Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Program Development: An Adaptive Sports Program For Children With Disabilities To Promote Occupational Engagement, Haylee Whitehurst

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Very little is known about the correlation between children with disabilities and the benefits of participation in adaptive sports. It is well known what the benefits of sports are for typically developing children. Research shows the need for growth in the adaptive sports area due to the information known about typically developing children. People are often unaware, but people with disabilities are the United States largest minority group and the only group that you can join at any moment (Inclusive Playgrounds, n.d.). According to Inclusive Playgrounds (n.d.), 6.7 million school-age children live with disabilities in the United States. Camp Aldersgate …

Development Of A Vocational Skills Program For An Adult Day Treatment Center, Faith Jones

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Approximately 6.5 million people in the United States have an intellectual disability (Special Olympics, 2020). Worldwide, approximately one percent of the population has an intellectual disability (Mauliket al., 2011). For an individual to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability, they must display significant deficits in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that has an onset prior to 22 years of age. A score below 70 to 75 on an IQ test indicates that an intellectual functioning deficit is present (AAIDD, n.d.). Employment plays a significant role in community engagement and social interaction for many people throughout the world; however, historically, …

Incorporating An Occupational Balance Component Into A Community Physical Education In The Park Youth Program, Chineche Lilian Aniemena

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to incorporate an evidence-based occupational balance component into the “Physical Education (PE) in the Park” program to promote healthy behaviors and weight loss, and prevent obesity.

Victim Identification And Response Protocol Improvement For Human Trafficking Victims In Northeast Arkansas Region, Kylie Long

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The aim of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to improve screening methods and response protocols for victims of human trafficking in educational and medical settings in the Northeast Arkansas region.

Starting With The Soil: An Occupation-Based Agricultural Frame Of Reference, Sadie Beth Masterson

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the current study sought to develop a comprehensive Occupation-Based Agricultural Frame of Reference to increase occupational therapists' knowledge and skills needed to provide adequate services to conventional farmers within a community-based setting to enhance their occupational performance and safety. The frame of reference will also merge the gap between occupational therapists’ knowledge and their ability to understand the “unique person, environment, occupation, and performance dynamic of farmers” to “effectively address the multiple losses that can accrue” when a farmer endures a debilitating injury or chronic condition (Hissong & Wilhite, 2008, p. CE-1).

The Daily Mom: A Public Platform To Enhance Occupational Therapy’S Role And Scope In Supporting Maternal Role Transition, Ashlen Mcrae

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the project was to develop and disseminate a public platform to 1) promote awareness of occupational therapy’s role and scope in supporting role transition and 2) improve overall quality of life for postpartum women. The public platform, The Daily Mom, functions as an educational resource to enhance occupational balance for postpartum mothers.

Making The Most Out Of Mealtime, Melodie Palmer Penn

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to: 1) Educate on the importance of client-centered interventions in the occupation of feeding. 2) Provide evidence-based resources for patients/caregivers, community members, and staff at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital on client-centered interventions incorporating OT principles.

Upper Limb Differences Theory: Achieving Occupational Independence, Elisabeth Carrice Mcdaniel

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The project aims to develop a holistic theory that addresses the occupational needs of individuals with limb differences.

An Occupational Therapy Life Skills Community Reintegration Program For Individuals Recovering From Substance Use Disorder, Hope Smith

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Substance use recovery is a lifelong journey that is difficult to endure. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2020), 40 60% of people with a substance use disorder (SUD) will relapse following a period of sobriety. Within the SUD recovery process, rehabilitation has a primary focus on treatment approaches that lack the component of community reintegration skills needed for sustained sobriety. The primary approaches include the AA 12 step program, counseling techniques, methadone maintenance, and cognitive retraining (Sullivan & Fleming, 2008). Bleiler (2021) suggests that “treatment of SUDs may increase in effectiveness and efficacy when approached through the …

Sensory Strategies: Incorporating Sensory Components Into Connected Foster Care’S Visitation Center, Olivia Stanton

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the doctoral capstone experience is to incorporate an evidenced-based sensory component into Connected Foster Care’s ministry and visitation center through the development of a sensory room, educational database, and screening tool.

Ot In The Picu: Early Mobility And Parent Occupational Engagement In Medically-Fragile Pediatric Patients, Allison Tackett

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the capstone project is to 1) promote the health and wellness of PICU patients by fostering early mobility, and 2) encourage parental occupational engagement with their child in the PICU.

Merging The Gap: Human Trafficking Module And Value-Based Assessment Tool For Health Care Professionals In Northeast Arkansas, Jessica Towell

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project was to develop an educational module and value-based assessment tool for health care professionals to improve human trafficking victim identification in health care settings in Northeast Arkansas. The educational resources will bridge the gap between health care professionals and human trafficking identification–ultimately supporting the health, wellness, and quality of life of victims.

Leadership Styles Of Doctor Of Physical Therapy Program Directors, Dawn Sunshine Brown

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education requires Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program directors to have the necessary academic and professional qualifications to lead their programs, but many directors lack awareness of their leadership styles. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive correlational study was to examine the leadership styles of current DPT program directors within the United States, analyze the relationship between DPT program directors’ self-perceptions of their leadership style and effectiveness, and understand a relationship between leadership styles with race and ethnicity.Methods: Data were collected using the 45-item Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short Leader Form developed by …

Effect Of Simulation Learning On Graduate Student Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Teams And The Team Approach To Care, Norman Cadiz Belleza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to health care reports, more than 250,000 deaths annually are attributed to medical error, prompting interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives as one way to improve healthcare delivery. The problem is that little is known about the effect of simulation learning with standardized patients on occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students’ attitudes toward IPE. The purpose of this causal-comparative study using a pretest–posttest nonequivalent control group design was to investigate the difference in posttest scores on the Students’ Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education—Version 2 (SPICE-R2) between first-term graduate OT and PT students who participated in a simulation and those …

Relationship Between Ethnic Diversity Of Nursing Leadership And Bedside Nursing Engagement, Neneh Iyesha Kamara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethnic diversity in the U.S. nursing workforce had not been well researched. This aspect of nursing is important to the advancement of the profession because ethnic diversity of nursing helps reduce health care disparities. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the possible relationship between the perceived ethnicity of nurse leaders and the engagement of bedside nurses. Culture of care theory was the theoretical foundation for this study. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale with additional demographic questions was used to survey 53 bedside nurses with 2 or more years of experience. Simple regression was used to analyze …

Organizational Commitment As A Mediator Between Organizational Climate And Employee Silence, Jennifer Sherer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unethical organizational behavior negatively impacts organizations, and despite the benefits of whistleblowing, some employees are hesitant to report employee misconduct. The specific research problem examined factors that influence employee silence when confronted with employee misconduct. Prior researchers have explored how organizational climate and organizational commitment can contribute to or inhibit the decision to report misconduct. What remained unclear is how these factors may interact on their influence on employee silence. The purpose of this study was to examine whether organizational commitment mediated the relationship between organizational climate and employee silence. The theoretical foundations for this study were the social information …

Aac Camp As A Pre- And Post- Service Training Model, Joanne Kim

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of participation in an AAC-based day camp as a pre-service training opportunity for students of speech-language pathology and a post-training opportunity for practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Following the conclusion for the most recent iteration of the AAC Academy hosted by the Diagnostic Center of Central California, students and SLPs who volunteered within the past ten years were recruited via email to participate in semi-structured interviews. Upon thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, the following themes were conceptualized: (1) Many volunteers had some interest, if not experience, with AAC prior to …

Spouses Of First Responders: A Narrative Inquiry Of Survival, Recovery And Healing, Jennifer D. Geiger

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The nature of the work of emergency responders (i.e., firefighters, law enforcement, paramedics, and dispatch) includes high stress and direct experiences of traumatic situations. The experience of posttraumatic stress is common. The spouse or significant other is often the first person to see a change in their responder and the person most likely to be sought out for support from the responder, yet there is little support for the spouses or significant others of emergency workers. The purpose of this qualitative study using in-depth interviews and narrative inquiry was to learn about participants’ experiences at the 6-day residential treatment (retreat) …

Maximal Strength In Relation To Force And Velocity Patterns During Countermovement Jumps, Michael H. Haischer, John Krzyszkowski, Stuart Roche, Kristof Kipp

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Maximal strength is important for the performance of dynamic athletic activities, such as countermovement jumps (CMJ). Although measures of maximal strength appear related to discrete CMJ variables, such as peak ground reaction forces (GRF) and center-of-mass (COM) velocity, knowledge about the association between strength and the time series patterns during CMJ will help characterize changes that can be expected in dynamic movement with changes in maximal strength. Purpose: To investigate the associations between maximal strength and GRF and COM velocity patterns during CMJ. Methods: Nineteen female college lacrosse players performed 3 maximal-effort CMJs and isometric midthigh pull. GRF …

Resilience Among Older Adults With Multiple Sclerosis: Pattern And Correlates, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Ariel Kidwell, Rachel E. Bollaert, Robert W. Motl

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

There is an increasing number of older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) who present with significant challenges associated with aging in conjunction with a chronic, disabling disease. Resilience has been associated with healthy aging in the general population, yet there is limited research on resilience and its correlates among older adults with MS. The current study investigated the difference in resilience between older adults with MS and demographically matched healthy controls. We then examined the associations between resilience and functional, symptomatic, socio-behavioral, and QOL outcomes, along with demographic and clinical characteristics, among only older adults with MS. Method: The …