evidence displaying positive, significant results for Stepping On and the TUG, a utilization of this assessment to track participants' progress in the course is indicated.

Objective: The purpose of this study was 1) to determine if the Stepping On program displays a decrease in fall risk through the application of the TUG and 2) if …

An Athlete And Patellar Tendinosis: A Case Study, Lisa Monson

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: Patellar tendinosis is a pathology among young athletes with research being conducted about it every year. This single patient case study goes through the examination and evaluation leading to a diagnosis along with the treatment, outcomes, and discussion of this patient and patients recorded in other research studies.

Case Description: This case report was conducted on a 15 year old male presenting with left patellar tendinosis. Treatment lasted eight weeks with emphasis on eccentric quadriceps exercises and return to sport activities.

Outcomes: The results of conservative treatment for this young athlete were successful. The …

The Trials Of Transverse Myelitis: A Case Study, Catherine Heggie

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: Idiopathic acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is an inflammation in the spinal cord that develops suddenly. In the span of a day, an individual can lose all motor control. Most of the time the motor impairment is not permanent and strength can return as the inflammation dies down. However the physical rehabilitation component of recovery is remarkably unstudied.

Case Description: This case report details the hospital stay of a young man with ATM from the perspective of his physical therapists. When evaluated, the patient had only trace (1/5) muscle strength in some of his extremities.

Intervention …

A Case Report: Paraplegia Secondary To A Failed Lumbar Fusion, Nicole Jefferson

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: Low back pain is one of the most common symptoms that individuals experience around the world. The total cost for low back pain in the United States are over a billion dollars per year. Although an ample amount of research has been done looking into the epidemiology and treatment of back pain, many people are still suffering from lack of effective treatments.

Case Description: The purpose of this case report was to describe a patient who was post lumbar surgery to evaluate and examine the benefits of physical therapy. The patient in this case report was …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Therapy Interventions On A Patient Who Underwent A Spinal Thoracic Abscess Removal: A Case Report, Natalie Gleason

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: An epidural abscess comes from an infection of the central nervous system. In this patient's case he had a spinal thoracic abscess removed that was pushing against his spinal cord. The purpose of this case report is to assess the patient's outcome after therapy implementation. The goal was to see how effective the interventions were for the patient.

Case Description: The patient was a 63-year-old male who underwent surgery to remove a thoracic epidural abscess that was causing paraplegia. He was coming to outpatient physical therapy 2 months before I started my clinical treating him. …

The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale And Its Use In Assessing Confidence In Elderly Community-Dwellers Attending The Stepping On Program, Sierra Heeren

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Introduction: Stepping On is a 7-week comprehensive fall program aimed at reducing falls for the community-dwelling elderly. Participants are educated on balance and strengthening exercises, and the influence medications, visions, inclement weather, etc. has on safety and falls.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to utilize the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) and survey results to determine if attendance of Stepping On improves balance confidence. Secondly, this research sought out to discover if increased balance confidence relates to decreased fall risk.

Methods: Participants of this were included 13 individuals initially (with one participant joining the …

Effectiveness Of Cognitive Timed Up And Go Test In Assessing Fall Risk In The Older Adult, Cory Sailer

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Introduction: Falls are a common and devastating injury for the older adult. Fall programs, such as the Stepping On program, are used to educate, strengthen, and sequentially reduce the number of falls its participant's endure. The Stepping On program is a multifactorial fall prevention program that addresses: balance and strength exercises, visual impairments, home modifications, pharmacologic effects, and even assistive devices. One aspect that has been found to be influential on fall risk is cognition, in particular executive functioning during ambulation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to screen participants of the Stepping On program for unknown …

Evaluation Of Fall Risk, Functional Mobility And Quality Of Life Changes Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Parkinson's Disease Participating In A Community Exercise Program, Gabrielle Dahl, Elizabeth Hermanson, Laura Nelson, Kayla Selinger

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Purpose/Hypothesis: Falls are evident in the older population and are a common and disabling feature of Parkinson Disease (PO). The benefits of activity are well known to decrease balance deficits and increase overall quality of life in the older adult population. In addition highly challenging exercises have been suggested to increase neuroplasticity in individuals with PD. The effect of challenging exercises on clinical outcomes in a structured Physical Therapy setting is documented in literature; however, the effect of a community based program is not well documented. Our pilot study examined the effect of a community exercise program on improving …