Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Prevalence Of Burnout Among Doctor Of Physical Therapy Faculty, Liana Wooten, Kim Dao, Melissa Burgemeister, Angela Spontelli Gisselman

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Objective: Growing numbers of physical therapy (PT) educational programs (PTEPs) creates a challenge in recruiting and retaining faculty, potentially having negative ramifications for PT education. Burnout may be contributory as it has known physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences in numerous clinical and academic populations, creating widespread negative outcomes. This study aimed to investigate burnout prevalence among PT faculty. Methods: Eligible participants, including current full and part-time PTEP faculty members in the United States with emails listed on public-facing program websites, were emailed study information and a link to the consent and survey. Consenting participants completed a Qualtrics survey consisting of …

Development And Validation Of A Home-Based Exercise Program Integrated With Patient Education Based On The Health Belief Model For Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Amirah Mustapa, Alia Alghwiri, Haidzir Manaf

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a comprehensive approach that integrates an exercise routine with patient education based on the health belief model (HBM) approach to promote effective exercise in this population. Method: A 3-phase study was conducted. In Phase I, two comprehensive scoping reviews were performed to develop the program. An initial draft of the program consisted of exercise protocols and HBM-based education. In Phase II, nine experts were chosen to further develop and refine the program’s content by providing feedback and validating it using the content validity index (CVI) and the Patient Education …

Modified Shuttle Walk Test In Chronic Health Conditions: A Literature Review, Manish Prannath Shukla, Gaurav Chhabra, Ashish Shankarrao Deshmukh Dr

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: The Modified Shuttle Walk Test (MSWT) is widely utilized to assess exercise capacity across various chronic health conditions. This literature review synthesizes evidence from studies evaluating the MSWT's reliability, validity, and clinical applicability in conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, sarcoidosis, obesity, hypertension, and asthma. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across electronic databases for studies published between 2006 and 2022. Eligible studies were assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools. Data extraction focused on study objectives, methods, participants, outcomes, and quality assessment. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. The MSWT demonstrated …

Strategies For Health Literacy Assessment And Patient Education In Athletic Training Practice: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Stephanie R. Toubman, Justin Young, Lindsey E. Eberman, Matthew J. Rivera

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Health literacy plays a vital role in patients’ health and dictates their ability to locate, process, and understand basic health information to make informed decisions. Athletic trainers in the secondary school (SSATs) setting work with patients with varying health literacy levels. The purpose of this study was to explore SSATs' knowledge of health literacy and integration of best practice behaviors for patient education. Methods: A cross-sectional design, web-based survey including demographic, patient education practice behaviors, and health literacy knowledge assessment questions. Practice behavior questions identified techniques, strategies, and educational materials used during patient education. Health literacy knowledge assessment …

Re-Envisioning Throwing Programs For Baseball Pitchers: A Case Report And Literature Review, S. Andrew Cage, Alexander P. Jacobsen, Clayton Hodges, Cassandra Rasmussen, Jon-Michael Cline, Brandon J. Warner, Lynzi K. Warner, Laurel Trail, Ryan Johnson, Matt Schimpf, Pauline Skowron, Robert French, Derek Lege, Nathan Campbell

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

This case report follows the injury presentation and return to pitching of two NCAA Division II baseball pitchers. A literature review is provided to detail the current prevalence and epidemiology related to injuries to the throwing arm of pitchers. The review also outlines current procedures for returning a baseball pitcher to pitching from the mound. The authors discuss key concepts related to progressing previously injured pitchers back to pitching from the mound, while using the two cases presented as exemplars for using the objective, goal oriented, and adaptable interval throwing program developed at the pitchers’ university.

Art, Nature, And Occupational Therapy In The Arctic Circle, Erin Barrus

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Even Edvardsen, a Norwegian occupational therapist and artist, provided the cover art for the Winter 2025 issue of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “Loppa 1” is a 60 x 80 oil on canvas that shares a glimpse into living in the Arctic Circle. It is the first in a series of 10 variations of the island of Loppa, a small island off the coast of Norway, further north of Tromsø. Even’s paintings are what he calls meditations on nature and everyday moments; he invites viewers to slow down and reconnect with the world around them. In today’s fast-paced …

Addressing The Needs Of Jewish Clients And Students Through A Trauma-Informed Approach, Amiya Waldman-Levi, Robin Akselrud, Zahava L. Friedman, Lola Halperin, Shifra K. Leiser, Rivka Molinsky

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The worldwide Jewish community is notoriously nomadic because of persecution and displacement through several millennia. The diasporic experience of global Jewish communities led to traumatic events such as historical expulsion and genocide. These experiences embody all five components of occupational injustice. The recent rise in antisemitism has triggered intergenerational trauma among individuals, families, and communities. This paper, grounded in trauma-based research, aims to guide occupational therapists treating Jewish clients and/or teaching Jewish students. The paper outlines trauma-informed implications for therapist-client collaboration in the context of supporting occupational justice for diverse populations. The distinct role of occupational therapists in effectively serving …

Openness To Critique Is Essential, Brenda L. Beagan, Niki Kiepek, Heidi Lauckner, Paula W. Rushton

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Establishing Reliability And Validity For A Professional Development Tool For Graduate Health Care Programs, Lisa Handler, Amiya Waldman-Levi

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Professional development ensures practitioners develop the necessary skills to succeed in multifaceted clinical roles. To provide evidence-based best practices, health practitioners need to possess critical thinking, executive functioning, and emotional intelligence skills. Study aimed to establish psychometric properties to the Inventory of Professional and Academic Reasoning (IPAR). Two cross-sectional studies of reliability and validity were used. The participants included 139 health profession students, of which 93 students participated in the first study and 46 occupational therapy students participated in the second study. Data were collected online and at fieldwork sites using a background questionnaire, IPAR, Executive Function Index, and the …

From Theory To Practice: Integrating Safe Patient Handling And Mobility Into Occupational Therapy Curriculum (Part 2/2), Kimberly Santorufo, Asha Roy

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy academic institutions continue to teach manual patient handling as the standard of practice despite recent evidence, legislation, and guidelines from the American Occupational Therapy Association on hazards of manual approaches. A paradigm shift is necessary in occupational therapy academic curriculums to include didactic education and hands-on training of safe patient handling and mobility informed approaches. There is currently no standard of practice available in occupational therapy education on how to incorporate safe patient handling and mobility into preexisting curriculum, which emphasizes manual patient handling as the standard of care. The guidelines presented offer academic institutions recommendations on how …

From Theory To Practice: Integrating Safe Patient Handling And Mobility Into Occupational Therapy Curriculum (Part 1/2), Kimberly Santorufo, Asha Roy

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists are at high-risk of musculoskeletal injury because of the manual and physical demands of job-related tasks. Many occupational therapists are sustaining injuries or changing careers because of an injury. Safe patient handling and mobility approaches should be used in occupational therapy practice to ensure the safety of both patient and therapist while assisting patients in meeting occupation-based and patient-centered goals. However, despite legislation, guidelines from the American Occupational Therapy Association, and recent evidence, most occupational therapy academic programs and educators continue to teach manual patient handling as the standard of practice. To ensure safety, longevity, and career-retention, academic …

Professional Behaviors As Forced Assimilation: A Critical Reflection On The U.S. History Of Education And Beyond, Quinn P. Tyminski, Karla Reese, Linn Wakeford

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Historically, education has been used as a mechanism of assimilation for marginalized identities in the United States, demanding conformity to the dominant culture and society. The occupational therapy (OT) profession is not immune and must examine and understand how our educational systems have erected and maintained barriers designed to exclude people from historically minoritized communities through the lens of professional behaviors. Professionalism and professional behaviors are not well-defined constructs in OT, and there is significant variability among educational institutions in how professional behavior standards are written, communicated, and applied. There is significant inconsistency across OT educational programs in the US …

An Academic Self-Regulation Program For First-Generation Students In Occupational Therapy: A Preexperimental Study, Pola Ham

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

First-generation students at U.S. universities have lower academic performance than their continuing-generation counterparts. They also have a lower level of academic self-regulation and academic self-efficacy. Bandura’s social cognition theory and Zimmerman’s self-regulation theory were used as theoretical frameworks to guide an intervention program relating to self-efficacy and self-regulation. A pretest and posttest survey measured changes in the participants’ use of the academic self-regulatory strategies and level of confidence in using those strategies. An open-ended questionnaire provided a detailed account of the participants’ lived experiences of the program. The researcher-facilitator designed an academic self-regulation program using Zimmerman’s (1998) self-regulated learning framework …

Comprehensive Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema Management Programs Addressing Both Psychosocial And Physical Needs: A Scoping Review, Amanda Wheeler, Claudine Campbell, Chenchen Cui

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of female cancer worldwide, which can lead to many negative sequelae, with up to a third of women developing breast cancer-related lymphedema. Breast cancer-related lymphedema requires chronic maintenance and is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes compared to women without lymphedema. Occupational therapists are well-positioned to address the complex needs of women with breast cancer-related lymphedema. This review aimed to identify existing research that reports outcomes of lymphedema management programs addressing both physical and mental health needs of women with breast cancer-related lymphedema.

Method: A scoping review was conducted …

Linking The International Classification Of Functioning, Disability And Health (Icf) To Occupational Therapy Skilled Nursing Home Interventions, Janel Anne Belarmino, Laura Novak, Vanessa D. Jewell

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Rehabilitation practitioners use the ICF as a framework to guide clinical decision-making, demonstrate the focus of interventions, and bridge interprofessional communication. The aim of this study was to examine occupational therapy interventions implemented with older adults for short term rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities and link the interventions to the ICF.

Method: Through secondary analysis of previously collected field notes of skilled nursing facility occupational therapy interventions, the researchers linked 60 interventions to 133 third level ICF categories.

Results: Of the 133 categories, 62% (n = 82) were linked to Activities and Participation, 23% (n = 31) were …

The Lived Experience Of Therapists During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study Using Photovoice Methodology, Alison De La Montaigne, Catana Brown, Sarah A. Anderson, Tamara Turner

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: A qualitative phenomenological design using photovoice methodology for collecting data was used (Wang & Burris, 1997). The study participants included twelve therapists. Using photovoice methodology, the participants used a picture to represent their experience and wrote an accompanying narrative to address the question, “How has COVID-19 impacted your life?” Thematic analysis was used to code and develop themes for the participant photovoices and the virtual focus group transcripts (Braun & Clark, 2006). Zoom was used as the virtual platform for the virtual …

An Occupational Therapy Work-Self-Efficacy Intervention For Lgbtq+ Young People In Transitional Housing, Emily K. Simpson, Monika I. Robinson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) young people who are unhoused experience barriers transitioning into adult roles and responsibilities which negatively impacts workforce participation.

Methods: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the impact of a work self-efficacy intervention on self-efficacy and goal attainment in LGBTQ+ young people at a transitional living facility (TLF). Nine residents and three staff participated in this convergent mixed methods design investigating a work intervention.

Results: The total median score on the General Self-Efficacy Scale (p = 0.042) and the Work Self-Efficacy Scale (p = 0.043) …

How Acute Care And Inpatient Occupational Therapists Describe Their Experiences With Secondary Traumatic Stress, Julie Suto, Ashley E. Lane, Rocio Torres, Emily K. Simpson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The primary purpose of this research was to explore how occupational therapists in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation settings describe their experiences of secondary traumatic stress (STS).

Methods: Researchers used a convergent parallel mixed methods design. Electronic surveys (n = 181) and qualitative data collection through interviews (n = 6) and a focus group (n = 3) were used. Qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Both data sets were compared to identify patterns.

Results: Five main categories were identified: (a) supports to worker role, (b) barriers to worker role, (c) …

A Multisensory, Interdisciplinary Approach To Visual Neglect For Enhancement Of Visual Attention Following Basal Ganglia Hemorrhage: A Case Report, Leah G. Allan

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: This case report provides a review of the medical background and inpatient rehabilitation course of a 41-year-old female presenting with right basal ganglia hematoma in the setting of hypertension and polysubstance use. Emphasis is placed on analysis and discussion of the interdisciplinary, multisensory therapy approaches used to address her visual neglect and homonymous hemianopia.

Method: Single-patient case report

Results: On the Disability Rating Scale, the patient’s score improved from a Day 16 score of 10 to a Day 58 score of 7. On the Modified Barthel Index, her performance improved from a Day 16 score of …

Psychosocial Occupational Therapy Interventions For Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review, Sabina Khan, Christianah Edema

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: We aimed to examine the psychosocial interventions used by occupational therapists in managing pediatric TBI, and to identify unique psychosocial needs in this population.

Methods: The scoping review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework. Four databases were searched for relevant studies namely: Embase (Elsevier), Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Library, and PsycNet. Included studies were studies written in English reporting on psychosocial interventions for pediatric TBI by occupational therapists and/or the psychosocial needs of children with TBI.

Results: The search identified 13 relevant studies published from 2006 to 2020. Multiple psychosocial interventions were pinpointed in these studies, …