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Mind Matters: Addressing Food Insecurities as a Mental Health Barrier
No full textFood insecurity (FI)—the limited or uncertain access to adequate food—is a growing concern among college students and is linked to increased stress, poor mental health, and reduced occupational engagement. Nationally, 41% of college students report experiencing FI, with higher rates among marginalized groups (Nickolaus et al., 2020). At the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), 61% of students are affected, a figure influenced by financial strain, limited access to aid, and unique border-related barriers such as immigration status and language (El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, 2022; Weigel et al., 2007). This capstone project, grounded in the Person-Environment- Occupation (PEO) model, examines how FI contributes to stress and reduced academic and personal performance. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the project highlights trends linking FI with risky behaviors and diminished participation in daily life. An OT-led, online seminar series was developed to teach stress management and coping strategies, addressing key occupations identified in the OTPF-4. The initiative promotes wellness, resource awareness, and occupational justice, aiming to improve quality of life for food insecure students.https://scholarworks.utep.edu/otcapstones/1012/thumbnail.jp
Problematic Technology Use: An Education Program
No full textThere is a growing body of research on problematic technology use and its impact on children with autism. Studies have shown that excessive or unbalanced use of technology may contribute to challenges in mental health and social functioning for this population (Ang et al., 2018; Cerniglia et al., 2017; Ezeh et al., 2021; Hoge et al., 2017; Kawabe et al., 2016; Small et al., 2020; Yucelyigit & Aral, 2018). However, there is limited research on how this issue is being practically addressed. Children with autism, who are already at higher risk for developing problematic behaviors with technology (Normand et al., 2022; Young & Abreu, 2017), along with their parents, can benefit from increased awareness and access to strategies that support healthy technology use. Currently, there is a gap in the literature regarding occupational therapy-based educational programs designed to address this issue in this vulnerable population
The primary purpose of this project is to educate parents of children with autism, and their children, about problematic technology use and to provide practical strategies for promoting healthier, more balanced use. By raising awareness and offering actionable tools, the project aims to support the mental health and social well-being of this vulnerable population by educating their parents. Ultimately, the goal is to empower families with resources that help protect and enhance the quality of life for children with autism. In addition, this project may serve as a foundation for future research into effective educational interventions targeting problematic technology use in this population, helping to expand the support available to families facing similar challenges.https://scholarworks.utep.edu/otcapstones/1002/thumbnail.jp
Interview No. 1796
No full textThe interview took place on November 20, 2025, at the home of María del Carmen González Gómez in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. María del Carmen, 68 years of age, is the older sister of Patricia González Gómez and shared profound memories of her sister\u27s childhood, personality, and artistic career. This early exposure to different cultures, customs, and artistic expressions decisively shaped Patricia\u27s creative vision. From a young age, she displayed exceptional intelligence and a natural talent for drawing and painting, especially in charcoal, black-andwhite, oil, and drawing hands and faces. Her reserved yet generous nature, patience, loyalty, and discipline were reflected in each of her works, where light, shadow, and emotional expression were central elements. In her adolescence and youth, she also excelled in sports, while always maintaining a strong inclination towards visual arts. In her adult life, Patricia developed a vast artistic repertoire, which she executed with a level of detail, elegance, and feeling that moved those who observed them. Her art was a direct extension of her way of seeing life: pure, sensitive, observant, profound, and capable of transforming any object into something beautiful. Through her work, she sought to honor her father\u27s memory and imbue the family tradition with meaning. For her family, Patricia was an unappreciated genius : an exceptional artist whose opportunities did not always align with her talent, but whose creativity, ingenuity, and generosity left an indelible mark. As a sister, she taught María del Carmen patience, respect, creative courage, and the conviction that everyone is capable of creating beauty
Deprescribing: The Skill of Less Pills
No full textBackground: Polypharmacy is a growing concern in geriatric medical care, increasing the risk of adverse drug events (ADEs), cognitive decline, falls, and hospitalizations. Multiple prescriptions result in potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), leading to a prescribing cascade and medication overload for many patients. Numerous medications are deemed unnecessary or not appropriate, decreasing the quality of life. The lack of standardized deprescribing tools in clinical practice contributes to continued polypharmacy-related complications. The project, was implemented at a PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) facility to improve medication management, patient safety, and quality of life through structured deprescribing interventions.
Methods: This quality project utilized tools such as MedStopper, Beers Criteria, and STOPP/START guidelines to identify and reduce PIMs over an 8–10-week period. The Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Framework and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model guided implementation.
Results: The deprescribing intervention led to significant improvement in medication management, patient outcomes, reduced medication burden, improved cognitive function, and decreased adverse drug events.
Conclusion: Deprescribing is a valuable quality improvement method for managing polypharmacy in older adults. This project demonstrates that structured deprescribing can be effectively used in elderly care, aligning with the current Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 4Ms Framework to provide holistic, patient-centered care. Future efforts should focus on developing user-friendly deprescribing tools that integrate with electronic health records (EHRs), enhance provider training and awareness, continue research on long-term deprescribing outcomes, and improve accessibility for U.S. and international providers. I encountered several deprescribing programs currently available solely to Australian, New Zealand and Canadian residents
Less Screen, More Talk: Educating Parents in Supporting Language Development in Toddlers
No full textExcessive screentime has been linked to language development delays in children aged 18 to 36 months correlating with reduced parent-child verbal interactions, and ultimately a crucial factor in early language acquisition. This quality improvement project, Less Screen, More Talk: Educating Parents to Support Language Development in Toddlers, aimed to reduce screen exposure and promote verbal engagement between caregivers and young children. Implemented over six weeks in a private pediatric clinic, the intervention included parental education, structured follow-ups, and practical resources designed to encourage language-rich interactions.
Results were striking as parents reported a significant decrease in daily screen time and observed noticeable improvements in their toddlers\u27 communication skills. One caregiver shared, I never realized how much of a difference simply talking more would make. Now, my child is using new words every day! These findings underscore the effectiveness of structured parental education in addressing screen-related language delays and cultivating meaningful communication in early childhood
Associations between prepulse inhibiton and visual executive attention in children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome
Full text linkThe 22q11 deletion syndrome (DS) results in the loss of approximately 30 gene copies and is associated with possible physical anomalies, varied learning disabilities, and a specific cluster of neurocognitive deficits, including primary impairment in working memory, executive visual attention, and sensorimotor processing. Retrospective studies have suggested that children with 22q11DS are at 25 times greater risk of developing schizophrenia, thus specification of early brain network vulnerabilities among children with 22q11DS is critical. Previously, we reported that children with 22q11DS as compared with sibling controls had selective deficits in visual executive attention, and subsequently found lowered prepulse inhibition (PPI) in these same children. Visual executive attention and PPI recruit the same brain pathways linking prefrontal cortex to basal ganglia structures. To test the specificity of brain pathway vulnerability among children with 22q11DS, we examined visual executive attention and PPI paradigm data collected during the same test session from 21 children with 22q11DS and 25 sibling controls. We predicted lower %PPI and less efficient executive attention scores, and a significant inverse correlation between measures. %PPI in children with 22q11DS as compared with sibling controls was 20% lower, and visual executive attention efficiency scores 40% worse. As predicted, %PPI was inversely correlated only with executive attention efficiency scores. The implications of these findings with regard to brain pathway vulnerability in children with 22q11DS are considered. These results suggest that children with 22q11DS have early functional abnormality in pathways linking the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia
