Other Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Adhesion Of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria To Thermoplastic Materials Used In Fabricating Medical Devices: Patient Consequences, Dev V. Mehta

Poster Presentations

Burn injury patients wear supportive orthoses made by heat-forming sheets of thermoplastic material (Figs. 1 & 2). Bacteria cause severe soft tissue infections in patients wearing contaminated orthoses. Thermoplastic medical devices can develop biofilms that include antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria, which significantly reduces the number of available treatment options. A biofilm is a community of microorganisms that share resources allowing them to exist in a nutrient-limited environment. Biofilm microbes secrete extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) that attaches them firmly to a substrate surface while protecting them from harmful substances, including antibiotics. Bacteria living within biofilms on inanimate surfaces can survive for extended …

Modeling Structural Support To Facilitate Novel Treatments Of Degenerative Disc Disease, Jose Luis Calderon

Poster Presentations

Over 600 million people worldwide suffered from low back pain in 2020, with projections for 2050 being over 800 million [1]. Annual costs associated with low back pain total over 450 billion dollars in the US alone [2]. This research serves as a proof-of-concept for the use of structural supports to facilitate intervertebral disc healing. This treatment would involve the implementation of these supports along with existing injection treatments to promote regeneration. In both models, along with the combined model, the ability for these supports to alleviate intervertebral disc height loss is shown. This indicates that these supports would serve …

Non-Pharmacological Pain Management Educational Capstone, Alexander J. Birdsall, Cassandra Nelson

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

Upper extremity (UE) pain affects approximately 30.7% of adults in the United States and is associated with decreased function and participation. Despite evidence supporting non-pharmacological approaches, pharmacological interventions remain commonly used. This capstone project implemented and evaluated an occupation-based educational program to promote non-pharmacological pain management among adults receiving outpatient occupational therapy for UE conditions. This 14-week project included 10 participants and utilized a mixed-methods design with pre-, mid-, and post-surveys. The program consisted of an introduction and three modules addressing therapeutic movement, physical agent modalities, and sensory regulation. Outcome measures included pain, activity engagement, medication use, confidence, and program …

Equine-Assisted Interventions For Pediatric Clients With Cerebral Palsy: A Handbook For Occupational Therapists, Draydin Ferguson, Lesley Khan-Farooqi, Phd, Otd, Otr

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This poster outlines the development of an evidence-informed instructional handbook intended to guide Occupational Therapists in implementing equine-assisted interventions with pediatric clients diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

Empowerment Through Creating An Adaptive Sports And Recreation Program For Persons With Disabilities, Sarah Kadri, Angela Labrie Blackwell

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Adaptive sports and recreation (ASR) refers to recreational and competitive physical activities modified to be inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities (PWD), adjusting equipment, rules, instruction, and environmental setup to support participation across a wide range of physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities. PWD often report feeling disempowered due to social stigma, inaccessible environments, and limited opportunities to make meaningful choices about leisure and community life. A lack of diverse and consistent ASR opportunities within communities collectively hinders participation and negatively impacts overall well-being. Utilizing the Person Environment Occupation Performance (PEOP) theoretical framework, this capstone project developed a 10-week swimming …

Regain Confidence Postpartum: A Guide For Pelvic Floor Health​, Taylor Jackson, Mary Jan Greer, Donna Carver

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction can disrupt daily occupations such as toileting, hygiene, mobility, sexual health, sleep, and infant care. These challenges often reduce confidence and limit participation. Although pelvic floor issues are common, occupational therapy has not been widely recognized in this emerging area, leaving a gap in functional, client-centered support.

This capstone project developed Regain Confidence Postpartum: A Guide for Pelvic Floor Health, an occupation-focused resource designed to help postpartum individuals understand pelvic floor dysfunction and return to meaningful routines. A needs assessment was completed through clinical observation, discussions with providers at Purely Pelvic Floor, and a review …

A Golfer's Guidebook For Prevention And Intervention For Golf Injuries, Brianna A. Martinez, Lesley Khan-Farooqi Phd, Otd, Otr

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this capstone project was to create a guidebook for golfers who can be at increased risk for medial epicondylitis focused on prevention and intervention strategies to support productivity, leisure participation, and self-care.

Addressing Psychosocial Barriers To Participation In People Experiencing Homelessness: An Occupational Therapy Workshop, Preston Bender, Steven M. Gerardi, Lacey Spark

Summer 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Despite the occupational therapy (OT) profession's emphasis on holistic, person-centered care, many OT practitioners and students report feeling a lack of self-efficacy and preparedness to navigate the complex psychological, social, and systemic barriers that hinder occupational participation in people experiencing homelessness (PEH). This capstone project aimed to address the perceived unpreparedness among clinicians through the creation of an 8-hour interactive educational workshop aligned with Experiential Learning Theory. The content is grounded in the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and informed by the Bridging the Transition from Homelessness: A Social Justice Framework (BTTF), trauma-informed care (TIC), harm reduction, and diversity, equity, …

Examining The Features Of Former Research Regarding Substance Abuse Treatment, Autumn Gonzales

Posters - 2025

“Drug misuse is one of the major social, legal, and publichealth challenges in the modern world” (Nutt et al., 2007). This study explored the characteristics of former research on substance abuse treatment approaches and treatment settings. Past literature showed short-term treatment can be beneficial depending on what works best for the individual and studies have shown short-term treatment has helped individuals with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). However, long-term treatment is the preferred method for individuals as it has a lower chance of relapse. A small systematic review was conducted from which data were coded of former published articles. A frequency …

Adjusting Your L.E.N.S: Learn And Educate With Neurodiverse Students, Jenna Potter

Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2025

This doctoral capstone project, Adjusting Your L.E.N.S: Learn & Educate with Neurodiverse Students, focused on how occupational therapy (OT) can play a unique role in contributing to an inclusive postsecondary higher education (IPSE) program at a local university. This capstone project focused on supporting faculty, staff, and peer academic coaches, developing a transition camp for high school students, and enhancing the university’s current IPSE program to ensure that students with intellectual disability and autism can access higher education and learn within an inclusive and supportive setting. A faculty, staff, and academic coach training program was implemented to equip participants with …

Navigating Life After The Nicu: A Developmental Guide For Preterm And High-Risk Infants And Toddlers, Reagan Lachaussee, Mary Jan Greer Phd, Otr, Theresa Mensi

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Premature and medically fragile infants are at high risk for developmental delays and benefit from ongoing support. Parents often feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to support their child’s development at home. This project addressed gaps in caregiver education and support by developing the PEARLS Program (Promoting Early Achievements, Resilience, and Life Skills), a practical resource tailored to the needs of families and healthcare providers.

A needs assessment and provider feedback guided the program’s development, identifying challenges such as information overload, confusion around corrected age, and feeding difficulties. The PEARLS Program empowers families with digestible, actionable resources, including …

Supporting Leisure Exploration And Participation For Older Adults To Improve Occupational Performance, Jack Fong, Karen Park, Jazminne Orozco Arteaga

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project aimed to develop a program advocating for leisure exploration and participation among older adults to address functional decline and improve quality of life. The program utilized a comprehensive needs assessment, including interviews, interest screening, and observations, to identify participants' preferences and barriers to participation. Through education and advocacy, the program encouraged engagement in meaningful leisure activities tailored to individual interests and abilities. Participants reported satisfaction with their leisure participation, emphasizing the importance of socialization and maintaining physical and cognitive health. Modifications, such as activity adjustments, enabled participation despite health-related challenges. This project highlights the value of responsive …

An Educational Video Guide To Aging In Place, Cecilia Ramos, Steven Gerardi Phd, Otd, Mss, Otr, Elizabeth Deluca-Berg Otd, Otr, Caps

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

The growing population of older adults in the U.S. faces numerous challenges in maintaining independence while aging in place. Key findings from the needs assessment and literature review underscore the importance of accessible resources, health promotion, and health literacy in fostering autonomy and well-being among older adults. Occupational therapy addresses individual needs, educates on resource availability, and promotes interventions to enhance older adults' independence and safety. The purpose of this project was to create an educational video guide aimed at empowering older adults and their families with the knowledge and tools to overcome barriers to aging in place. This project …

Occupational Therapy’S Role Within The Foster System, Cassidy Solomon, Cassandra Nelson

Summer 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This poster will discuss the development of an occupational therapy program to support the needs of youth within the foster system to prepare this population to live independently. Background information including statistics, the need for occupational therapy, and the program specifics such as rationale, significance, and objective are displayed. The development of an occupational therapy program to aid in the success of children within the foster care system helps to close a gap in research that will contribute to the success and positive outcomes of this population. The purpose of this capstone was to develop a program for children in …

Health Club: The Pursuit For A Diverse Healthcare Team, Michelle Ariana Morales, Angela Labrie Blackwell, Erik Perez

Fall 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Currently, the ethnic and racial demographics of occupational therapy students do not reflect the US’ diverse populations due to a general lack of awareness about occupational therapy (OT) amongst diverse high school students (HSS). Many factors serve as common barriers amongst diverse, minority communities, limiting students’ exposure to and knowledge about health professions, such as OT. To address these barriers, Health Club is a six-week, high school afterschool program designed to raise awareness about healthcare professions where ethnically and racially diverse populations are commonly underrepresented. Health Club uses lessons consisting of fundamental healthcare knowledge to provide HSS with opportunities to …

A Manualized Occupational Therapy Module On Cognitive Defusion For People With Ptsd, Joshua Mimun, Steven M. Gerardi

Summer 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

CD has been identified as a treatment module that should be included in a manualized OT protocol for people with PTSD but had not yet been developed. Thus, the purpose of this capstone project is to create a manualized OT treatment module on CD for people with PTSD.

Educating On The Impact Of Gravitational Insecurity In Children With Sensory Processing Disorder, Amber Pierce, Lisa Griggs-Stapleton, Elizabeth Mcbride

Summer 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Gravitational insecurity impacts 15-21% of children with sensory processing disorder, yet little to no research is available on the topic. Therefore, a program was created to provide education to therapists and therapy students in order to better provide education on the topic to others.

Analysis Of Continuous Gait Data Requires Temporal Alignment Of Gait Phases, Elham Alijanpour, Kathryn Riis, Daniel M. Russell

College of Health Sciences Posters

A statistical method for comparing time-continuous curves, such as the kinematics of gait cycles, is statistical parametric mapping analysis (SPM) (Pataky, 2010). According to a recent study, SPM results were sensitive to how each stride's beginning was defined (Honert & Pataky, 2021). Nonetheless, for meaningful comparisons between gait cycles, temporal alignment of phases within a stride may be required (Helwig et al., 2011). With both temporally aligned and unaligned gait data, the goal was to evaluate SPM results for different walking speeds using various gait cycle definitions. Participants in this study were 10 young, healthy adults. To figure out the …

Clinical Effectiveness Of An Aquatic Exercise Program On Strength, Balance, Quality Of Life And Emotional Well-Being In Those With Visual Impairments: A Protocol Study, Laura Murphy, Nicole Joers, Alyssa Buonavolonta

Student Research Poster Presentations 2023

As of 2019, at least 2.2 billion people worldwide are living with some degree of visual impairment according to the World Health Organization. Generic physical therapy has been shown to benefit those with visual impairments. In a 2014 systematic review, researchers analyzed multiple studies that focused on the visually impaired population and their progress on strengthening after participating in exercise programs. They found that the generalized PT helped to improve the performance on tests of physical function in those with visual impairments. There has been minimal research on aquatic therapy and those with visual impairments, yet there have been other …

Occupational Therapy Return To Work Program For Individuals Following A Traumatic Brain Injury, Kalynn R. Johnson, Lisa Griggs-Stapleton

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) often experience difficulty returning to the workforce and lack the necessary resources to facilitate a successful return to work. This capstone project focuses on developing a resource that equips occupational therapists with tools and resources to provide valuable and effective return to work services for this population.

Brain Injury Clubhouse Model And Perceived Impact On Occupational Performance, Leslie Yap, Monica Watford, Lisa Griggs-Stapleton

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This project explored the impact that the brain injury Clubhouse model has on occupational performance through a qualitative research design method. Individuals with traumatic brain injury experience a disruption in occupational performance due to changes in physical, cognitive, or emotional factors from the injury (CDC, 2021). Even after the acute stage of rehabilitation, individuals with TBI may still experience difficulty participating in daily occupations. The brain injury Clubhouse model serves as a bridge between traditional rehabilitation services and community reintegration by giving members a safe environment to practice the skills needed for community-based occupations such as independent living and work …

Analysis Of Quality Of Life In Parkinson's Disease Caregivers: A Quantitative Research Study, Peyton Dooley, Claribell Bayona, Krisitin Domville

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Parkinson’s disease is a commonly known movement and neurodegenerative disorder affecting a large portion of the male population. This disease is gruesome and progressive; it often interferes with a person’s daily routines and activities due to deficits in postural stability, tremors, slowed movement, and rigidity (Tysnes et al., 2017). Most persons with Parkinson’s have informal caregivers, often female spouses, or significant others of the individual. Caregivers of Parkinson’s disease prioritize their loved ones needs over their own, neglecting their own daily activities and routines including self-care, social participation, leisure, and physical activity. Occupational therapists and other health care professionals often …

Icu Liberation: Early Mobility And Exercise, Vanessa Fuller, Andrea Nyquist

Nursing Posters

ICU Liberation:

The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Liberation Bundle was created to reduce the harmful effects of events that occur in the ICU setting. Early mobility and exercise is part “E” of the ICU Liberation Bundle; goals are to reduce ICU and hospital length of stay (LOS), prevent readmissions, reduce discharges to long term care facilities, reduce delirium and coma days, and reduce likelihood of hospital mortality (SCCM, 2021)

Clinical Effectiveness Of An Aquatic Exercise Program On Those With Visual Impairments: A Protocol Study, Clare Winton, Kalie Ertwine, Marlena Ostrowski, Maureen Rinehimer

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Visual impairment impacts an individual’s ability to participate in certain activities, like exercise. Often, individuals with visual impairment have difficulty maintaining an active lifestyle, possibly due to potential harm without assistance. Research on the use of aquatic therapy as a form of exercise in those with visual impairment is lacking. The purpose of this study is to determine if this population can tolerate and benefit from an aquatic exercise program. Additionally, this study serves to determine effects of aquatic exercise on cardiovascular fitness, functional strength, and overall quality of life in individuals with visual impairment.

METHOD(S): This is a …

"Differentiating Stroke And Healthy Adults Using Visualization Driven Timeseries Extraction Method" Data Files, Rahul Soangra, Joby John

Physical Therapy Faculty Data Sets

The first file (which can be downloaded via the "Download Data Set" button) contains the OMX data files for healthy adults (Healthy_Raw_OMX_Files.zip).

The additional files include:

• 4 ZIP folders of h5 data files for healthy adults
• 1 ZIP folder of OMX data files for adults who've had strokes
• 1 ZIP folder of h5 data files for adults who've had strokes
• 1 ZIP folder of additional PY, IPYNB, and PDF files (Codes_DataProcess.zip)

Abstract

Wearable technologies may offer ways to measure unhindered activities of daily living (ADL) among patients who had stroke in their natural settings. This study investigated new visualization driven …

The Effects Of Yoga Therapy On Quality Of Life In Pediatric Patients With Oncological Diagnoses: A Systematic Review, Katherine Tota, Taylor Harnish, Meredith Hartz

Student Research Poster Presentations 2021

Background: Yoga therapies have become more common as physical therapy treatment to improve mood, anxiety, and fatigue in adolescents and adults with cancer. A cancer diagnosis has physical, emotional, and social effects on children and their families. It is correlated with high rates of depression and anxiety, and has large financial implications for parents/guardians.

Study design: Systematic review

Purpose: This purpose of this study was to examine the effects of yoga therapy on overall quality of life in treatment of patients with a pediatric oncology diagnosis.

Methods and Measure: A review of literature took place in January 2021 using the …

Genus Applications For Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Whitney L Carter

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 5.5 million Americans age 60 and up may be living with Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). AD is the most common type of dementia and is characterized by a decline in episodic memories, long-term memory, language, attention, and personality changes. The first symptoms can vary, but for most people memory is the first capacity to become impaired. However, symptoms can also be a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition like work-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. AD is identified mainly by two histopathological features: extracellular plague of amyloid-beta protein and intracellular neuronal tangles …

Supplementary Material To The Manuscript Titled: Mobile Phone Sensors Can Discern Medication-Related Gait Quality Changes In Parkinson's Patients In A Real-World Setting, Niklas König Ignasiak, Albert Pierce, Vincent Berardi, Wilford K. Eiteman-Pang, Cyril Rakovski

Physical Therapy Faculty Data Sets

This file contains the data that was used to classify high and low quality gait patterns in patients with Parkinson's disease. Acceleration and gyroscope data was recorded with a conventional smartphone in a real-world environment. High (i.e. ON medication) and low (i.e. OFF medication) quality labels were given by a human observer according to medication intake times.

2019/2020 Lrsp: Ricardo Andres Pimentel, Ricardo Andres Pimentel

Library Research Scholars Program

Decades of constant wars have produced millions of military personnel returning home after their stints protecting their country. Though many of these military members are able to fully reintegrate into society, a significant minority return with psychical and psychological difficulties. Included in this vast list of difficulties is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder is particularly endemic to military populations, and although numerous treatment modalities are available to veterans with PTSD, they are not all effective for every individual. Thus, numerous grassroots and private organizations have been working to pair veterans with service dogs for the treatment of PTSD. …

Effects Of Yoga On Mindfulness In Pediatric Patients With Oncology Diagnoses Through Guardian Perspectives: A Research Protocol, Victoria Ciszak, Dana Cutler, Gabriella Lamanna, Kristen Ogonowski

Student Research Poster Presentations 2020

Abstract:

Background: Yoga practice is commonly utilized by physical therapists in order to promote physical and mental health. In populations with a poorer prognosis, mindfulness and overall well-being becomes increasingly important. In particular, the pediatric cancer population requires an intervention that keeps these emotional needs in mind. Because children are physically and mentally developing throughout their oncology treatments, it is crucial that a comprehensive psychosocial treatment plan is initiated. Yoga can fill this need as it has elements that influence behavior and physical development.

Objective: The aim of this protocol paper is to determine all necessary procedures for future …