Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Identifying The Role Of Occupational Therapy In The Pediatric Palliative Care Team For Pediatric Cancer Patients, Rudessa Bedonie, Hannah Gianan, Riley Thomas, Kennedy Tooke

Critically Appraised Topics

What is the role of occupational therapy in providing effective intervention during palliative care for pediatric cancer patients and their families during the transition to the end of life?

Nonpharmacological Practices For Reducing Agitation In Persons With Dementia, Meghan L. Farkas

Commonwealth Scholars Program

1 in 11 people aged 45 years and older experience subjective cognitive decline, with nearly a third identifying a decline in the ability to participate in social activities, work, or volunteering. There are twelve modifiable risk factors that can either increase or decrease an individual's possibility of developing Dementia. This can include excessive alcohol consumption, head injury, air pollution, lower education level, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and infrequent social contact. These modifiable risk factors may prevent or delay up to 40% of dementias. Furthermore, many risk factors cluster around inequalities, which occur particularly in Black, …

Transitional Caregiver Support From Nicu To Early Intervention Services., Sophia Schutt

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Transitional Caregiver Support from NICU to Early Intervention Services. Sophia B. Schutt, Dr. Julie Grabanski, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, 501 North Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58202

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to develop an occupation-based educational product for caregivers leaving the NICU setting and transitioning into early intervention services. The project is aimed at assessing and reducing caregiver stress levels and increasing co-occupational outcomes with their infants.

Methods: A needs assessment was conducted to evaluate the gap in caregiver education during the transition in care. The educational …

Effectiveness Of Occupational Therapy Services On Quality Of Life Among Chronically Homeless Mothers With Children, Stephanie Dullum, Caitlyn Fussy, Cierra Jacobson

Critically Appraised Topics

Chronically homeless mothers face many challenges with their quality of life due to trauma, mental illness, substance abuse, and stress that impacts the person, their environment, and occupations. Currently there is a lack of occupational therapy interventions for improving the quality of life for this population. The purpose of this critically appraised topic is to address the role of occupational therapy within the population of chronically homeless mothers and how it can improve their quality of life.

Family-Centered Care For Preschool Children With Disabilities, Kaylee Athmann, Ashley Freund, Rachel Koenig

Critically Appraised Topics

The purpose of this critically appraised topic paper was to define family-centered care, to look at family-centered care through the model of EHP, and to show the unique role occupational therapy plays in family-centered care. More specifically, we aimed to find the effects of family-centered care on health management. While family-centered care has been cited as beneficial by occupational therapists, there is a gap in these services being provided to preschoolers with disabilities.

Intervention Strategies To Combat The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Adolescents Mental Health: A Critically Appraised Topic, Rylie Garner, Lauryne Griego, Kailey Squier, Jamie Steinhoff

Critically Appraised Topics

Does sensory modulation and physical activity as an occupational therapy intervention improve mental health outcomes in adolescents resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Expanding Knowledge On Occupations, One Harmful Occupation At A Time, Taylor Dingus

OCCUPATION: A Medium of Inquiry about Health through Occupation

Humans are both natural doers and occupational beings, but in order to consider them as such, one must understand all occupational choices, the meanings and human behavior behind the choices, and the environment in which the choices take place (Helbig & McKay, 2003). Considering self-harm, substance abuse, and addiction as occupations advances this understanding of humans as occupational in nature who are molded by their occupational choices and factors surrounding them (Wasmuth, Brandon-Friedman, & Olesek, 2016). This study aimed to gain an understanding of the occupational nature of humans that engage in occupations defined as harmful by society in order …

The Benefits Of Habituation Altering Occupational Therapy Interventions To Improve Engagement In Adls And Iadls For Adults With Chronic Pain, Alexis Brolsma, Aleece Durbin, Casidi Pullar

Critically Appraised Topics

Adults experiencing chronic pain have difficulties performing ADLs and IADLs, consequently lowering their quality of life. Current research supports multiple interventions used by occupational therapists when working with adults with chronic pain, however, there is no primary intervention identified (Andrews et al., 2018; Guy et al., 2019; Guy et al., 2020; Nielsen et al., 2021; Schmid et al., 2019; Simon & Collins, 2017). The purpose of this CAT paper is to determine how beneficial occupational therapy interventions are at changing habits and routines (habituation) of adults (18+ years of age) with chronic pain in improving engagement in ADLs and IADLs.

Occupational Therapy In Palliative Care: Incorporating Meaningful Occupations And Education Programs For Occupational Therapists, Emily Geissler, Mariah Herring, Katya Kivi

Critically Appraised Topics

Based on the literature reviewed for this critically appraised topic (CAT), end-of-life care has become a more popular setting, and healthcare workers are beginning to see the need for occupational therapists. Due to the undefined role of an OT in this setting, it is difficult for the client to be provided with the best care that increases their quality of life near death, as well as inadequate training for how to address intervention. The issue found within palliative care is that clients are not provided the opportunity to engage in the meaningful activities that bring them joy. The purpose of …

Interventions For Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis To Increase Quality Of Life And Motivation In Activities Of Daily Living And Instrumental Activities Of Daily Living: A Critically Appraised Topic, Erin Ferebee, Makenzie Kroupa, Makayla Tucker

Critically Appraised Topics

PICO:

P: Adults with a chronic condition of Rheumatoid Arthritis

I: Programs and interventions most effective to improve participation in ADL & IADL

C: Motivation levels & QOL

O: Increased participation in ADL & IADLS

Focused Question - What occupational therapy (OT) intervention approaches are best for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients struggling with motivation, quality of life, as evidenced by the ability to participate in ADLs and IADLs?

Effectiveness Of Early Intervention Programs Addressing Mental Health Issues Caused By Long-Haul Covid-19 In Older Adults, Grace Kleinvachter, Lauren Fischer, Kelsey Rajewsky

Critically Appraised Topics

Lannigan & Tyminski (2021) shared that occupational therapy practitioners are ready to address the many complications that COVID-19 has caused, including emotional issues, by encouraging engagement in healthy occupations in their day-to-day lives. Occupational therapists have specific skills to combat these issues, help others reclaim their occupational identity, and improve quality of life (Lannigan & Tyminski, 2021; Wilcox & Frank, 2021). Symptoms of long-haul COVID-19 have greatly impacted the valued occupations of those over 50 years old, leading to an occupational justice need for further investigation. Occupational therapists should then use that knowledge to understand the degree of impact the …

Critically Appraised Topic: The Use Of Occupation-Based Sensory Intervention And Environmental Modification With School-Aged Children Who Have Experienced Trauma, Josie Huot, Abigail Kasper, Erin Siebenaler, Jessica Wetzel

Critically Appraised Topics

Children who have been exposed to trauma may develop sensory impairments, such as inadequate sensory processing and regulation when engaging in occupations within the school setting. Currently, there is a lack of evidence demonstrating the efficacy of sensory-based occupational therapy intervention with children who have experienced trauma. The purpose of this critically appraised topic paper is to describe the current evidence for utilizing sensory-based interventions, in combination with environmental modifications, to influence occupational engagement among school-aged children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences.

Effectiveness Of Occupational Therapy Self-Management Interventions Among Chronically Homeless Veterans With Mental Health And Substance Abuse Disorders, Jace Allard, Hannah Leisenheimer, Adeyinka Omotunde

Critically Appraised Topics

Homeless veterans are challenged with chronic mental health and substance abuse disorders that affect their abilities to carry out their daily functions. There is a paucity of focused literature to address the extent to which occupational therapy interventions help chronically homeless veterans that struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. The purpose of this critically appraised topic paper was to investigate and demonstrate the extent to which substance abuse and mental health occupational therapy programs may help to increase the performance range of self-management skills of chronically homeless veterans.

Efficacy Of Educational Programs For Homeless Adults With Mental Illness, Madison Herbeck, Samantha Proctor, Bailee Scheer

Critically Appraised Topics

Homeless adults continually face occupational deprivation. There is a lack of reimbursement for occupational therapy community-based interventions (Gutman, 2021). This critically appraised topic aims to explore how educational programs will impact and influence positive occupational engagement and quality of life for homeless adults with mental illness.

Occupational Therapy’S Ability To Address Perceived Stress Levels In Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Kjerstin Drugan, Molly Van Drehle, Jadalyn Wagner

Critically Appraised Topics

Caregivers of individuals with dementia face unique challenges that affect their ability to participate in their occupations and maintain low-stress levels (Armstrong et al., 2019; Chiao et al., 2015; Cooper et al., 2010; Delgarno et al., 2021; Franzosa et al., 2019; Gleason & Miller, 2021; Lloyd et al., 2019; Madruga et al., 2020; Piersol et al., 2017; Sterling et al., 2021; Yong et al., 2020). Evidence has supported the benefits of occupational therapy intervention for caregiver well-being (Burgess et al., 2021; Lloyd et al., 2019; Raj et al., 2021; Sztramko et al., 2021; Yong et al., 2020). In this critically …

Impacting Students: Students With Disabilities Participating In A Theater Occupation-Based Program, Markii D. Landry

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Acting Creates Therapeutic Success (ACTS Jr.) is a program that uses theater and drama activities to address a variety of skills. Theater advantageously offers a variety of activities that suit the individual (costume and prop making, set design, screenplay writing, etc.), many that fall under the scope of occupational therapy, and is executed well as a form of group therapy given its innate camaraderie of actors and production members working together to form a final cohesive product (Phillips, 1996). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how theater can be used as a meaningful activity for students with disabilities …

School-Based Practitioners' Perceptions Of Working With Students With Challenging Behaviors, Candace Thrash

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: School-based occupational therapy practitioners must develop a skill set that allows effective service delivery to individuals, groups, and populations in the school setting in order to support students with varying disabilities achieving their occupation-based goals. There is limited research and literature regarding occupational therapy practitioners’ perceptions regarding working with students with challenging behaviors and what they feel has prepared them to work with these students. It is important to determine if additional training, professional development, fieldwork experiences or mentorships are necessary to prepare school-based therapists to manage students effectively and confidently on their caseload who have challenging behaviors.

Purpose: …

The Effectiveness Of Sensory Interventions On Social Participation, Morgan Holcom

OT Student Capstones

Sensory integration is among the most frequently used treatment approaches in pediatric occupational therapy (Schoen et al., 2019). Approximately 5%-16% of children in the United States experience sensory integration dysfunctions and that percentage increases in children with disabilities (Flanagan et al., 2019; Matsushima & Kato, 2013; Randell et al., 2019; Reynolds et al., 2011; Schaaf et al, 2018; Smith Roley et al., 2015). Children with sensory integration dysfunction have been found to experience disruptions in their everyday occupations, including social participation (Lane et al., 2019). To address such deficits, both sensory integration and sensory-based interventions have increasingly been used to …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Healthcare Professionals' Occupational Lives, Javed A. Mohammed, Ronald Kevin Dela Cruz

OCCUPATION: A Medium of Inquiry about Health through Occupation

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a period of instability for billions of people around the world. Healthcare systems have been severely strained by the influx of infected patients, placing much of that hardship on healthcare professionals (HCPs). Occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other essential personnel—individuals who will be inclusive of the term “HCPs”—continue to struggle with frequent occupational disruption. This paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the occupational lives of HCPs at the national and international levels. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically increased work-related stress leading to anxiety, depression, burnout, and …

How The Physical Long-Haul Symptoms Of Covid-19 Influence Occupational Performance From A Person-Environment-Occupation Perspective: A Critically Appraised Topic, Emmalee Burtsfield, Amber Matlock, Alyssia Pucel

Critically Appraised Topics

An increasing number of adults continue to experience the long-term physical effects of COVID-19. Currently, there is uncertainty regarding the best practices in occupational therapy to address long-haul COVID-19 symptomology and its effects on people as research on the topic continues to emerge (Robinson et al., 2021). The purpose of this critically appraised paper is to identify prominent areas on which occupational therapists should focus during evaluation and intervention planning while considering the person, environment, and occupation to encompass the ideals of best practice when working with adult clients who are facing disruptions as a result of long-haul COVID-19 symptoms.