Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Generalized Joint Hypermobility And Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Biomechanics In Female Athletes, Christopher F. Geiser

Dissertations (1934 -)

Generalized Joint Hypermobility (GJH), in lay terms being “double-jointed”, affects 5 to 43 percent of the general population. In severe forms, GJH impacts systems across the body, with cardiovascular, ocular, and musculoskeletal effects that can be quite debilitating. Most of the literature examining GJH is in this severely impacted group of people. However less severe forms of GJH are present in the athlete population in the same proportions, and athletes with GJH are more likely to be injured while participating in activities. They also experience greater time-loss injuries while participating in athletic activities. The movement biomechanics of those with severe …

Therashield, Llc A Company Designing Products To Increase Comfort And Maintain Skin Integrity, Alissa Remijan

Capstone Projects

TheraShield, LLC is a company producing products designed to increase comfort and maintain skin integrity while utilizing an unweighted harness system. TheraShield, LLC developed the product Harness Mates, which increase the surface area of contact points between the harness and skin reducing friction and shear, resulting in decreased risk of wounds and increased comfort for the client, as well as improved tolerance to time spent in the harness, allowing for an improved therapeutic response. Harness Mates come in 4 different sizes (long, wide, thick, narrow) to increase the versatility of usage. Harness Mates are designed to be impermeable, allowing to …

Creating Opportunity For The Homeless Population To Engage In Meaningful Occupations, Jada S. Toliver

Capstone Projects

Creating an opportunity for the homeless population to learn life skills, and improve their engagement in meaningful occupations is critical in helping people reintegrate back into the community. Through the development of Life Skills workshops the homeless population could learn appropriate life skills, receive education and advocate for their basic needs to be met. The needs addressed were increasing participation in occupations such as work, socialization, leisure activities, and promoting the importance of maintaining their health. The objectives were: (1) developing professional reasoning skills through scholarly exploration, (2) achieving greater resiliency by implementing goal attainment scaling, (3) utilizing evidence based …

Exploring And Implementing Evidence-Based Educational Approaches In An Entry-Level Doctoral Occupational Therapy Program, Hannah Schultheiss

Capstone Projects

As occupational therapy programs begin to shift from entry-level Master’s to Doctorate curriculum, progressing the rigor accordingly while holding true to the field’s occupational roots remains a crucial consideration. At a private university in the Midwest, faculty were working against time constraints while building an entry-level doctoral occupational therapy program from the ground up and sought to establish a healthy, professional culture between faculty and students. This capstone experience and project addressed these goals by exploring the role and expectations of working as an educator in the program. Learning experiences were centered upon developing content related to pediatric and adolescent …

An Accessible Garden For Cds: Facilitating Participation, Building Skills, And Raising Awareness, Kelyn Rae Sckrabulis

Capstone Projects

The concentration area for this doctoral capstone experience (DCE) was program development, which occurred at the Community Connection Skill Building. This site provides services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Research has found that individuals with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities often face barriers to community participation which can lead to poor health outcomes, engagement in more sedentary activities, and a reduction in quality of life. Participation in garden-based activities can promote health and wellbeing and establish a sense of purpose within the community. A needs assessment at the DCE site revealed the need for additional programs that provide community …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between Occupational Therapy And Dentistry For Autistic Patients And Sensory Processing Differences, Mallory Fox

Capstone Projects

Dental care is the most frequently cited unmet healthcare need for children with special needs (Cermak et al., 2015). Given the increased research linking oral health to overall health, it is important to ensure that dental care is accessible to all individuals. Oral hygiene and health management are both occupations included in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (4th ed). Combined with the unique training of an occupational therapist in sensory processing and environmental adaptations, the profession of occupational therapy has an important role in addressing the availability of dental care for those with disabilities.

The aim of my doctoral capstone …

The Benefits Of An Occupational Therapy Lens Within A Gymnastics Center To Promote Greater Inclusivity And Cohesion In Classes, Kimberly Ortiz

Capstone Projects

Inclusive programming has become more prevalent in many occupational pursuits for children, including that of leisure pursuits, or activities that a child engages in during their free time as they bring a sense of purpose and/or reward (Woodmansee et al., 2016). A major leisure pursuit of young children is organized sports and one that has demonstrated benefits for kids of all abilities and is growing in popularity is gymnastics (Gitimoghaddam et al., 2019; Mak & Cheung, 2018; Campain, 2014). While the benefits of participating in an inclusive gymnastics program are high for all children involved, the most benefits will be …

Substance Use Disorder: Parent Support Group, Alexandra Superson

Capstone Projects

The focus of this 14-week capstone project revolved around program development and implementation of a parent support group through Wedgwood Christian Services for parents who are raising adolescents who were struggling with substance use disorder (SUD). Very little is known regarding interventions available to support affected parents to cope with the high stress that comes with navigating the waters of raising a teenager with SUD. The purpose of this project was to improve mental health, family dynamics, and overall quality of life for the affected parents who attended the support group once a week for four weeks. Evidence of stress …

Occupational Therapy's Role In Medication Management With The Corewell Health System, Anthony Genna

Capstone Projects

Gap: Corewell Health lacked a competency program to assess their occupational therapist ability to provide medication management services. The occupational therapist required an educational resource to support the use of the Pill-Box Test. Additional resources were needed to identify evidence-based interventions and documentation tips to aid with reimbursement of services. The patient education library required a resource to highlight strategies to support clients in reaching their medication management goals.

Objective: To standardize practice of medication management services including evaluation, intervention, and documentation of outcomes for occupational therapy patients at Corewell health.

Outcomes: The health system was equipped with a medication …

Outdoor Community Based Rehabilitation Program Development, Dylan Pritel

Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone paper is to promote Outdoor Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) as an adjunctive therapeutic approach to traditional treatment for rehabilitation professionals working in outpatient settings. The primary objective of this project was to create a comprehensive program proposal for an Outdoor CBR program for patients receiving outpatient services at Oroville Hospital. It included creating program activities, a patient referral process, identifying possible community partners, locating applicable grants, determining program staffing, as well as creating a workable budget, which included overall activity costs, staffing costs, equipment costs and reimbursement procedures. (See appendix A and B) The program …

Program Development Of Meaningful Work For Those With Brain Injury: A Doctoral Capstone Experience, Alyssa Mckenna

Capstone Projects

In the United States there were 18,557 people diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) with 49% of those injuries being caused by vehicular crashes in 2021 (Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center, 2021). Those who suffer from these injuries often struggle to maintain jobs due to the symptoms resulting from the TBI’s. Vocational rehabilitation programs have been created to address the skills necessary to participate in the work environment. Vocational rehabilitation is a specialized area of occupational therapy. Recent changes have been made to Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance policy that has created a gap between this …

Advocating For Occupational Therapy At The Systemic Level, Alyssa Schwartz

Capstone Projects

The future of occupational therapy, a commonly misunderstood and underutilized profession, is largely influenced by advocacy at the systemic level. The following capstone project was completed at the American Occupational Therapy Association with the federal advocacy department. The capstone site mentor, Abe Saffer, is a lobbyist who mainly works on workforce, mental health, and school-based occupational therapy issues. Throughout this project, the capstone student advocated for occupational therapy and those that occupational therapy serves through legislation, networking, and by facilitating the development of OTP advocates. Additionally, the student acquired skills to continue to advocate for herself, the clients she works …

An Occupational Therapist's Role As A Prospective Payment System Coordinator And Identifying Patient Trends In An Inpatient Rehab Center, Autumn Idalski

Capstone Projects

This capstone experience explores the role of a Prospective Payment System (PPS) Coordinator within an inpatient rehabilitation setting and how the skills of an occupational therapist qualify the profession to contribute to the success of a PPS team. A literature review revealed the importance of non-traditional education placements within the occupational therapy curriculum to provide well-rounded experiences to students to leverage their professional careers. A needs assessment revealed a need to identify patient outcome trends within different Rehabilitation Impairment Categories at the capstone site. Objectives for this capstone experience and project include gaining competence in reviewing patient charts within the …

Occupational Therapy In A Daytime Homeless Shelter Setting, Ruth Erin Garcia

Capstone Projects

Occupational therapy (OT) is an allied health profession that works with individuals on improving their engagement and performance in meaningful occupations. This doctoral capstone project (DCE) was completed at Ministry with Community (MwC), a daytime shelter and resource center. There is emerging but limited literature regarding the role of OT working within a homeless shelter setting. Additionally, individuals experiencing homelessness are at risk for occupational injustice, or restriction to engagement in meaningful life activities.

The primary goal of this DCE was to improve engagement in meaningful occupations. The focus was program development with a secondary focus on advocacy. The objectives …

Service Gap In Kalamazoo County: Establishing A Reimbursable, Child-Led Multidisciplinary Feeding Tube-Weaning Protocol, Piper Friend

Capstone Projects

I partnered with the feeding team at Bronson Methodist Hospital (BMH) including outpatient pediatric occupational therapy, gastroenterologists, and dietitians to implement an evidence-based tube-weaning guideline for tube-dependent infant and pediatric patients. There is limited research in the area of tube-weaning and therefore limited national standards and guidelines to support clinicians and families going through this process. Current options for feeding tube-weaning services for Kalamazoo residents include traveling to Helen DeVos’s Intensive Feeding Program in Grand Rapids which places a heavy emphasis on behavioral intervention. This does not support the autonomy of the child or support the holistic occupation of feeding. …

Resident Reported Changes To Social Engagement And Quality Of Life Due To Increased Physical Activity Within A Senior Living Facility, Sydney Leroy

Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE) was to see if regular participation in an exercise program could promote positive changes in social engagement and overall quality of life for older adults residing in an independent or assisted living facility. A standardized assessment and interview were completed with each participating resident before and after a 6-week exercise program to assess any changes in social engagement and quality of life. As a result, recruitment for this study and overall resident participation increased by advertising new and existing exercise classes throughout the senior living facility. In addition to the already scheduled …

Occupational Therapy's Impact Utilizing Trauma-Informed Care With At-Risk Youth, Kerri Lindeman

Capstone Projects

The 14-week capstone experience aimed to advocate and implement occupational therapy (OT) alongside a non-profit organization serving at-risk youth while utilizing trauma-informed care (TIC) approach. Alongside various staff and volunteers, this capstone project focused on aiding underserved children in a variety of age-specific after-school programs. This specific population of youth have limited resources at home. The families in the community have limitations with basic needs including food, water, and shelter. The organization was able to fulfill these basic needs along with activities to meet the developmental needs of each child. Due to their minimal resources, the children also have limited …

Efficacy Of Using Virtual Reality To Reduce Perceived Exertion During Therapy When Compared To Traditional Ot Intervention, Luke Lee

Capstone Projects

This project looked at the differences in perceived and actual exertion in virtual reality therapy interventions and upper extremity ergometer. The goal of this project was to quantify the efficacy of virtual reality interventions as an alternative to more traditional upper extremity interventions. This project wanted to address the lack of research focused on perceived exertion in virtual reality interventions. The student objectives focused on conducting research, familiarizing oneself with the use of virtual reality in the in-patient setting, and dissemination of the results. This study found that there was no significant difference in perceived exertion scores, changes in heart …

Integrating Occupational Therapy Strategies In Autism Community Programs, Danielle Daoud

Capstone Projects

The purpose of this 14-week Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE) was to implement Occupational Therapy (OT) strategies into already existing Autism community programs. The capstone project took place at The Joanne and Ted Lindsay Foundation Autism Outreach Services (OUCARES) under the mentorship of Kristin Rohrbeck, M.A., Director of OUCARES. This project’s concentration area was in program and policy development, and although these programs were already established, there was a need for Occupational Therapy based strategies and recommendations to further enhance them. OUCARES offers a wide variety of programs focused on everyday life skills for individuals with Autism of all ages, along …

Disability Advocates Of Kent County (Dakc) Consumer Follow-Up For Aging In Place, Bianca Cordova

Capstone Projects

Disability Advocates of Kent County (DAKC) is a non-profit organization with an occupational therapy (OT) department that aims to keep primarily community-dwelling, low-income, older adults safe and independent in their home. The organization provides home assessments which identifies the barriers and supports for daily activities within the home. After the home assessment evaluation, adaptive equipment and/or home modification recommendations are provided. Literature supports the restorative approach DAKC uses to facilitate aging in place. There was a lack of quantitative and qualitative evidence on how consumers were aging in place post-intervention. This capstone project focused on creating a pilot follow-up program …