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Improving ADLs, IADLs, and QOL in Breast Cancer Survivors
Get PDFBreast cancer and its treatment can significantly impact breast cancer survivor’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), and Quality of Life (QoL). Physical activity programs have been found to positively impact various aspects of quality of life in breast cancer patients, including physical condition, state of mind, and selfesteem. However, there is a gap in the OT practice and the literature regarding how to improve independence in ADLs, IADLs, and overall quality of life in breast cancer survivors. A program was created to improve Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) , and Quality of Life (QoL) in breast cancer survivors with the help of exercise. In conclusion, consistency in performing the exercises and addressing both physical and psychological needs, awareness about cancer and lifestyle changes is essential for positive and consistent results in breast cancer survivors to aid in their journey of recoveryhttps://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2024/1008/thumbnail.jp
Identifying the Risk of Violence in the Inpatient Setting
Get PDFPractice Problem: Workplace violence directly contributes to the development of psychological conditions in nurses and reduces nurses’ level of job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment (ANA, 2018). Additionally, the occurrence of workplace violence events impacts patient and organizational outcomes.
PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was, in acute-care medical-surgical nurses (P), does the use of a structured risk of violence screening tool (I), compared to current practice (C), improve the nurses’ perceived ability to identify patients who are at risk for becoming violent (O) over eight weeks (T)? Evidence: Evidence that was reviewed supported the implementation of a risk of violence screening tool and appropriate interventions following early identification.
Intervention: The Brøset Violence Checklist was implemented and completed every shift for every patient. If a patient screened out as a high risk for violence, security was notified and completed more frequent rounding.
Outcome: While not statistically significant, it was found that following implementation of this project, the percentage of nurses that rated their feeling safe at work as agree or strongly agree increased from 55% to 73%. Additionally, the percentage of nurses that rated their ability to identify the risk of violence as agree or strongly agree increased from 85% to 93%.
Conclusion: Using a risk of violence screening tool, such as the Brøset Violence Checklist is clinically successful at improving nurse perception of safety and ability to identify the potential risk of violence
Relationship of Emotional Intelligence to Workplace Stress and Burnout in Behavior Analysts
Get PDFThe experience of stress leading to burnout is at an all-time high in the field of behavior analysis. Increasing job demands for board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA) put newly minted BCBAs at a higher risk of burnout. The problem is that BCBAs only receive technical and clinical training to become certified. Yet, their emotional intelligence (EI), which is associated with stress and burnout, had never been examined. The purpose of this quantitative, associational study was to investigate the relationships between EI, workplace stress, and burnout in BCBAs. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Goleman’s (1995) theory of EI. A sample of 45 BCBAs were recruited online via LinkedIn, closed Facebook groups for BCBAs, and my personal network. Survey data were collected from Qualtrics and analyzed using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. The results indicated that EI Scale scores in BCBAs were associated with higher Burnout Scale scores at a level that approached statistical significance (
Preventing Depression in Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: An Educational Video Series
Get PDFGrandparent caregivers often face increased risk for depression, yet access to mental health resources—particularly self-help approaches—is limited. Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (TXGRG), a non-profit organization supporting grandparent caregivers, lacked a specific mental health resource to address this need. This capstone project developed and implemented a self-help, occupation-based educational video series to provide practical strategies for preventing and managing depression. Designed for accessibility and ease of use, the video series offers tools grounded in daily occupations to promote mental well-being. This project fills a critical gap by equipping TXGRG and its caregivers with a proactive, occupation-focused mental health resource to support emotional resilience and caregiving demands.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2024/1024/thumbnail.jp
Neurodivergent Adults: Cultivating Intimate Partner Relationships Through Diverse Dating Platforms to Improve Well-Being and Life Satisfaction
Get PDFThis capstone project focuses on program development to increase the social participation of neurodivergent adults in establishing intimate partner relationships (AOTA, 2020). Creating an opportunity for neurodivergent individuals to meet each other with the intent of forming intimate partner relationships can increase their social participation and overall life satisfaction (Mitran, 2022). According to AOTA (2020), intimate partner relationships are essential to many individuals\u27 lives. Altering the modern-day approach and building online and in-person platforms that support the individuality of the neurodivergent population will enable them to form connections without prejudice or judgment (Mitran, 2022).https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2024/1017/thumbnail.jp
An OT Web-Based Stress Management Program for Acute Care Therapists
Get PDFHospital burnout has become one of the many problems among many healthcare professions. Occupational therapists and physical therapists encounter many situations that are out of their control and struggle with how to handle their emotions in a fast-paced setting. The purpose of this capstone was to educate acute care therapists on developing good stress management habits using various grounding, sensory, and mindfulness techniques to help them get through the work day. By helping acute care therapists develop good stress management habits, therapists can experience improvement in the way they carry out their duties, improve their productivity, and improve the way they provide quality patient care.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2024/1019/thumbnail.jp
The Efficacy of Occupation-Based Caregiver Education on Primitive Reflex Integration in Children with ASD
Get PDFThis capstone research improved the delivery of care regarding caregiver education in children with autism spectrum disorder and retained primitive reflexes. The purpose of this project was to generate resources for occupational therapy practitioners that provide caregiver education on primitive reflex integration interventions that directly correlate with specific ADL’s their child has difficulty with and how to incorporate these exercises in the home environment. Occupational therapy practitioners lack educational resources for caregivers of children diagnosed with ASD to explain the importance and impact of primitive reflex integration on participation in meaningful ADL’s and promote adherence to home exercise programs, implementing evidence-based primitive reflex integration exercises. This project consisted of pre- and post-intervention surveys, an initial educational coaching session, a follow-up educational coaching session, and online video modules for OT and caregiver use beyond the time frame of this project. The results of this mixed-methods pilot study ultimately demonstrated that caregivers benefit from education and coaching regarding their child’s home exercise program and retained primitive reflexes. Results demonstrate that occupational therapists should incorporate more structured and intentional caregiver education during children’s occupational therapy sessions to increase adherence to the child’s home exercise program and ultimately increase the child’s ability and independence in activities of daily living as was illustrated by the outcome data for this study.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2024/1060/thumbnail.jp
Measures of Function in Physical Therapy Assessment of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Clinical Audit
Get PDFIntroduction: The assessment of outcomes in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is important for monitoring their progress, evaluating interventions, and guiding health policies. This study aimed to (1) identify the most common outcome measures used in the clinics to assess function in children with CP, and (2) determine whether the outcome measures used in the clinics meet the current standards of assessment for the purpose of improving patient care decisions, research, and quality assurance.
Methodology: A retrospective record audit study design was used to determine if the current practice in the clinics on the assessment of function in children with CP meets the current standards of assessment.
Results: 96 charts with initial evaluation were reviewed from 5 pediatric institutions within Metro Manila that agreed to participate in this study. 18 out of these 96 charts (18.7%) met the current standards of assessment using gross motor function measure (GMFM), whereas 78 out of these 96 charts (81.3) used a descriptive type of assessment such as gait analysis (GA) [20.9%], activities of daily living (ADL) analysis [79.1%], functional muscle testing (FMT) [44.2%], gross motor skills assessment [37.2%], advanced motor skills assessment [23.3%], balance assessment [4.7%], developmental milestone assessment [2.3%], and self-adaptive measure [2.3%].
Discussion: The findings showed that most clinics prefer to use a descriptive type to assess function in children with CP. Furthermore, it was revealed that the pediatric institutions that agreed to participate in this study did not meet the current standards of assessment
Occupational Therapy After Breast Cancer Treatment: A Guidebook for Hispanic Women
Get PDFThis project aims to understand the needs of Hispanic women post-breast cancer treatment and offer a guidebook with educational resources in both English and Spanish.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2024/1004/thumbnail.jp
Preparatory Program for Women during Pregnancy/Postpartum and Transitioning back to Work or School
Get PDFDespite the importance of maternal health during the prenatal, postnatal, and parenting stages, there is a lack of research on the role of occupational therapists (OTs) in addressing the occupational challenges faced by women during this transitional phase. This dissertation aims to develop a program that raises awareness of the role of occupational therapy in maternal health and promotes occupational therapists as part of an interdisciplinary team within the scope of maternal health care. By adapting co-occupation for mothers, occupational therapists can play an important role in individualizing occupations for enhanced transitioning and overall quality of life. The study highlights the gap in the existing literature and emphasizes the need for OTs to provide interventions that address occupational performance issues for women during the transitional and adjusting stages of pregnancy. The paper also explores the challenges faced by young mothers and the psychosocial factors that impact their long-term health and well-being. The occupational adaption frame of reference is used to develop a model that integrates the two main domains of occupation and adaptation to improve adaptability. The study concludes that OTs could play a vital role in addressing the occupational challenges faced by women during the maternal role transition and advocates for the development, research, and education of this specialized field.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2024/1015/thumbnail.jp