Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

The Effect Of Balance-Based Torso-Weighting On Mobility, Gait, Balance, Postural Control, And Falls Efficacy In Mobility Limited Older Adults, Jennifer L. Vincenzo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercise is a known intervention to prevent fall risk among older adults; however, adherence is poor. Therefore, it is of interest to determine if other interventions improve function and decrease fall risk among older adults. Balance-Based Torso-Weighting (BBTW) is a non-exercise intervention that improves functional measures among adults with multiple sclerosis, yet the effectiveness of BBTW has not been assessed among older adults without progressive neurological disorders. We conducted a double-blind, randomized study to analyze the effect of BBTW on functional measures and falls efficacy among community-dwelling, mobility limited older adults after 5 days of wearing BalanceWear® for 4 hours …

Productions Of Metalinguistic Awareness By Young Children With Sli And Typical Language, Lucy E. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to: (1) determine if differences exist between children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) compared to age-matched (AM) and language- matched (LM) children with typical language development (TL) in rates and proportions of five types of metalinguistic productions and (2) test theories of metalinguistic production. Forty-five children, 24 with TL and 21 with SLI, paired for age or language level, formed two groups. Previously collected data from two studies of verb learning (Proctor-Williams & Fey, 2007; Proctor- Williams, unpublished) were analyzed for rates and types of metalinguistic productions. Results yielded no within or between group significant differences in …

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction And Transcendental Meditation: Current State Of Research, Adam Holt

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

This article summarizes the current state of meditation research, specifically focusing on mindfulness-based stress reduction and transcendental meditation. Despite significant methodological problems with the studies reported to date on the subject, there is consistent evidence that meditation can produce changes in the nervous system and physiology of the meditator, and can help with various psychological markers of well-being. Regarding improvement in specific clinical diseases, research is generally mixed and preliminary. Strong recommendations cannot be made based on current evidence, and further studies are needed. In general, there is a stronger body of evidence supporting mindfulness-based stress reduction than for transcendental …

An Education Saved My Life: Silver Wolf’S Path To Promise, David Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya)

Books and Monographs

In An Education Saved My Life, Professor David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv unegv Waya) narrates his path from a difficult early family life, his introduction to alcohol and drugs as an adolescent, and a directionless early adulthood overshadowed by chemical dependency, to a series of events and encounters that transformed his life. Dr. Patterson Silver Wolf attributes not only the substance abuse, but the many turns that led to it, to what he calls a “poor belief system.” As the title suggests, by contrast, he attributes much of the success he has experienced since then to his education, but …

Teaching Body Awareness To Students With Visual Impairments And Additional Disabilities, Vicki Depountis, Phoebe Okungu, Tracy Hallak, Jennifer Taylor

Bright Ideas Conference

Body awareness, spatial awareness, and positional language, are essential elements of orientation and mobility (O&M). Typically developing students usually learn these concepts and skills incidentally as they interact with various environments. Students with visual impairments and/or multiple disabilities must be deliberately taught these concepts using research-based strategies. Routine-based learning, integration of music, picture and tactile communication, and physical and verbal guidance have been shown to enhance learning by students with visual impairments and/or multiple disabilities. When these strategies are incorporated into individually designed structured movement routines (SMRs), students are more likely to anticipate movements and connect language to corresponding O&M …

Participants' Perceptions Of Factors In Preventing Falls, Jaclyn Fok

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Falls pose a serious threat to older adults, often resulting in physical, emotional, and financial consequences. The use of multifactorial fall prevention programs has provided community- dwelling older adults with strategies to decrease the risk of falling. Outcomes for these programs are measured in terms of such factors as fear of falling, balance and self-efficacy. One outcome of fall prevention programs that is less well understood is what the older adults themselves perceive as most beneficial. For this program evaluation project, five women participated in semi-structured interviews to understand which aspects of a multifactorial fall prevention program they found to …

Interprofessional Collaboration Between Occupational Therapists And Registered Nurses In Acute Care Settings: An Exploratory Study, Vincent P. O'Brien, Bethany Loy, Kelly Nguyen, Holly Micheff

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Background. Collaboration between occupational therapists and nurses is key to a positive prognosis for their patients. Currently, there is a gap in the research on professional relationships between occupational therapists and registered nurses in acute care settings. Purpose. To examine interprofessional collaboration between registered nurses and occupational therapy in an acute care setting. Methods. A phenomenological, qualitative design with use of semi-structured interviews was used. Interviewees were four occupational therapists and four registered nurses who currently work in acute care settings in Northern California and were recruited through a snowball, convenience and purposive sampling. Themes and subthemes …

Acl Injuries In Female Athletes, Leslie A. Mesa

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament has been studied in many different ways and become injured more with the increase in sports participation by both male and female athletes. “ACL injuries are 9x more common in female athletes than male athletes and over 1.4 million women have been suffered from the ACL rupture which is twice the rate of the previous decade” (Hewett, 2010). ACL injuries are known to occur more in females than males because of differences in anatomy, knee alignment, muscle strength, and conditioning. Since female athletes are more prone to injury, it is important to incorporate neuromuscular training to …

Inclusion Of Seniors In The Design Of Assistive Technology, Margaret Rusnak

Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education Conference (2015)

Assistive technology helps many older adults complete essential tasks, thus providing them a means to remain functionally independent within their communities. However, many older adults either reject the use of devices or misunderstand their intention. The gap between design and need may be bridged through the active participation of elders in the design process. Previous studies have focused on older persons’ attitudes toward adopting new technology, emphasizing how to promote and maintain usage. Recent research reveals the necessity of including older adults in the design, research, and application of assistive technology in an effort to meet the real needs of …

Oral Wellness: Using Occupational Therapy To Enhance Oral Hygiene Delivery In Long-Term Care, Lauryn J. Banovitz, Liberty Bellah, Rosemarie Lion

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Based on current literature, oral health in long-term care (LTC) facilities is frequently of low priority and does not follow evidence-based best practices. Poor oral health reduces the quality of life of older adult patients and can lead to systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and pneumonia which is the leading cause of death in LTC. Occupational therapists can play an instrumental role as oral care consultants, and educators to raise the standards of oral care in LTC facilities.

This capstone project explored ways in which occupational therapy can improve oral care in LTC facilities. The proposed solution was …

Re-Injury Anxiety & Return-To-Sport Outcomes In College Students, Megan C. Callen

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

When athletes are injured, they are faced with the initial injury stage, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and then the return-to-sport. When athletes have a negative outlook, they are less likely to recover from the injury at the proposed date of return-to-sport, take a longer span of time to recover, and have higher levels of stress and anxiety. Wadey, Podlog, Hall, Hamson-Utley, Hicks-Little, & Hammer, (2014) examined the dimensions of reinjury anxiety and found athletes with greater reinjury anxiety were in denial of the severity of their injury by wishing things would get better and had a greater focus on their distress. …

The Elements Of Healing And Wellness Post Diagnosis Of Cancer: A Review Of The Literature And A Personal Account, Tiffany Bystra

Honors Theses

Being diagnosed with cancer is an earth-shaking experience that can break even the most strong and stable of individuals. Thoughts of uncertainty and anxiety are commonly experienced for those having been diagnosed, and when one’s health is compromised, nothing else seems to matter except becoming healthy and well again. This honors thesis deeply investigates my personal experiences being a recent cancer survivor in conjunction with reviewing the research and literature to investigate how one can promote their healing and wellness through holistic means despite going through medical treatments that are physically, emotionally, and spiritually taxing on every level. A thorough …

Cross-Cultural And Inter-Professional Knowledge Translation Of Developmentally Supportive Care In An Indian Nicu, Amy Carroll, Otd, Otr/L, Susan Toth-Cohen, Phd, Otr/L

Department of Occupational Therapy Posters and Presentations

Synopsis:

A cross-cultural, and inter-professional NICU Team, including an American OT, used knowledge translation (KT) frameworks to apply current global evidence in developmentally supportive care in ways that were useful, cost effective, and meaningful to the families and staff in their tertiary care NICU setting in Gurgaon, India. The team used Pre & Post videotaping of routine care and procedures to measure the change in practice.

Objectives

1. Increase NICU nurses’ use of DSC during routine care and procedures

2. Decrease the use of non-supportive behaviors

Embedding Mindfulness Practice In Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Education Program: Experiences And Outcomes, Mary Muhlenhaupt, Otd, Otr/L, Faota, Shelly Wallock, Dr.P.H., Otr/L

Department of Occupational Therapy Posters and Presentations

Objective:

To embed mindfulness practice into an entry-level occupational therapy curriculum and assess outcomes to reduce student stress and promote well-being.