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Occupational Therapy’s Role Within the Foster System
Cassidy Solomon and Cassandra Nelson
This poster will discuss the development of an occupational therapy program to support the needs of youth within the foster system to prepare this population to live independently. Background information including statistics, the need for occupational therapy, and the program specifics such as rationale, significance, and objective are displayed. The development of an occupational therapy program to aid in the success of children within the foster care system helps to close a gap in research that will contribute to the success and positive outcomes of this population. The purpose of this capstone was to develop a program for children in the foster system, ages 15-18, to gain the life skills needed for independence in occupational participation of ADLs and IADLs. Foster children tend to have many contributing factors that lead to a decreased quality of life (AOTA, 2021). The training and education that occupational therapists can provide will allow these children to develop strategies and skills that will lead to an improved overall mental health status, functional life skill development, feelings of success, and an increase in quality of life.
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Exploration of Club Motorcycle Riding for Veteans
Dakota Strahl and Amy Lyons-Brown
There is significantly limited research regarding the occupation of club motorcycle riding, and even more limited with its application to the veteran population
The study yielded 17 survey participants and 7 interview participants from the VFW MC. The study aimed to discover the benefits of club motorcycle riding for the veteran population through a Doing, Being, Becoming, and Belonging Framework. The data consisted of both quantitative and qualitative components which revealed four overall themes.
The four main themes that came from the data analysis were (1) Camaraderie, (2) Mental and Emotional Health Through Occupation, (3) Reconstruction of Identity, and (4) Altruistic Contributions. From trust to brotherhood, each veteran seemed to have a connection within the VFW MC that they have not experienced since their time in the service. There was a collective sense of occupation that underlined each members answers when explaining the importance of the club.
Having a role within a group occupation can be a benefit to those going through life transitions, such as retirement. There needs to be a further emphasis on the importance of discovering the ways occupational therapy can promote a collectivistic mindset within the veteran population.
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OT’s Role in Facilitating Foster Youth's Transition to College and Career Exploration
Stacey Tang and Amy Lyons-Brown
Foster youths often face numerous adversities, limiting their occupational performance and ability to transition into adulthood, specifically regarding career and education. This poster explores the role of Occupational Therapy (OT) in supporting these youths as they age out of foster care, particularly focusing on college and career exploration. Using the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) and KAWA River models, a needs assessment was conducted in collaboration with Foster Love, a non-profit organization. The assessment revealed gaps in resources and support for foster youths, leading to the development of workshops that foster self-reflection, emotional regulation, and goal setting as they navigate their transition into college and career exploration. This capstone advocates for OT's involvement in providing trauma-informed, client-centered care, ultimately enhancing the educational and career outcomes for foster youths.
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Enhancing Co-Occupation of Play For Families Experiencing Homelessness
Vienna Vargas and Susan MacDermott
The presentation covers program development for families residing in transitional housing with the opportunity to engage in healthy play activities to promote health and wellness.
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Outdoor Recreation for People with Spinal Cord Injuries: An Educational Video Series
Siarra N. Walker, Steven M. Gerardi, and Heather Rennerfeldt
More than 15 million people globally are living with spinal cord injury (SCI). Only half of people with SCI engage in leisure activities and approximately 71% of the population reports dissatisfaction in their leisure participation. There are numerous intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that lead to these significant declines in leisure exploration and participation, including lack of knowledge and inaccurate accessible online information. In correlation with these barriers, occupational therapy practitioners underutilize leisure participation during the rehabilitation process for people with SCI and this is an underreported topic in the literature. Occupational therapy practitioners and people with SCI lack knowledge of adapted outdoor recreational activities that people with SCI can engage in. The purpose of this project was to create an educational video series to promote participation in adapted outdoor recreational activities among people with SCI. An educational video series containing 18 videos was created through the culmination of literature review, communication with stakeholders, and gathering data during capstone site experience. Topics incorporated in this video series include background of SCI and outdoor recreation, precautions, equipment, transfers, participation expectations for cervical and thoracic level SCI, and opportunities for outdoor recreation participation in Colorado. The outdoor recreational activities that are reviewed in this educational video series include archery, cycling, kayaking, and paddleboarding.
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Disaster Planning for People with Spinal Cord Injury: An Educational Video Series
Kayla Webre; Steven M. Gerardi PhD, OTD, MSS, OTR; and Eric Hicks PhD, MS, OTR
A spinal cord injury is classified as an impairment of the nerves that compose the spinal cord. A spinal cord injury can affect the motor and sensory pathways below the level of the injury. As a result, people with spinal cord injury experience physical, emotional, and environmental barriers. Furthermore, they experience an increase in health-related issues such as autonomic dysreflexia, changes in the bowel and bladder system, pressure wounds, and difficulty regulating body temperature. However, these comorbidities are often exacerbated during a natural disaster. Additionally, the physical and environmental barriers continue to influence this population in times of disaster. The overall difficulty of navigating a natural disaster puts people at risk for occupational disruption but can be more likely for this population due to the barriers that influence their daily life pre/post natural disaster. People with disabilities are 2 to 4 times more likely to sustain a secondary injury or a fatality. Literature shows that disaster preparation can positively influence response and recovery to a natural disaster. Existing resources on natural disaster preparation fail to include specific considerations of the spinal cord community's needs. To address this problem, an educational video series was created. This video series contains 10 videos, providing insight and considerations of the specific needs that the spinal cord injury population may face during a disaster, evacuation, and sheltering in place.
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Exploring Sexual Satisfaction and Intimacy After T6 and Above Spinal Cord Injury: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Aron Williams, Karen Aranha, and Angela Labrie Blackwell
Background: With T6 and above SCIs, there is a greater chance of sexual function and satisfaction being impacted; however, individuals lack the clinical support and resources needed for rehabilitation in this area. From an occupational science and occupational adaptation (OA) perspective, examining the multifactorial needs and the lived experiences of individuals with SCI T6 and above who have attained sexual satisfaction post-injury would aid in better serving the rehabilitation needs of this population. Methodology: This study explored the process that individuals with SCIs underwent to achieve sexual satisfaction and intimacy post-injury. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology was used to guide the data collection and the analysis. Data included semi-structured interviews (N=6) and a field journal maintained by the primary investigator. Findings: The three superordinate themes that emerged and reached data saturation included, (1) a journey with acceptance and recovery, (2) finding one’s community is vital for recovery, and (3) intimacy trumps sexual activity. Conclusion: Reaching sexual satisfaction is a process and a journey for individuals with high level SCIs. They are dependent on clinicians and community enablers to meet their goals of intimacy and sexual satisfaction.
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