bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Workstation Robotics: A Pilot Study of a Desktop Vocational Assistant Robot
Authors: Taylor Barry , Cupo Mary E. , Sheredos Saleem J. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Rehabilitation robots are increasingly being viewed as an appropriate assistive technology interface for persons with disabilities. The Desktop vocational Assistant Robot (DeVAR™) system is a voice-controlled robotic workstation designed to enable persons with severe mobility impairments to function independently in a work environment. This study examined the overall efficacy of the DeVAR™ system, the level of expertise required for therapist and support personnel, routine maintenance requirements, and the readiness of the device for a multicenter evaluation.
Two precommercial DeVAR™ workstations were installed at selected sites. The pilot study spanned 8 months in which staff members and four subjects with high-level quadriplegia evaluated the systems extensively. Responses were generally favorable regarding ease of use and overall training process. Subjects recommended modifications, including incorporation of a noise cancellation microphone, more effective use of workstation space, and addition of vocational tasks. All respondents thought that if the recommended changes were implemented, DeVAR™ would have potential as a vocational assistant.
The small number of subjects was due to the limited subject pool available for the study. On the basis of pilot results, the Veterans Administration Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, Baltimore, Maryland, is conducting a national multicenter evaluation to determine the overall utility and commercial readiness of the DeVAR™ system.
Single-Switch Computer Access for Infants and Toddlers
Authors: Swinth Yvonne , Anson Denis , Deitz Jean 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Computer access was studied with children between the ages of 6 months and 18 months with no known handicapping conditions. The research focused on determining at what age young children can access a computer using a single-switch system to run a simple cause-and-effect program. The sample consisted of 80 children divided into four groups (6 to 8 months, 9 to 11 months, 12 to 14 months, and 15 to 17 months). Results demonstrated that some children as young as 6 months of age could control a computer-based, cause-and-effect program using a single-switch access system. Therefore, professionals who work with children with disabilities may consider introducing computers to children at this age or to children who are functioning near this cognitive developmental level.
The Development of Technology Competencies and Training Guidelines for Occupational Therapists
Authors: Hammel Joy M. , Smith Roger O. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
The ability to use technology has become a survival skill in our society. This paper discusses technology trends related to the demands of the Information Age, the increasing availability of information and assistive technologies, and the impact of recent civil rights legislation mandating that persons with disabilities be given equal access to technologies that can enhance functional performance. Occupational therapists must become competent in the application and integration of these technologies into reasonable accommodation interventions if we are to meet the changing needs of persons with disabilities. To address this need for technology training, a multitiered set of technology competencies specifically designed for occupational therapy practitioners was authored by the American Occupational Therapy Association Technology Special Interest Section and reviewed by occupational therapists with technology expertise. The process of developing these competencies and recommendations for implementing them within occupational therapy educational programs are discussed.
Clinical Evaluation of the Hemi Wheelchair Cushion
Authors: Cron Laura , Sprigle Stephen 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
A foam cushion was designed for wheelchair users who propel their wheelchairs with the assistance of one lower extremity. It allows users to extend one hip to reach the ground without having to slide forward on the seat, thus maintaining a more erect posture. The cushion was evaluated to identify contraindications for its use. Eleven subjects (10 stroke patients and 1 patient with an above-the-knee amputation) were tested on the Hemi Wheelchair Cushion and on a second cushion chosen by their primary occupational therapists. Seat interface pressures, both before and after dynamic movement, sitting balance, and wheelchair mobility were measured for each cushion.
An analysis of mean pressure values revealed no significant difference between the cushions (p = .80). Average pressures after dynamic movement showed a statistically significant difference from pressures before activity (p &lt; .05). Subjective evaluation revealed that the Hemi Wheelchair Cushion did not adversely affect sitting balance or wheelchair mobility, and no contraindications for its use were identified. The results of this clinical evaluation indicate that the Hemi Wheelchair Cushion is an economical and appropriate option for wheelchair users who propel themselves with the assistance of one leg.
Measurement-Related Problems in Functional Assessment
Authors: Fisher William P. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Occupational therapists, like other rehabilitation professionals, have accepted ordinal raw scores as a sufficient basis for developing evaluation tools. This paper summarizes problems commonly found in evaluation methods based on summing ordinal raw item scores and demonstrates how Rasch measurement models provide a solution to the construction of calibrated (linear) measures.
Rasch measurement models are contrasted with Stevens’s lax definition of measurement and Guttman’s unreasonably rigid requirements. The simple Rasch model is a probabilistic formulation of the fundamental requirements for additive linear measurement. This formulation retains Guttman’s concept of order, but construes it probabilistically, making it neither too lax (random) nor too rigid. When a measure is based on a theory of what counts as an observation of more or less of something, Rasch measurement models are useful for constructing valid measures.
Reliability of the Worker Role Interview
Authors: Biernacki Susan D. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
The Worker Role Interview is a semistructured interview designed to be used as the psychosocial–environmental component of the initial rehabilitation assessment for the injured worker. Interrater reliability of the Worker Role Interview was computed for three raters for a sample of 30 adult subjects receiving rehabilitation due to an upper extremity injury. Reliability was assessed with the intraclass correlation approach. The coefficients estimating interrater reliability for six content areas ranged from .46 to .92 with a total value of .81. Three out of six content areas received ratings well below the accepted standard of .80, suggesting further need for instrument refinement in select areas. Test-retest reliability was computed for one rater for a sample of 20 subjects. The intraclass coefficient values ranged from .86 to .94 with a total value of .95 indicating high test-retest reliability.
The Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment Work Simulator: Biomechanical and Physiological Norms for Three Attachments in Healthy Men
Authors: Bhambhani Y. , Esmail S. , Brintnell S. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objectives. The Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment (BTE) work simulator is routinely used by occupational therapists in functional capacity evaluation. Currently, there is a lack of normative data for various attachments on this instrument. The purposes of this study were to (a) establish norms for the biomechanical and physiological responses during three tasks on the BTE work simulator, namely, wheel-turn, push-pull, and overhead-reach; (b) compare these responses during the three tasks, and (c) examine the interrelationships of these responses during the tasks.
Method. Twenty healthy men completed five testing sessions: (a) task familiarization on the BTE work simulator to identify the work intensity, which was perceived as hard on the Borg scale; (b) an incremental arm ergometer exercise test to determine their peak oxygen uptake (pV̇O2) and peak heart rate (pHR), and (c) one of the three tasks on the BTE work simulator for 4 min in each of the next three sessions.
Results. Analysis of variance indicated that torque, work, and power during the overhead-reach were significantly higher (p = .000) compared with the wheel-turn and push-pull tasks. However, no significant differences (p &gt; .05) were observed among the tasks for the V̇O2 and HR, which were approximately 50% and 70% of pV̇O2 and pHR respectively. Although there was a significant relationship (p &lt; .05) among tasks for the torque, work, and power, the common variance ranged only between 38% and 67%. The relative pV̇O2 was significantly related to work (p = .028) and power (p = .027) only during the push-pull task but not the wheel-turn and overhead-reach tasks.
Conclusions. These results suggest that occupational therapists should include as many tasks as possible when designing functional capacity evaluation test batteries, and that there is no consistent relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and performance of various tasks on the BTE work simulator.
Use of Substitute Food Textures for Standard Eating Assessment in Children With Cerebral Palsy and Children Without Disabilities
Authors: Tcheremenska Alexandra R. , Gisel Erika G. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objective. Eating assessment is the first step toward amelioration of eating problems in children. A quantitative evaluation tool with three standard textures of food has been developed to determine the severity of an eating problem. However, children occasionally refuse some of the standard textures. Much time and effort could be saved if substitute textures could be used for testing. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using substitute food textures.
Method. Twenty children (10 without disabilities, 10 with cerebral palsy and eating impairments) with a mean age of 8.2 years(SD = 4.1) years were tested with three standard and three substitute textures of food (solid, viscous, puree). Eating time (in seconds) and chewing cycles were compared between standard and substitute textures as well as between children without disabilities and children with eating impairments.
Results. Substitutes for pureed and viscous, but not solid textures could be used for children without disabilities; in children with eating impairments, substitutes for viscous and solid, but not pureed textures could be used.
Conclusion. Children with eating impairments may be more sensitive than children without disabilities to small changes in food consistencies or other characteristics of the food. Thus, in standardized testing, food textures should not be arbitrarily interchanged.
Fieldwork Education and Students With Disabilities: Enter the Americans With Disabilities Act
Authors: Kornblau Barbara L. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
For occupational therapy students with disabilities, making the transition from the classroom to clinical fieldwork presents an interesting challenge to clinical fieldwork supervisors and academic fieldwork advisors. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws have changed the rules by requiring fieldwork sites and academic programs to make accommodations for students with disabilities. Occupational therapy’s basic philosophy combined with the occupational therapist’s training in task analysis, functional limitations of disabilities, modification of the environment and clinical reasoning skills, places the occupational therapist in a natural position to make these reasonable accommodations. The author presents the DIALOGUE system, a method of communication designed to make a smooth transition to ADA compliance in the fieldwork arena.
Occupationally Embedded Exercise Versus Rote Exercise: A Choice Between Occupational Forms by Elderly Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Zimmerer-Branum Sheri , Nelson David L. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objectives. The provision of options in the occupational form that encourages meaningful choices and subsequent purposeful occupational performances is a basic premise of occupational therapy. This study examines the preferences of elderly nursing home residents when presented with an occupationally embedded exercise versus a rote exercise and addresses the methodological problems identified in similar past research.
Method. Fifty-two elderly nursing home residents were presented with a choice between an occupationally embedded exercise that involved unilateral dunking of a small, spongy ball into a basketball hoop and a rote exercise that involved moving the arm above the head in a simulation of the dunking exercise. Both exercises required flexion of the shoulder joint. Random assignment of the 52 subjects into one of four groups controlled for the order of the presentation of the exercises and the order of the choice statements.
Results. Sixty-nine percent of the subjects chose the occupationally embedded exercise. Analysis with the significance of a proportion statistic revealed a statistically significant difference (z = 2.77; p (one-tailed) = .003).
Conclusion. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that elderly nursing home residents would tend to choose the occupationally embedded exercise. To further confirm this basic premise of occupational therapy, future studies that investigate therapeutic patterns of movement embedded in common occupations are recommended.
Recruitment and Retention Strategies Used by Occupational Therapy Directors in Acute Care, Rehabilitation, and Long-Term-Care Settings
Authors: Smith Patrick , Schiller M. Rosita , Grant H. Kay , Sachs Larry 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objectives. Occupational therapy directors need to recruit and retain therapists to ensure both the delivery of high-quality services and the viability of their departments. At present, research on the recruitment and retention of occupational therapists is limited; recruitment and retention strategies can be cited, but their utility and effectiveness have not been determined.
Method. A survey was designed to identify the recruitment and retention strategies used in various practice settings and the perceived level of effectiveness of those strategies that were used. The surveys were mailed to 500 occupational therapy directors. Once the sample size was adjusted to exclude non-eligible subjects, the eligible sample size was 471. Of these, 320 (68%) were usable.
Results. Ten of the 23 recruitment strategies listed on the survey were used by more than 70% of the respondents. The top three recruitment strategies were staff member referrals, professional development opportunities, and newspaper advertisements. Seventeen of the 23 retention strategies listed on the survey were used by more than 70% of the respondents. The top three retention strategies were interpersonal staff member relationships, employee appraisals, and continuing education.
Conclusion. Findings suggest that occupational therapy departments’ recruitment and retention plans could be improved by expanding the number of strategies used and by incorporating techniques that appeal to a broader range of therapists.
The Effects of Dynavision Rehabilitation on Behind-the-Wheel Driving Ability and Selected Psychomotor Abilities of Persons After Stroke
Authors: Klavora Peter , Gaskovski Peter , Martin Kathleen , Forsyth Rick D. , Heslegrave Ron J. , Young Margaret , Quinn Robert P. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objective. Many conventional rehabilitation exercises, such as pencil-and-paper and computer tasks, may not train perceptual and motor skills as applied to a complex, multiskill activity such as driving. The present study examined the usefulness of the Dynavision apparatus for driving-related rehabilitation. The Dynavision was designed to train visual scanning, peripheral visual awareness, visual attention, and visual-motor reaction time across a broad, active visual field.
Method. Ten persons with a cerebrovascular accident participated in the study. All had failed behind-the-wheel driving assessments. Subjects participated in a 6-week Dynavision training program using exercises designed to impose various motor, perceptual, and cognitive demands.
Results. Dynavision training resulted in significantly improved behind-the-wheel driving assessments as compared to expected outcomes. Comparisons between pretests, posttests, and follow-up tests on a number of Dynavision, response, and reaction time variables showed significant improvements and maintenance effects. Dynavision performance, and, to a lesser extent, choice visual reaction and response times, were found to differentiate between persons assessed as safe and unsafe to drive, and between older and younger drivers. Subject self-reports suggested that a variety of training-related improvements had occurred in everyday functioning.
Conclusion. Dynavision training shows some rehabilitative promise for improving driving and basic psychomotor skills. Future research on the benefits and limitations of this apparatus should use finer laboratory skill measures and more comprehensive tests of driving and daily functioning to assess more thoroughly skill improvements in persons after stroke.
The Relationships Among Sensorimotor Components, Fine Motor Skill, and Functional Performance in Preschool Children
Authors: Case-Smith Jane 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objectives. This correlational study investigated the relationships among sensorimotor components, standardized measures of fine motor skill, and functional performance in self-care, mobility, and social interaction. It also examined which sensorimotor components and fine motor skills were predictors of functional performance.
Method. Thirty preschool children with motor delays were evaluated with tests of in-band manipulation, tactile defensiveness, stereognosis, grasping strength, and fine motor skill. Parents of the subjects were interviewed with the Pediatric Evaluation of Disabilities Inventory. Correctional and regression analyses were computed.
Results. Significant correlations were found among sensorimotor components and discrete fine motor skills as measured on standardized observational tests. Few correlations emerged between functional components of fine motor skill and functional performance in self-care, mobility, and social function.
Conclusion. Lack of significant relationships among the variables, all of which were aspects of functional performance might be due to the difference between judgment-based and observational evaluation, the inf1uence of the environmental context on the child’s performance, and the inf1uence of cultural values on the opportunities afforded to the child.
A Play-Focused Intervention Involving Mothers of Preschoolers
Authors: Esdaile Susan A. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objectives. This study examined the effect of an occupational therapy intervention program for mothers of preschoolers. It was designed to enhance mother–child interaction through play, reduce mothers’ perceived stress, and increase mothers’ knowledge about child development.
Method. Maternal causal attributions for parent–child interaction outcomes, stress, self-concept as educator, and children’s temperament and behavior were measured with standardized questionnaires before, after, and at 18 months follow-up to the intervention program. The intervention comprised a 2.5-hr, 10-week activity-based program that involved 35 mothers and their 2-year-old to 3.5-year-old children in toy making and toy demonstrations. Subjects were assigned to two intervention program (experimental) groups and one control group, which was administered questionnaires but whose members did not attend a program.
Results. No group changes were detected on conclusion of, or allow-up to, the program according to measures of attributions for parent–child interaction outcomes, perceived stress, self-concept as educator, or child temperament and behavior. However, some subjects had substantial score increases in their self-concept as educators of their children. Subjects’ evaluations for each session and the overall program were positive. Feedback from community nurses confirmed that several subjects subsequently used the skills they had learned through the intervention about use of toys and child development to conduct playgroups in the community. Previously undetected developmental or behavioral problems were identified for 8 (23%) of the 35 subjects.
Conclusion. Subjects’ positive responses to the program, the skills they acquired and shared, and identification of problems needing treatment supported the value of the intervention. Lack of quantifiable group changes suggested that qualitative, single-case design evaluations, or both may have been more appropriate methods to assess outcomes.
Influence of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Assessment Method on Judgments of Independence
Authors: Brown Catana , Moore William P. , Hemman Darcee , Yunek Amy 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Objective: Occupational therapists frequently evaluate instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) performance with interviews and observation of simulated tasks. This study examined the congruence of judgments of independence when comparing task performance assessed by interview and simulation with task performance assessed by observation in the natural environment.
Method: Twenty person with severe mental illness were selected through convenience sampling and evaluated on two IADL task (making a purchase in a store and using the bus). The participants were evaluated on each task with two methods of assessment: interview and simulation and observation in the natural environment.
Results. Results indicated inconsistent performance across assessment approaches and tasks and supported the importance of considering contextual features in understanding the complexity of performance in the natural environment. A trend toward false positives was found in which several participants were judged independent on the IADL assessment but could not perform the same tasks in the natural environment.
Conclusion. Occupational therapists should be cautious when making judgments of independence on the basis of interview and observation of simulated tasks. Evaluating IADL performance in the persons’ natural environment may provide more accurate information.