bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life for People with Motor Neurone Disease: A Consideration for Occupational Therapists
Authors: Foley Geraldine 
Published: April 2015

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rapidly progressive neurological disease of unknown cause, which results in relentless loss of function and, conversely, high levels of disability. There has been a significant increase in quality of life (QoL) literature in recent years and the philosophy of the occupational therapy process may be considered consistent with the QoL construct. However, little is documented in occupational therapy literature that promotes consideration of the QoL construct in practice. This may be explained by the profession's adherence to the medical model of health care intervention. Expectations and desires continually shift for people with MND and individual-perceived QoL is determined by a continuous process of adjustment to increasing disability. In order to promote wellbeing, occupational therapists must identify what people with MND consider important in their lives.
Older Adults' Perspectives on the Positive and Negative Aspects of Living with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Finlayson Marcia , Van Denend Toni , DalMonte Julie 
Published: April 2015

This study examined the perspectives of people ageing with multiple sclerosis on the positive and negative aspects of living with this disease. Twenty-seven people with multiple sclerosis aged 55+ years were recruited from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and were interviewed twice. The first interview was semi-structured and the second involved the administration of standardised scales from the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Inventory. The positive aspects of multiple sclerosis included social benefits, becoming a better helper, realising potential, strengthening family and discovering resources. The negative aspects included loss of mobility, symptoms, social disadvantages, uncertainty, loss of independence and control, missed opportunities and expense. Physical functioning and social support did not influence the likelihood of reporting any of these aspects of the experience. The people with higher mental health scores were more likely to report social benefits. The findings point to the importance of a client-centred approach to therapy. They suggest that the use of semi-structured assessment processes may facilitate the identification of the disability experienced, which can be used to build on clients' strengths and positive experiences.
Occupational Therapy and Clinical Research in Mental Health Rehabilitation
Authors: Lloyd Chris , King Robert , Bassett Hazel 
Published: April 2015

Practitioners working in Australian mental health services are faced with the challenge of providing appropriate evidence-based interventions that lead to measurable improvement and good outcomes. Current government policy is committed to the development of strategic mental health research. One focus has been on under-researched practice areas, which include the development of psychosocial rehabilitation systems and models that facilitate recovery. To meet this challenge, an Australian rehabilitation service formed a collaborative partnership with a university. The purposes of the collaboration were to implement new forms of service delivery based on consumer need and evidence and to design research projects to evaluate components of the rehabilitation programme. This article examines the process of developing the collaboration and provides examples of how research projects have been used to inform practice and improve the effectiveness of service delivery. Challenges to the sustainability of this kind of collaboration are considered.
Children's Perceptions of the Impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder on Activities of Daily Living
Authors: Dunford Carolyn , Missiuna Cheryl , Street Eddy , Sibert Jo 
Published: April 2015

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have a motor impairment that affects their ability to perform everyday tasks. Although severity of motor impairment can be measured, methods for assessing the perceived impact of DCD on daily activities have not been established. The purpose of this study was to use a child-focused approach to understand children's views of the impact of DCD on the activities that they perform daily. Children aged 5–10 years, referred with coordination difficulties to occupational therapists, were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children: children who received scores below the 15th percentile were included. The Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System (PEGS), a pictorial scale validated as a method for engaging children with disabilities, was administered to examine the children's perceptions of their competence in performing everyday activities and to identify goals for therapy. Parent and teacher concerns were collected by a questionnaire. The children, parents and teachers shared many concerns about the impact of DCD on physical tasks and on academic activities such as handwriting. The children expressed additional concerns, however, about their ability to perform daily self-care tasks and leisure activities, which were rarely recognised by the adults. Children require specialised methods to enable them to express their views and the PEGS appears to be suitable for this purpose.
Clinical Reasoning during Community Health Home Visits: Expert and Novice Differences
Authors: Mitchell Robyn , Unsworth Carolyn A 
Published: April 2015

Very little is known about the differences between novice and expert clinical reasoning in community health practice. This article presents the findings of a study of the clinical reasoning of five expert and five novice community health occupational therapists (CHOTs) during the conducting of home visits. A head-mounted video camera was used to record the visits, followed by the participants reporting their clinical reasoning verbally using a video-assisted debriefing method. The transcripts from these verbal reports were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative results demonstrated many differences between experts and novices in terms of the amounts and types of clinical reasoning used. For example, the novices used more procedural reasoning whereas the experts used more conditional reasoning and mixes of different reasoning types. The qualitative results demonstrated that the experts used a free-flowing conversational approach when reasoning during home visits whereas the novices depended on external structures such as assessment forms to guide the process. Given their experience and familiarity with the process, the experts were confident and clear in their reasoning whereas the novices were more awkward and self-conscious. The experts handled sensitive issues whereas the novices seemed to avoid them. The study findings may provide insights for student and novice therapists concerning expert CHOTs' practice and promote reflection in general on the attainment of expertise in clinical practice.
The Relationship between Engagement in Occupations and Pressure Sore Development in Saudi Men with Paraplegia
Authors: Cutajar Ruth , Roberts Anne 
Published: April 2015

Various research studies have explored the factors that predispose people with spinal cord injuries to pressure sore development. Two hundred risk factors have been associated with pressure sore occurrence. One of the variables commonly reported to affect pressure sore occurrence is a decreased level of activity (Vidal and Sarrias 1991, Fuhrer et al 1993). This concurs with the philosophy of occupational therapy that a reduction in activity can generate pathology (Miller et al 1988). This research study investigated whether decreased participation in occupational activities (work, leisure and activities of daily living) was related to pressure sore occurrence in paraplegic men. The sample was selected randomly from the occupational therapy discharge files of a rehabilitation facility in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected by means of a telephone questionnaire from a total of 58 men, over a 3-month period. The study showed that there was a large increase in unemployment in paraplegic men following injury (from 10% to 59%) and, as might be expected, manual workers were more vulnerable than office workers. The study found no significant association between pressure sore occurrence and whether or not the individual was employed. However, it showed a statistically significant association between unemployment and pressure sores severe enough to lead to hospitalisation. The study also found a statistically significant association between individuals' independence in activities of daily living and the number of pressure sores that they had reported in the last 2 years. These findings indicate the potential importance of clients remaining occupationally active for their wellbeing and the significant contribution that occupational therapists can make by enabling rehabilitation of occupational activities.
Occupational Balance: What Tips the Scales for New Students?
Authors: Wilson Lesley , Wilcock Ann 
Published: April 2015

The open question, ‘What prevents you from reaching occupational balance?’, was posed within a questionnaire aimed at exploring the meanings of occupation, health and wellbeing with a cohort of first-year occupational therapy students during their initial few weeks at university. Their written responses to the question about occupational balance were analysed and are discussed in this paper. Not surprisingly, occupational balance appeared to be achieved by only a few and more by chance than design. People, time and money factors were identified as the main impediments to achieving occupational balance, with psychological and emotional pressures being at the forefront. Interestingly, despite these barriers, the overall educational benefit of considering the occupational balance question in this way raised the students' awareness of its relationship to health and wellbeing. This increased awareness might have longer-term health benefits, both personally and professionally, which would be worthy of further research.
Assistive Technology Assessment and Planning for Children with Multiple Disabilities in Educational Settings
Authors: Copley Jodie , Ziviani Jenny 
Published: April 2015

A number of critical elements have been identified in assistive technology assessment and planning to optimise its integration into the educational environments of children and hence address their functional goals. These elements are as follows: adopting a collaborative think-tank team approach to which all educational team members contribute equally and where technology experts are consulted once the need for specific technical support or training is identified; involving the family by establishing mutual expectations and using effective communication strategies; and conducting in-depth assessment that identifies clear goals, includes task analysis within daily environments, examines the child-device interaction closely and investigates the resources available to implement assistive technology use. With this backdrop, this paper reviews existing assessments and proposes that the Lifespace Access Profile (LAP) (Williams et al 1993) and Lifespace Access Profile (Upper Extension) (LAPUE) (Williams et al 1994) satisfy many of the criteria for effective assessment and planning advocated in the literature.
A Standard Terminology for Occupational Therapy
Authors: Creek Jennifer 
Published: April 2015

A standard terminology is the authorised system of words and phrases used in a definite sense within a science or subject. The need for a standard terminology for occupational therapy in the United Kingdom was identified in relation to three projects: the Garner Project (College of Occupational Therapists 1999), the Systematised Nomenclature of Human and Veterinary Medicine — Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) and Occupational Therapy Defined as a Complex Intervention (Creek 2003). In May 2004, the College of Occupational Therapists commissioned the development of a standard terminology for occupational therapy, to include definitions of between 5 and 12 key terms plus the term occupational therapy. Two sources of data were used: occupational therapy literature and a panel of expert practitioners. The primary literature sources were the College of Occupational Therapists' publications, the European Network of Occupational Therapists in Higher Education's website and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists' website. A Delphi approach was chosen as an appropriate method for obtaining consensus on the definitions among 42 expert occupational therapists. It was found that the Delphi approach, whilst appropriate for producing a set of six definitions of key terms, failed to produce a single definition of occupational therapy. Instead of the number of possible definitions decreasing in each round, it expanded as panel members struggled to find a way of capturing the complexity of occupational therapy within a short definition.
‘Rigour’, ‘Ethical Integrity’ or ‘Artistry’? Reflexively Reviewing Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Research
Authors: Finlay Linda 
Published: April 2015

Qualitative researchers contest and reject the criteria used by quantitative researchers when evaluating their work: those of reliability, validity and generalisability. Instead, qualitative researchers have developed alternative criteria responsive to their specific research ideals. These criteria encompass various dimensions of ‘rigour’, ‘ethical integrity’ and ‘artistry’. This article attempts to show something of the range of evaluative criteria available to qualitative researchers, arguing that their choice of criteria needs to be compatible with the special nature of the research in question (its methodology, aims and assumptions). Occupational therapists are encouraged to be clear, thoughtful and reflexive about their position and values when evaluating their research. To this end, recent occupational therapy research is reviewed to identify the criteria that authors favour. I also proffer my own reflexive voice towards critically evaluating my approach in this article.
Brief Motivational Counselling for Alcohol Abusers Admitted to Medical Wards
Authors: McQueen Jean , Allan Linda , Mains Diane 
Published: April 2015

Within the United Kingdom the number of individuals abusing alcohol is continuing to increase. Alcohol abuse is linked with long-term health problems, with the potential to have an impact on work, relationships and the ability to function in daily life. Occupational therapists working within general hospital environments have regular contact with alcohol abusers, although there is limited evidence of effective interventions in this clinical setting. This article reports on a feasibility study, which investigated the potential role for occupational therapists in delivering brief motivational counselling to alcohol abusers admitted to medical wards. Consideration is given to the practicality of delivering such an intervention. The outcome measures used were the Fast Alcohol Screening Tool (FAST), self-reported alcohol consumption and participant's rationale for change. A small sample of 40 participants was recruited. Although the results presented are not statistically significant, this feasibility study will be important in assisting clinicians to plan future research in this area.
Enabling Older People to Stay at Home: How Adaptable are Existing Properties?
Authors: Goodacre Kate , McCreadie Claudine , Flanagan Susan , Lansley Peter 
Published: April 2015

A multiprofessional research project examined in detail the factors that affect the adaptability of existing housing and explored issues relating to the introduction of assistive technology into the existing homes of older people in order to provide them with the opportunity to ‘stay put’. The research reported here investigated the feasibility of adapting the existing stock of social housing and the resulting costs and outcomes of introducing assistive technology. This paper outlines that part of the project that examined in detail the adaptability of 82 properties representing a variety of property types to accommodate the needs of seven notional users, characterising the most common range of impairments of older people. The factors that affect a property's adaptability include property type and specific design and construction features. The implications for housing providers, clients and occupational therapists are discussed. The research identified the unique expertise of occupational therapists, spanning the areas of housing, older people and assistive technology, and it introduced methods and tools that can help to determine best housing outcomes as well as cost implications. It is crucial that the profession is proactive in contributing to the development of housing policies that address the needs of an ageing population effectively.
Developing a Preceptorship Programme for Newly Qualified Occupational Therapists: Action Research
Authors: Morley Mary 
Published: April 2015

This action research study used three focus groups and one interview to explore the experiences of five recently qualified occupational therapists, four supervisors and five occupational therapy managers. The participants were asked to identify the perceived development needs of new practitioners and the mechanisms that supported or hindered these being met. The findings showed that the recently qualified occupational therapists experienced satisfaction at making a difference in their first posts. However, for some, their first post had fallen short of their expectations because they faced challenges when moving from student to practitioner, sometimes with limited support. The participants identified development needs that they felt were common to other new practitioners and also the factors that constrained or enabled the meeting of these needs. These findings informed the second phase of the action research study to design a preceptorship programme that was compliant with the revised National Health Service employment contract (Department of Health 2005) and would improve the transitional experience of occupational therapists. This paper presents the focus group results and the rationale for the preceptorship programme, which was launched as a pilot evaluation study with occupational therapy staff from over 20 organisations in Autumn 2005.
Using Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) to Replace a Practice Placement: A Controversial Option?
Authors: Tempest Stephanie , Cordingley Kevin , Craik Christine 
Published: April 2015

The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is established in higher education, but there are no studies on its use in occupational therapy. Brunel University wanted to investigate whether APEL could enable occupational therapy students meeting certain criteria to be exempt from the first-year practice placement, and so devised an APEL proposal. Practice placement educators and students were invited to give their opinion on the proposal through a questionnaire; additionally, the students attended a nominal group discussion. Three themes emerged from the six practice placement educators who agreed to participate: logistics, student experience and learning opportunities. The three students who participated valued APEL for confirming and recognising learning from previous experience. The low response impedes establishing any definite views on the topic, but could suggest that APEL is not a controversial option to practice placement educators and students. Further study is required on the adoption of APEL in occupational therapy education.
An Investigation into the Leisure Occupations of Older Adults
Authors: Ball Veronica , Corr Susan , Knight Judith , Lowis Michael J 
Published: April 2015

Participating in leisure is known to enhance physical wellbeing, mental health and social functioning. There is, however, little knowledge of the current level of engagement in leisure occupations by older adults in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the current leisure occupations of adults over 60 years who considered themselves to be healthy and to identify the motivations that underpinned participation in those occupations. Structured interviews were conducted with 70 adults with a mean age of 72 years. The majority of the participants (51, 73%) reported engaging in leisure occupations. The range of leisure occupations was wide and included walking, sailing, listening to music, emailing and volunteering. Of these, 23% were active leisure, 18% passive leisure, 24% social leisure, 20% hobbies and 15% other leisure occupations. Content analysis was adopted to explain the motivators for taking part in these leisure occupations. It was found that enjoyment, pleasure and relaxation were the key motivators. This study shows that the majority of well older people are participating in leisure occupations and feeling positive about doing so. Further research is required to establish the role that occupational therapists can have in encouraging older adults to continue with or develop new leisure occupations to enhance health and quality of life.
Evaluating Psychosocial Interventions in First-Episode Psychosis
Authors: Turner Niall , Whitty Peter , Lydon Caroline , Clarke Mary , Browne Stephen , Larkin Conall , Waddington John , O'Callaghan Eadbhard 
Published: April 2015

Little is known about what influences the success of psychosocial interventions for first-episode psychosis. One possible explanation for the mixed results of clinical trials is the influence of confounders on outcome. Psychosocial functioning prior to the onset of psychosis (premorbid adjustment) is one possible confounder. In order to examine the importance of premorbid adjustment to occupational therapists providing and evaluating psychosocial interventions, this study compared the baseline characteristics and premorbid adjustment of the people with first-episode psychosis referred to psychosocial rehabilitation with those of the people not referred, and the outcomes of both groups. All people with first-episode psychosis (n = 171) were assessed at baseline, including their premorbid adjustment. The participants were followed up 4 years later. A subgroup (n = 44) had been referred to psychosocial rehabilitation. The baseline presentation, premorbid adjustment and outcomes (symptoms and functioning) at 4 years of both groups were compared. The results showed that the people referred to a psychosocial rehabilitation programme had a poorer premorbid adjustment and fewer years in education than those not referred. Unsurprisingly, those not referred had better outcomes 4 years after initial presentation. It was concluded that premorbid psychosocial functioning is influential in determining the likelihood of referral to psychosocial rehabilitation and can influence evaluations of psychosocial interventions.
Implications of Hoist Provision when Planning Discharge Home from an Acute Hospital
Authors: Benten Jane , Ellis Diane 
Published: April 2015

Occupational therapists within an 800-bed acute hospital identified that discharge planning involving hoist provision required attention. A decreasing length of stay and the absence of guidelines in this area led to an evaluation of practice. Standards were set in partnership with the multidisciplinary team. An audit process was started against these standards on 15 cases over a 4-month period. The audit process identified areas where changes could provide a consistent interdisciplinary approach to discharge planning. The most useful tool to emerge from this evaluation of practice was seen as the proforma devised for an access home assessment in a risk assessment format. Feedback from subsequent staff supervision sessions has demonstrated that occupational therapists have been enabled to provide a uniform approach to discharge planning for this group of patients, in a time of ever-increasing pressure to speed discharges and abide by manual handling legislation. The article aims to disseminate the risk assessment to therapists and other health care staff in acute and community health care.