46033 research outputs found
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A Chance to Get Clean (Everything)
No full textThree troops take the chance to bathe in the river. Title taken from photographer\u27s original album.https://commons.und.edu/infantry-photos/1098/thumbnail.jp
Altar at Guadalcanal
No full textA makeshift religious altar placed near the cemetery. Made from wood panels and steel pipes. Title taken from photographer\u27s original album.https://commons.und.edu/infantry-photos/1090/thumbnail.jp
A Little Lawn Party
No full textA collection of unknown individuals bide their free time in the shade in the yard of a small house. Title taken from photographer\u27s original album.https://commons.und.edu/infantry-photos/1163/thumbnail.jp
OCCUPATIONAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH HARM REDUCTION
Get PDFPurpose: Individuals who have experienced homelessness face higher risks of physical disabilities, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders (SUD), which often co-occur, compared to the general population (Mosel, 2024; Parker & Scaffa, 2020; SAMHSA, 2023a). Due to past experiences and unmanaged chronic conditions, substance use, and negative health behaviors are common. The high prevalence of SUD, mental illness, and chronic health conditions in this group severely affects their ability to engage in daily activities, influencing overall health and well-being (Marshall et al., 2020a). While complete abstinence is often deemed ideal, it can be unrealistic for this population. Harm reduction seeks to mitigate the negative consequences of substance use and adverse health behaviors. The occupational therapy profession is uniquely positioned to demonstrate effective harm-reduction strategies and approaches across various occupations. This project aimed to educate professionals on effective harm-reduction methods in practice across diverse settings, broadening its application to more populations.
Method: A needs assessment was conducted that included a literature review, skilled observation, and collaboration with a local community agency. Current practices were analyzed, and the Ecology Model of Human Performance (EHP) was utilized to identify barriers to implementing harm reduction approaches (Dunn et al., 1994). Non-traditional harm reduction approaches were reviewed, trialed in a permanent supportive housing setting, and organized for dissemination.
Results: To assist various professionals in implementing harm reduction strategies, a toolkit was developed that includes introductory knowledge, facilitator considerations, and harm reduction approaches throughout the occupational therapy (OT) process.
Conclusions: The toolkit developed provides a valuable resource for members of interdisciplinary teams to better understand harm reduction approaches and their practical application when working with clients. Ongoing discussions and resources focused on harm reduction approaches related to other health risk behaviors are necessary to expand its use among different populations
A HOLISTIC PROGRAM MANUAL FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING: INTEGRATING HOUSING FIRST AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY APPROACHES
Get PDFBackground: Individuals experiencing chronic homelessness often face complex challenges including trauma, mental health conditions, and barriers to daily living. While permanent supportive housing provides long-term housing with supportive services, gaps exist in resources tailored for both residents and residential support staff. Many existing permanent supportive housing programs emphasize behavioral or mental health approaches, with fewer addressing the full range of occupational participation needs. Occupational therapy, with its holistic and client-centered perspective, offers a valuable lens to enhance service delivery in permanent supportive housing.
Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop two compatible tools–a Permanent Supportive Housing Residential Services Staff Manual and a Tenant Handbook–to enhance stability, autonomy, and engagement among individuals in permanent supportive housing. Grounded in the ecology of human performance model and Housing First philosophy, these products were designed to provide practical guidance to staff and accessible resources to tenants.
Methodology: The products were developed through an ongoing literature review, fieldwork-based observations, and informal stakeholder input. The ecology of human performance model served as the primary theoretical framework, offering a structure for evaluating how environmental, personal, and task-related factors affect occupational performance of tenants and staff. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 4th ed. (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020) informed topic selection, especially for the tenant handbook, ensuring coverage of key daily living and health management areas. A needs assessment helped clarify content priorities, and iterative revisions allowed the materials to evolve in response to emerging insights.
Results: Site mentors reported that the materials aligned closely with the vision for PSH expansion. Staff reported learning from the manual and expressed interest in using the handbook with tenants. The staff manual filled a gap in training and documentation tools, while the tenant handbook empowered residents to explore daily living skills independently and without stigma.
Conclusion: This project demonstrates the value of integrating occupational therapy into PSH programming. The two products complement one another and respond to the needs of both staff and tenants. Their development reinforced the need for tools that support both service providers and recipients, while highlighting occupational therapy’s unique contribution to addressing functional, contextual, and environmental barriers in housing
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BEST PRACTICES IN MATERNAL HEALTH
Get PDFBackground: Maternal mortality and morbidity rates have been steadily increasing in the United States due to health disparities, inadequate care, and lack of recognition of maternal health service gaps. Additionally, interdisciplinary care provided after birth often emphasizes the infant shifting focus away from the mother which impacts health and recovery during the postpartum period. Despite a wide range of maternal health services provided in the acute care setting, inclusion and referrals to occupational therapy are often lacking. Further, occupational therapists play an emerging role in maternal health that is frequently misunderstood and insufficiently recognized.
Purpose: The goal of this project was to fill maternal health comprehensive services gaps by expanding occupational therapy’s role in the acute postpartum period. The objectives were to increase awareness of OT’s role in maternal health, improve access to therapeutic intervention during the postpartum period, and enhance practitioner understanding of therapeutic processes for postpartum recovery. The goal and objectives were created to promote the integration of occupational therapy into the maternal health interprofessional team.
Methods: A literature review and on-site needs assessment were performed to determine population needs and product purpose. The Ecology of Human Performance [EHP] model was utilized to guide the literature review, needs assessment, and guide development processes. The interprofessional collaboration component of EHP was also integrated throughout the product to increase usability. Additionally, the occupational therapy lens was used as a guide to develop the product’s multiple sections.
Results & Outcomes: Enhancing Maternal Health: A Guide to Integrating Occupational Therapy was created to increase occupational therapy referrals in the acute postpartum population. Intended use is a resource for maternal healthcare professionals to recognize occupational therapy’s role in maternal health. Additionally, this guide outlines the occupational therapy acute postpartum therapeutic process to promote therapists’ service competence in maternal health. This informational guide provides the framework for increasing occupational therapy referrals to support postpartum health and wellness through therapeutic evaluation and intervention
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY’S ROLE IN WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX MEDICAL NEEDS
No full textBackground: Children with medical complexity (CMC) spend a lot of time in various medical facilities due to their conditions. One of the medical facilities available to families in the Midwest is a respite and hospice home for medically complex children. There are only three other homes like this in the United States. Due to symptoms of their conditions, functional limitations in skill development, and decreased opportunities to engage in the occupation of play, these children can experience occupational deprivation and decreased quality of life. At this specific respite and hospice home, there are many volunteers who sacrifice their time to come and play with the children, but many said during the experience that they did not know how to adapt play to make it more accessible and engaging for these kids.
Purpose: Let’s P.L.A.Y.: Promote Laughter, Adventure, and Young Learning was created to decrease occupational deprivation in the CMC population, increase confidence in those working with kids with varying abilities, increase the role of occupational therapy with the CMC population, and directly address the occupation of play in this setting. The play system was designed to be user-friendly for the intended stakeholders, the volunteers. The end goal of this project is to increase the quality of life for the CMC population through expanding the occupation of play. The project helps address these areas by providing readily available play activities with important information from the lens of occupational therapy, such as steps, environmental set-up, adaptive equipment, activity modification, and basic facilitation techniques.
Methodology: The Person, Environment, Occupation (PEO) model was used to guide the research and development of this scholarly project. A thorough literature review was completed to get an understanding of the CMC population, the conditions they have, their healthcare needs, the role of occupational therapy with this population, and occupational performance for CMC. The transactions between the person, environment, and occupation are inevitable and must support one another to best suit overall occupational performance.
Conclusion: This scholarly project was created to address the need to expand the occupation of play at the respite and hospice home where this project took place, increase volunteer confidence when working with CMC, and provide basic facilitation techniques from the lens of occupational therapy to make play more individualized to the needs, interests, and abilities of each child. The long-term goal of this project is to decrease occupational deprivation and increase the quality of life for the CMC population
Telephone Girl, Song Lyrics, undated
No full textSong lyrics for Telephone Girl by Bill Gessner. Five sheets of paper consisting of typed lyrics, along with guitar cords on the right side of the pages. The song has references about calling up a telephone girl and a possible relationship. The song states about the urges to call the telephone girl in the following lyrics:
Gettin’ the urge, feelin’ a surgeTo call up my telephone girlI’m on the verge of a verbal purgeSo I call up my telephone girlhttps://commons.und.edu/gessner-lyrics/1015/thumbnail.jp
Disillusioned Downbeat, Song Lyrics, undated
No full textSong lyrics for Disillusioned Downbeat by Bill Gessner. Two pages on one sheet of paper. One side includes typed lyrics, and the other side is a copied page of Civil Disobedience. The song follows a character who Gessner refers to as a disillusioned downbeat and makes several references to events/topics from the late 1970s, such as the discotheque and the Vietnam War.https://commons.und.edu/gessner-lyrics/1010/thumbnail.jp
Congolese Refugee Narratives Of Belonging, Grief, And Cultural Continuity In Appalachia
Get PDFThis research examines the communicative challenges that Congolese refugees face after resettlement, particularly as they strive to reconstruct a sense of belonging in the United States that reflects their experiences in either their home country or secondary countries where they endured protracted displacement in refugee camps. Narrative qualitative research methods were used to conduct interviews with five Congolese refugees in Appalachia. Through qualitative thematic and lexical analysis derived from the interviews, the study reveals patterns of linguistic isolation, community continuity, and emotional displacement. A key finding is that participants often conceptualize community not as a geographic entity, but as an intracultural one. Despite years in the U.S., many participants continue to rely exclusively on pre-resettlement cultural networks and maintain minimal interaction with the host society. Furthermore, the curated narratives derived from the interviews demonstrate that grief and death become pivotal points for both hardship and the affirmation of communal support during the resettlement process. By presenting these stories bilingually (in English and the participants’ native languages), the research contributes to the growing movement of narrative sovereignty