Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Outcomes For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Utilizing Adolescent Adaptive Life Skills Groups, Elizabeth A. Grant

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

This capstone project brings to our attention the importance of occupational therapy’s role in meeting the continued and ever changing service needs of individuals with ASD as they transition into adulthood. Adaptive life skill groups fill a gap in services for adolescents and support learning and performance of everyday occupations necessary for independent living. The purpose of this project was to determine if occupational therapy adolescent adaptive life skill groups are an effective method for improving adaptive life skill and maintaining that skill in individuals with ASD over time. This project provided insights into differences in assessment scores for participants …

Movement Opportunities Through Vestibular Engagement To Rhythm (Mover), Lindsay B. Williams

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Across the United States, school systems have decreased the amount of proprioceptive activities and vestibular-based movement opportunities within the school day to focus on academic skills and test score improvement (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Stemming from this curriculum modification, children’s free play and movement opportunities are being replaced by more sedentary experiences such as structured academic activities and screen time. As a result, elementary school students with attention deficits, especially those who have a history of prenatal drug exposure, are not receiving sufficient movement opportunities needed during the day to maximize their attention and to regulate …

Exploring Therapist Engagement Using Process Consultation, Rachel B. Spaide

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Purpose Although evidence supports that highly engaged colleagues result in better patient outcomes (Lowe, 2012; Studer, Hagins, & Cochrane, 2014), little is known about the impact of engaged occupational (OT), physical (PT), and speech (ST) therapists on patient outcomes (Mueller, Prins, & deHeer, 2018; Paulsen et al., 2014). This prospective cohort study examines the effect of a voluntary OT, PT and ST workgroup has on therapist engagement and outpatient-perceived quality services. The following research questions about the impact of process consultation within a volunteer therapist workgroup were asked: a) will engagement of all therapists improve as measured by the Utrecht …

The Role Of Evidence-Based Practice In Alzheimer's Disease And/Or Dementia, Laura Leigh Cole

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: As the aging population continues to grow, it is necessary to identify the most up to date and appropriate Evidenced Based Practice (EBP) treatment methods to ensure quality of life for adults in long term care settings. The rapid increase of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease with this population treated in skilled nursing facilities impacts understanding of and continued competency for occupational therapy practitioners in effectively evaluate and treat clients with cognitive deficits.

Purpose: To identify the frequency of use of standardized cognitive assessments in evaluation and treatment in long-term care facilities and skilled nursing facilities and to identify which …

Occupational Therapist-Led Parent Support Group Using An Occupational Therapy Approach, Sean Brim

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

This was an intervention research aimed at reducing stress levels of parents of children with disabilities is limited. The purpose of this study was to introduce an occupational therapy led pilot support group for parents who have a child with a disability and improve parent’s abilities to manage stress levels. This quantitative study utilized the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) to assess parental stress at baseline and upon completion of the four support group sessions. There were six participants in the support group meeting the inclusion criteria. The objective of this non-blinded study was to reduce stress for parents who have …

Use Of Self-Care Standardized Assessments In Occupational Therapy Skilled Nursing Home Practice, Courtney M. Green

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Understanding why occupational therapists select certain self-care standardized assessments within the skilled nursing setting is important to ensure outcomes are accurately measured. Consistent use of self-care standardized assessments can further support the utilization of occupational therapy services. Limited research is available to understand why occupational therapists use self-care standardized assessments in general as well as specifically within skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

Purpose: The objective of this project is to discover the supports and barriers to utilizing self-care standardized assessments among occupational therapy practitioners who work within for-profit SNFs.

Theoretical Framework. Theoretical framework utilized to evaluate the intrinsic and extrinsic …

Understanding Therapists' Perceptions Of Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders Using The Model Of Human Occupation Screening Tool, Jaimie K. Estreet

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Exploring occupational therapy (OT) practitioners’ competence when working with clients with co-occurring substance use disorders (SUD). Current literature demonstrates a gap regarding OT practice and SUD as a co-occurring diagnosis.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study design is to illustrate and more fully understand the issue of OT evaluation and intervention for clients co-diagnosed with SUD, specifically using the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool (MOHOST) (assessment) in multiple settings.

Theoretical Framework: The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) and the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) is the framework and theoretical lens used to guide this project. …

Harnessing Nature For Occupational Therapy: Interventions And Health Promotion, Gina Ferra Kaplanis

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Literature is beginning to emerge which states that participation in natural environments can be restorative, provide much needed physical activity and assist with health promotion and prevention of illness. Theories such as Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) and Biophilia Hypothesis (Wilson, 1993) support the benefits for participation in natural outdoor environments. Health benefits of participation in nature including accessing Vitamin D, improving balance, attention restoration, reduced myopia, stress reduction are widely present in literature. Despite the health benefits of participation in nature, occupational therapists rarely complete interventions in the natural environment. Principles of adult learning and occupational adaptation were used …

Impact Of Shoulder Pathology On Individuals With Distal Radius Fracture: A Mixed Methods Study, Sarah Beth Doerrer

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods study was to expand the understanding of the impact of shoulder pathology on individuals with distal radius fracture (DRF). This included describing the population that had shoulder pathology, comparing participants who had shoulder pathology with participants who did not, and exploring their experiences. The occupational adaptation model guided this study. Recruitment for this study included 45 patients post DRF. Each participant completed a short questionnaire after informed consent was obtained which asked demographic information such as age, gender, race, date of injury, and if the dominant hand was fractured. Over 9 weeks, …

Development Of A Caregiver Education Support Tool For Family Caregivers Of Older Adults With Dementia, Sarah Guariglia

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

For every person diagnosed with dementia, four family members are affected and burdened with providing care. Providing familial care is associated with greater psychological, social, and emotional burden on the caregiver. Caregivers are not provided with adequate education to support successful caregiving and aging in place. This capstone project developed and piloted a caregiver education support tool to simplify the process of finding caregiver education. Five caregivers participated in interviews to guide the development of the support tool, next completed the Likert questionnaire, and tested the caregiver education support tool. Four themes were identified: (1) burden, (2) loss, (3) unmet …

Occupational Therapy Practitioner Knowledge And Use Of Medicaid Home And Community Based Service Waivers, Alyssa Zaffos

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Medicaid Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) waivers have allowed adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to remain in the community rather than transition to institutionalization. HCBS waivers vary drastically from state to state limiting consistency in services offered to adults with IDD within the community. Majority of HCBS waivers offered to adults with IDD do not fund occupational therapy as a habilitative service due to a variety of reasons. Many adults with IDD are negatively impacted by not receiving necessary services. After preliminary research, it was noted that there is limited information regarding occupational therapy practitioner knowledge of …

Facilitating Early Engagement In Occupational Therapy In The Intensive Care Unit, Sarah Wright

MOT Student Capstones

Early rehabilitation for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been the topic of many current research studies. The efficacy of providing occupational therapy (OT) as part of the early rehabilitation/early engagement program has also been assessed, however many OT practitioners are not being utilized or viewed as an integral member of the interdisciplinary team. The purpose of this capstone project was to identify the main barriers that OTs face in the treatment of ICU patients through pre-survey; research current literature to identify solutions to the identified barriers; compile the research into a comprehensive document to present and disseminate …

Conflict Management In Occupational Therapy Education: Process Drama As A Teaching Strategy, Theresa Delbert, Tyson Schrader

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The stressful and demanding environment of a healthcare facility can lead to interpersonal conflict. As a result of working in these environments, occupational therapy students may experience such conflict during Level II fieldwork. Research has shown that effective conflict management is an important component of success on Level II fieldwork; however, occupational therapy students often self-report a lack of confidence, comfort, and competence with managing conflict. Forty Master of Occupational Therapy students took part in a 2-day conflict management workshop. The workshop consisted of didactic training of conflict management concepts; large group process drama activities that introduced relevant role-play concepts; …

Student Perspectives On The Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique, Lauren E. Milton, Laura E. Landon

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

A retrospective qualitative study was conducted to explore first-year occupational therapy graduate student perspectives on the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) which was implemented during a two-semester neuroscience course. The IF-AT system was used during small group application activities six times across a two-semester course sequence. Students discussed multiple-choice questions in small groups, used critical thinking skills and collaboration to select answers, then finally used the IF-AT scratch-off cards to indicate selections. At the conclusion of the second semester, 33 students provided qualitative feedback regarding their experience using the IF-AT. Conventional content analysis was used to capture the student voice …

Perceptions Of Assessment In Norwegian Occupational Therapy Students, Tore Bonsaksen, Astrid Gramstad, Gry Mørk, Susanne G. Johnson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In addition to securing minimum standards of learning among students, assessment is increasingly used as a tool to improve students’ learning. Assessment quality is measured as part of the Course Experience Questionnaire; however, the original ‘appropriate assessment’ scale has demonstrated ambiguous psychometric properties. The current study aimed to gain knowledge about occupational therapy students’ perceptions of assessment, and this was achieved by examining the factor structure and internal consistency of the six items on the ‘appropriate assessment’ scale. Students from six Norwegian universities (n = 187, response rate 61.3 %) completed the scale and reported demographic information. The factor …

Elevating Student Understanding: Irish Occupational Therapy Students’ Experience Of A Service Learning Project, Karen Mccarthy, Marian Mccarthy

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Service learning is a pedagogy that embraces learning in action and addresses community needs. Since the adoption of the Occupational Therapy Competencies in 2008 and the launch of national occupational therapist registration in Ireland in 2015, there has been limited research on the effectiveness of service learning pedagogies in Irish higher education for meeting core competencies. The majority of research focusing on evaluating service learning have been North American studies which brings to question the relevance of these service learning outcomes beyond North America and specifically Ireland. This qualitative study examined 11 occupational therapy students’ journal reflections, portfolio entries, and …

Social And Cultural Concepts Module: Curricula To Foster Cultural Responsiveness, Elizabeth Ching, Elsa Contreras, Precious Dimalanta, Linda Duran, Robert Freeman, Ursula Hawe, Susannah Hong, Wilton Ramos

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The lack of racial diversity in the occupational therapy profession as well as its educational programs are obstacles in providing culturally responsive care to serve all people, populations, and communities. Research has shown that student engagement in case studies, activities that emphasize exposure to diverse populations, reflective journaling, and interviewing someone from a different culture are effective in developing practitioners who are more culturally responsive. Students from one culturally diverse occupational therapy program took a nine-hour Social and Cultural Concepts Module (SCCM) that incorporated best practice pedagogy for teaching cultural responsiveness. A one group pretest-posttest design was utilized to explore …

Hybrid Learning To Develop Safe Patient Handling Judgement In Occupational Therapy Students, Steven D. Eberth, Ingrid Provident, Carla Chase

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The goal of this mixed methods pilot study was to determine the effectiveness of a hybrid pedagogy to develop safe patient handling knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills in occupational therapy students. Developing safety judgment is integral to occupational therapy education programs, which requires the deepening of knowledge associations. As evidence suggests, patient handling is taught in academic programs with traditional pedagogy. Safe patient handling requires teaching the breadth of the most relevant and contemporary theory and techniques. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of online education. The project author developed an evidence-based hybrid pedagogical approach that included four narrated …

Interprofessional Education Enhancement: Inclusion Of Occupational Therapy, Julie Woodnorth, Heather A. Davidson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The increase in interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities provides an excellent opportunity for occupational therapy (OT) educators to partner with other health professions to deepen the understanding of how the OT profession adds value to future healthcare teams. The purpose of this study was to describe the development and impact of a curricular unit about the OT profession that was integrated into an established IPE program for medical, advanced practice nursing, pharmacy and social work students. A Needs Assessment was conducted by embedding an OT consultant within interprofessional student teams working in clinical environments over six weeks to observe baseline understanding …

The Short Assist Scales: Measurement Properties In A Sample Of Occupational Therapy Students In The Usa, Tore Bonsaksen, Adele Breen-Franklin

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Shortening measurement scales can improve the scales’ feasibility, but at the same time, their measurement properties can be affected. This study investigated psychometric properties of the short Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) among occupational therapy students in the United States. The students (n = 120) completed the ASSIST and provided basic socio-demographic and education-related information. Scale structure was examined with Principal Components Analysis (PCA), while consistency between scale items was assessed with Cronbach’s α and inter-item correlations. Three factors were confirmed, but three items showed poor or ambiguous fit with the proposed scales. These items were …