Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Health Literacy In Student-Created Occupational Therapy Home Programs, Karen Flaherty, Sarah Foidel, Nancy E. Krusen

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This single site case report examined student-designed client educational materials for integration of health literacy principles in occupational therapy education. Researchers analyzed 16 home programs from first and second year occupational therapy doctorate students using the Health Literacy Advisor (HLA) and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool – Printable (PEMAT-P). The HLA provides scores of readability indexes, including Fry, SMOG, Flesch-Kincaid, and Flesch Reading Ease. The PEMAT-P assesses understandability and actionability. Results indicated reading levels near recommended 6^th grade reading scores with some improvement from first to second year educational level, though not necessarily useable material. HLA difficult to …

Developing An International Cultural Learning Project: An Effort Towards Introducing Internationalization In The Classroom, Mary Zadnik, Pavlina Psychouli, Kayla Collins

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In an increasingly diverse and global society, allied health professionals must be ready to meet the needs of clients with different cultural values, habits, and attitudes. Understanding how culture impacts decision making in healthcare is a fundamental skill. However, education and experiences to help prepare future practitioners to meet this need are often lacking in allied health. This paper highlights a call to develop methods to identify and overcome barriers in providing students with culturally diverse and immersive experiences both feasibly and efficiently. A pilot cross-cultural experience was created utilizing the technique of Internationalization at Home (IaH) and integrating technology …

Instructing Students How To Use Evidence-Based Technology Interventions With Older Adults, Michele L. Tilstra, Michelle L. Webb, Sandra E. Groger

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Current evidence supports the use of technology with older adults and the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education standards for entry-level occupational therapy programs mandate instruction on the use of technology to support occupational performance. The literature does not clearly define specific strategies to teach entry-level occupational therapy students how to implement technology interventions with older adults. The purpose of this paper is to provide OT educators with recommendations for teaching entry-level students to use evidence-based technology with older adults. The authors reviewed current literature. The recent evidence helped the authors define practical curriculum recommendations for instructing entry-level occupational therapy …

A Skills-Focused Approach To Improving Therapist Goniometry Accuracy Using A Simulation Laboratory, Miranda Yelvington, Beverly J. Spray

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Goniometric measurements are widely used in the field of occupational therapy to measure range of motion, define and describe movement, and predict the functional implications of joint limitations. These measurements are further used in documentation and as a means of justifying reimbursement. While goniometrics are a hallmark of our practice, therapist competency is rarely assessed. This study sought to evaluate whether a skill focused, simulation assisted training could lead to improvements in accuracy and consistency of goniometric measurements. Ten therapists at a single facility completed goniometric testing utilizing a simulation module to assess three joint motions (shoulder abduction, elbow flexion …

The Editors’ Perspective: Reflecting On Two Years Of The Journal Of Occupational Therapy Education, Renee Causey-Upton, Cynthia L. Hayden, Dana Howell

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

No abstract provided.

Towards Identifying Peer Supervision Competencies For Graduate-Level Occupational Therapy Students: A Scoping Review, Annie Murphy-Hagan, Lauren E. Milton

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In the occupational therapy (OT) profession, peer supervision groups are recommended for professional development, lessening attrition, and relieving stress. Peer supervision is under researched, thus competencies to support this practice are unknown. The purpose of this scoping review was to: (1) summarize the research knowledge around peer supervision to support evidence-based practice in OT, (2) map supervision competencies and key themes in the literature, and (3) isolate peer supervision competencies that may be especially relevant to graduate-level OT students. The long-term aim of this research is to develop a framework for evidence-based peer supervision training. Researchers investigated the question: What …

Examination Of Potential Factors To Predict Fieldwork Performance: A Program Evaluation Project, Sandra M. Whisner, Matthew Geddie, Dawndra Sechrist, Eugene Wang

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This program evaluation project evaluated the validity of a hypothesized model for predicting fieldwork performance using data of 121 occupational therapy students from a single university. The first aim was to evaluate the hypothesized relationships between observed measures (e.g., admission GPAs) and proposed latent factors (e.g., academic achievement) for predictor and outcome variables. Factor analysis of the outcome variable revealed a three-factor structure, measured by 13 items from the Fieldwork Performance Evaluation for the Occupational Therapy Student. However, factor analyses of the predictor variables did not support the proposed latent factors: Academic Achievement and Professional Potential. The second aim was …

Student Perspectives Of The Occupational Therapy Doctoral Experience In An Academic Setting, Stacy Smallfield, Shelby Wood

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The purpose of this study was to gather student perspectives of the 16-week doctoral experiential component (DEC) of the entry-level doctor of occupational therapy educational curriculum from students who completed the DEC in an academic setting. A retrospective qualitative study of a focus group of five students who completed the DEC in an occupational therapy (OT) academic setting was conducted using semi-structured interview questions. Codes were grouped into themes and the findings were summarized. Four major themes emerged: 1) learning experiences; 2) purposeful ambiguity; 3) knowledge and skill development; and 4) newfound appreciation. Learning experiences included …

Design Of An Osce To Assess Clinical Competence Of Occupational Therapy Students, Nancy E. Krusen, Debra Rollins

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are a series of controlled, timed stations in which students demonstrate clinical skills. OSCEs are commonly used within health professions education to demonstrate competence, prepare for clinical education, and conduct program evaluation. The body of literature addressing the use of OSCEs in occupational therapy (OT) is growing; however, there are no available guidelines for developing an OSCE specific to the profession. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of an OSCE for OT students prior to fieldwork placement. Twelve OT practitioners participated in a modified-Delphi method to generate possible OSCE scenarios. The …

From Perceiving To Achieving: Experiences Of An Adolescent With Autism Spectrum Disorder In A Summer Day Program, Spencer Thomas Hammond

Online Theses and Dissertations

Literature describing the experiences of adolescents and their families with summer day-programs is scarce. This study sought to reveal such experiences from one individual participating in a summer program, HorseAbility, in which individuals with disabilities interact with each other through planned and self-directed activities, therapeutic riding, and activities associated with taking care of horses. Interviews were conducted with an adolescent diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, his parent, a staff member of the summer day program, and the therapeutic riding instructor. Observation data and personal journaling was also used for data collection mechanisms. Data sources were triangulated to provide a rich …

Occupational Therapists' Perceptions And Clinical Reasoning Of Splints Used In Adults With Neurological Conditions, Yichen Jiang

Online Theses and Dissertations

Using splints for upper extremity functional improvement in neurologically impaired patients is a common practice among occupational therapists despite inadequate evidence to support this intervention. This mixed-method study aims to address the gap in research regarding occupational therapists’ perceptions of current neurological splinting trends, perceived effectiveness of splinting, their rationale for splinting, and confidence in splinting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four occupational therapists across the United States. A 37-item online survey was then developed and administered to 129 occupational therapists who practice with neurologically impaired populations. Three themes were developed from the qualitative data: clinical reasoning guides decision-making and …

Understanding The Impact Of Hobby Participation On Quality Of Life During Cancer Treatment, Bethany Lynn Keuter

Online Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Over the past two decades there has been significant research on the benefits of leisure participation in increasing quality of life (QoL). Additionally, there is a substantial foundation of research exploring the role of leisure engagement in life-threatening illness and cancer. The aim of this study is to explore the role of regular hobby participation on QoL with regards to finding purpose and meaning making, increased coping skills, and social support through hobby participation during breast cancer treatment.

Method: Qualitative descriptive study using snowball sampling for participant recruitment. Data collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis completed through process of …

Data Patterns Discovery Using Unsupervised Learning, Rachel A. Lewis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Self-care activities classification poses significant challenges in identifying children’s unique functional abilities and needs within the exceptional children healthcare system. The accuracy of diagnosing a child's self-care problem, such as toileting or dressing, is highly influenced by an occupational therapists’ experience and time constraints. Thus, there is a need for objective means to detect and predict in advance the self-care problems of children with physical and motor disabilities. We use clustering to discover interesting information from self-care problems, perform automatic classification of binary data, and discover outliers. The advantages are twofold: the advancement of knowledge on identifying self-care problems in …

Part 2: Preparing Entry-Level Occupational And Physical Therapy Students To Promote Healthy Lifestyles Emphasizing Healthy Eating With Individuals With Disabilities, Brooks C. Wingo, Donald H. Lein, Beth A. Barstow, Christopher A. Eidson, Tara S. Pearce, Laurie A. Malone, David M. Morris

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Rehabilitation professionals including occupational therapists (OT) and physical therapists (PT) are increasingly called upon to incorporate health promotion of lifestyle behaviors including physical activity and healthy eating into routine clinical care. While OTs and PTs may be comfortable promoting activity-related behaviors, many are less comfortable with nutrition behaviors. To address entry-level OT and PT students’ perceived discomfort with discussing diet-related behaviors, faculty developed a healthy eating module for students to use during a community-based service learning program. The purpose of this paper is to describe the formative evaluation process of developing the healthy eating module, and to discuss results of …

Immersive Virtual Reality For The Management Of Pain In Community-Dwelling Older Adults., Sara Benham, Minhee Kang, Namrata Grampurohit

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Immersive virtual reality (VR) can provide a high level of engagement and distraction analgesia to address pain. However, community-based applications of this technology for older adults have not been studied. The objective of this study was to examine the applicability and effectiveness of an immersive VR intervention for pain, depression, and quality of life (QOL) in older adults. This pretest–posttest, mixed-methods design included senior center members (n = 12) with pain that interfered with daily functioning. The outcomes included the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS^®) depression scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life …

Tumble Tots: Outcomes Of A Gymnastics Program For Children With Disabilities, Cayla Leichtenberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the benefits, children with disabilities do not participate in recreational activities as often as typically developing peers. The purpose of the program was to: 1) describe the benefit of a gymnastics program on a child’s development, and 2) identify the impact of a staff training program. Engagement in the proposed program aimed to ultimately contribute to a child’s involvement in recreational activities, health and quality of life (QOL). All participants in the gymnastics program demonstrated a positive change in motor and communication skills. Pre-test data from the staff training program indicated that none of the gymnastics staff members were …

Take Charge For Therapy Discharge: Outcomes Of A Patient Education Program Applying The Co-Op Approach, Kathryn Westley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A thorough needs assessment at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Largo revealed slight dissatisfaction scores on the Press Ganey survey for both the occupational therapy department and discharge planning processes. This quality improvement project, Take Charge for Therapy Discharge, implemented a two-session patient education protocol using the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach. Using the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS), participants identified and prioritized three therapy goals and rated their perceived current performance. Results demonstrated a significant difference between the participants’ PSFS pre and post-intervention scores. Patients’ improved self-perceived goal attainment scores served as evidence that, in addition to using …

Independence Through Patient Education In A Spinal Cord Injury Population, Justin Mctish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Know More, Live Better program was developed because the population of people with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) includes a substantial number of young people, who often readmit into hospitals for preventable causes such as pressure ulcers, respiratory infections, and bowel/bladder infections. These complications can be avoided through patient education. A needs assessment was conducted at the SCI unit at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, PA. This assessment included structured observation of patient education in the therapy process, semi-structured interviews about site needs and patient education topics completed with patients and occupational therapists on staff, and surveys of multi-disciplinary …

Occupation-Based Interventions In Treating Shoulder Pathology In An Outpatient Clinic, Autumn Whitfield

MOT Student Capstones

The following capstone project contains a retrospective case study and a literature review designed to make the reader more aware of occupation-based interventions and investigate the use of occupation-based interventions to treat shoulder pathology in a outpatient clinic. This capstone project includes a chart review to study the possible effects of improving active range of motion and strength using occupation-based interventions verse therapeutic exercises, explain the origin and definition of occupation-based interventions, determine the barriers to using occupation-based interventions in an outpatient clinic, review outcomes by completing a chart review, and consider ways to implement occupatio'1-based interventions in an outpatient …

Internet Based Interventions For Improving Mental Health On College Campuses: A Scoping Review Of Ibis, Caceti Dobrowolski

Honors Theses

BACKGROUND Over the past decade, Internet Based Interventions (IBI) have emerged as a possible mental health approach, reported to reduce cost and provide access to needed services. There is a dearth of literature that clearly defines the scope and components of IBIs and its efficacy. Moreover, little is known about the efficacy of IBI for college students, a population that reportedly underutilizes mental health services.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this scoping review was to assess the efficacy of IBI as a mental health intervention for college students.

METHODS Three databases were used to initially identify 400 studies and through the …