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An OT-Based Program for the Hispanic Community
No full textHispanic older adults experience significant health disparities, including higher rates of functional limitations and limited access to rehabilitation services due to language and cultural barriers. Guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model, this doctoral capstone implemented the Step by Step program across multiple community sites to improve health literacy, independence, and awareness of occupational therapy (OT). The program delivered bilingual, culturally tailored education, ADL-based strategies, and fall prevention activities. Needs assessments and pre/post surveys indicated increased confidence in daily activities, improved understanding of OT’s role, and greater engagement in health-promoting behaviors. Findings support community-based, culturally responsive OT programs as effective in addressing systemic barriers, fostering inclusion, and promoting aging in place.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonessummer2025/1014/thumbnail.jp
Improving Anxiety Screening in Active-Duty Military: Policy Recommendation for Implementing HAM-A Alongside GAD-7
No full textPractice Problem: Military personnel appear to be at increased risk for mood and stress-related conditions, such as anxiety and depression. These are frequently associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet existing policies and practices may not fully capture this symptom complexity.
PICOT: For healthcare policymakers and providers (P), how does a policy review and recommendation for implementing the HAM-A screening tool for anxiety (I), compared to continued reliance on GAD-7 (C), impact the early identification and policy alignment for somatic and psychic anxiety management among active-duty military personnel (O)?
Evidence: Investigating psychological illnesses and their physiological manifestations in isolation fails to address the full spectrum of mental health issues experienced by service members (Russell et al., 2022). Current military mental health screening procedures predominantly utilize the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool.
Intervention: Although the GAD-7 is recognized for its speed and convenience, its limitations are increasingly evident. It is a self-administered tool with variable specificity and does not effectively distinguish between psychic and somatic anxiety or provide diagnostic guidance (Nunez et al., 2022).
Outcome: The intended outcome is the development of a validated, evidence-based policy that supports early and comprehensive identification of anxiety symptoms in military primary care clinics. Three policy briefs are available to relevant stakeholders (see Appendix F, G, & H).
Conclusion: As mental health awareness grows within military systems, there is a recognized need to refine early screening protocols to support force readiness and well-being. Early identification of mood and stress-related conditions, such as anxiety and depression can be found with a GAD-7 tool policy
Impact of Primary Care Healthcare Providers Patient Electronic Medical Records Completion Rates Using Speech Recognition Dictation
No full textPractice Problem: Completion of electronic medical records (EMRs) is an ongoing problem for providers, facilities, and insurance reimbursement. Current completion of EMRs lack standardized processes to make EMRs completion easier for providers with their busy workday and allow optimal time for patient care.
PICOT: For healthcare providers at primary clinics (P) will implementing speech recognition dictation (SRD) for data entry into the electronic medical records (EMRs) (I) compared to the current practice of manually typing all data causing long medical record turnaround times (c) improve medical record completion within 30 days (O) over 10-weeks (T).
Evidence: Evidence that was collected reinforce the implementation of SRDs. Evidence notes three themes of manual data entry, chart audits, and voice recognition software.
Intervention: This quality improvement project aimed to implement speech recognition dictation (SRD) for providers to use to improve completion rates of EMRs. This project was implemented over an 8-week period.
Outcome: A two tailed paired sample t-test was used to examine EMRs completion rates improving with increasing pre-intervention (M = 0.68, SD = 0.22) to post-intervention (M = 0.90, SD = 0.08), t (19) = -4.07, p \u3c .001. Provider satisfaction was varied in the survey with less than 50% of providers planning to continue to use the implementation after the project’s completion.
Conclusion: Completion rates increased with the implementation of SRD. Barriers were noted during the project to effect longevity due to provider satisfaction. Future policy implementation and effective training along with advancement of the software could influence providers to stick to the implementation
Policy Review of the AHA Clinical Practice Guideline for Congestive Heart Failure: Evaluating Best Practices
No full textPractice Problem: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a significant public health challenge that impacts various populations and contributes to rising hospital admission rates.
PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this scholarly project was: For healthcare policymakers and interprofessional teams (P), how does a policy review of the American Heart Association’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Heart Failure (I), guided by the CDC’s Polaris Framework (C), conducted over a 12-week period (T), evaluate alignment with evidence-based practices and potential for adoption in the care of patients with congestive heart failure (O)?
Evidence: This scholarly project focused on reviewing the current clinical guidelines for the management of congestive heart failure as outlined by the American Heart Association (AHA), guided by the CDC’s Polaris Framework.
Outcome: Three themes emerged from the policy review: the reduction of hospital readmission rates, the use of appropriate Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT) initiation, and the incorporation of other toolkits. Appropriate implementation, early recognition, and intervention can significantly decrease rehospitalization, potentially saving organizations between 698,733.
Conclusion: This policy review serves as a valuable resource for future implementation efforts, providing insight into how the AHA guidelines impact patient care and long-term disease management. It is recommended that healthcare organizations further integrate these guidelines by reinforcing guideline education, optimizing GDMT use, and ensuring comprehensive patient compliance
Strength Beyond Cancer: An Occupational Therapy Guidebook for African American Breast Cancer Survivors
No full textThis capstone project aims to explore the nuanced and often underrepresented experiences of African American women (AAW) who have survived breast cancer (BC), with a specific focus on the recovery phase. By examining the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial obstacles encountered during survivorship, the project seeks to highlight significant gaps in care and support. The primary goal of this project is to develop an accessible and culturally responsive guidebook that provides healthy strategies to enhance quality of life (QoL), promote occupational wellbeing, and empower AAW to manage their overall health beyond treatment. This paper will begin by presenting the background and context of BC among AAW, followed by a defined problem statement and purpose statement. The significance and rationale behind this capstone project will also be discussed, along with an outline of the leaning outcomes and project objectives
The Importance of a Pressure Injury Prevention Program in Acute Hospital Settings
No full textPractice Problem: The identified practice problem for this project was the lack of a standardized pressure injury prevention program in a 350-bed acute care hospital. The lack of a standard program could be leading to increased hospital-acquired pressure injuries. PICOT: In adult inpatients in a medical/surgical unit (P), does the implementation of a standard unit-based pressure injury prevention program (I) compared to the current practice (C) increase the percentage of nursing skin risk assessment documentation (O) over a 10-week period (T)?
Evidence: The literature supports the development of standard pressure injury prevention programs and continuing education to decrease hospital-acquired pressure injuries.
Intervention: Administering a pre intervention assessment, providing education to the nursing staff on skin risk assessment documentation and available pressure injury prevention resources, and administering a post intervention assessment.
Outcome: The outcome was not as anticipated due to the project objectives not being met, the pre and post assessments were not completed, education of 90% of the unit’s nursing staff was not completed due to low attendance of educational presentations, and there was a decrease in the compliance of skin risk assessment documentation.
Conclusion: The project did not meet the objectives; however, the education provided did increase the nursing staff’s knowledge of available pressure injury resources and re-educated on skin risk assessment documentation. This project provided framework for continuing education and development of a standard pressure injury prevention program. Additional review should be conducted after a standard continuing education program has been implemented to determine the effectiveness in reducing hospital-acquired pressure injuries
Examining the Relationship Between Stigma and Physical Disability Through Lived Experiences
Get PDFThe primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between stigma and physical disability, to discover the impact that perceived stigma has on several factors in a person’s life including overall health, well-being, and quality of life. A qualitative research design was used. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine the relationship between stigma and physical disability, and to discover the impact of stigma on overall health and well-being. Three themes are identified: stigma narratives, shifts in awareness, and factors inhibiting quality of life. Stigma narratives contained three subthemes: experiences with stigma, frequency of stigma, and settings where stigma was experienced. Shifts in awareness consisted of three subthemes as well: changes in perception of accessibility, changes in perception of disability, and perception of treatment in public settings. Finally, factors inhibiting quality of life included the following subthemes: avoidance or fear of judgment, changes in participation, and the impact of stigma on well-being. Participants experienced stigma and a change in perceived treatment in multiple settings; they experienced a shift in their own perception of both disability and accessibility; and they experienced inhibited participation and enjoyment in various aspects of their lives as a result of perceived stigma. The results of this study reveal that stigma can negatively impact health, wellbeing, and overall participation in the lives of individuals with physical disabilities
Exploring the Role of Occupational Therapy in Collegiate Athlete Mental Health Care: A Concept Analysis
Get PDFAdverse mental health outcomes in collegiate athletes are on the rise in the United States, prompting concerns about the impact of external surroundings on their well-being. Occupational therapy (OT) is a profession that specializes in environmental- and occupation-centered intervention, approaches to mental health care not currently being utilized in collegiate athlete populations. Despite these potential benefits, OT practitioners (OTPs) are not an established member of the care team in current athlete mental health care structures, likely because many stakeholders do not understand the unique services OTPs can offer. Walker and Avant’s eight-stage concept analysis was employed to examine the role of occupational therapy in addressing mental health problems in collegiate athletes with the aim of increasing the understanding of OT’s role in mental health care among athletes, athletic department staff, and OTPs. A literature search using PRISMA scoping review guidelines was conducted and a critical analysis of the 13 articles that passed the screening process demonstrated that OTPs often become involved in athlete mental health care after a physical injury or disability onset. However, an emerging area of OT involvement includes areas such as identity crisis prevention and transition from sport assistance as the primary focuses of treatment. Before OTPs can be fully maximized in this capacity, the profession must address issues of practice practicality, stakeholder buy-in, and policy. OTPs must also refine population-specific treatment approaches, such as identifying barriers to the occupational basis of mental health, to prove professional necessity and bolter interprofessional acceptance on the team. OT has the potential to broaden and deepen the collegiate athlete mental health care team’s repertoire if the role can be realized.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1027/thumbnail.jp
Assessing Social Media Experiences of Young Adults and its Impact on Mental Functions and Daily Routine Performances
Get PDFThis capstone project is a qualitative research study investigating the relationship between social media and the wellbeing of users.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1064/thumbnail.jp