Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/23238

This collection includes capstone projects authored by doctoral students in the Department of Occupational Therapy.

If you are an OTD student and need access to upload your project, please contact the IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship (digschol@iupui.edu).

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 103

Skills on Wheels Program Development: Supporting All Participants, Caregivers, and Siblings
(2023-05-08) Heminger, Rachel; Chase, Tony; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Chase, Tony
This project was focused on three important aspects, all of which surrounded improving the Skills on Wheels Program for this year and future years. These aspects included improving and promoting the social participation and self-efficacy of the participants, educating, and promoting social support for the caregivers, as well as creating a space for the siblings of the participants to learn, play, and promote community. The latter two topics were focused on program development. However, the first topic was the research portion of this capstone. The goal of this research was to improve the participants initiation in social engagement/participation. The data was collected by giving the caregivers of the participants pre and post surveys about their children’s social engagement. Results of the surveys showed there was an increase in all three variables that were compared. This supports the programs that were implemented and their focus on improving social participation within the participants of the program. There were some implications for this research which includes number of caregivers surveyed, attendance of caregivers on both survey days, as well as the duration of time between each survey. For future sessions, it is suggested that these areas continue to improve, and that social engagement continues to be promoted throughout the program.
Knowledge, Confidence, & Competence: Utilizing Personal Narrative as a Pedagogical Tool for Educating Professional Healthcare Students about Local Lead Involvement
(2023-04-28) Belkiewitz, Johnna; Wasmuth, Sally; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Wasmuth, Sally
Community-based occupational therapy provides a unique opportunity for practitioners to listen and respond to the needs that are most pressing in local communities. In Marion County, Indiana, lead exposure and resulting negative health consequences should be of major concern to local residents and healthcare providers, as many homes are older and at-risk for lead-based paint and corroded water piping and lead soil contents are high due to historical locations of lead-based product factories (United States Commission on Civil Rights, 2020); however, few local professional healthcare educational programs focus on equipping students with lead toxicity knowledge regarding symptomology, treatment, and legislative mandates for testing schedules, putting community members at high-risk for continued exposure. This 14-week doctoral capstone utilized community-based occupational therapy methods to address these issues, creating and disseminating a videoed narrative-based theater pedagogical tool to educate professional healthcare students and advocating for the profession’s unique role in addressing lead exposure. The intervention consisted of a 35-minute video, produced from community interviews and utilizing narrative medicine techniques, and a virtual lead toolkit for students to implement in future client care. Mixed methods data analysis found significant learning outcomes of occupational therapy students who engaged in the intervention. The products of this doctoral capstone are being broadly shared through professional publication and widespread community distribution of a modified version of the intervention.
Pediatric Emotional Regulation and Parental Wellness: An Educational Program at a Child Development Center
(2023-05-01) Reed, Morgan; Van Antwerp, Leah; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; White, Debra
Pediatric emotional regulation strategies can facilitate increased emotional development, positive interpersonal relationships, and increased self-efficacy. Caregiver wellness can have a direct impact on a child’s emotional, social, and psychological development. Additionally, staff members at an early childhood development center identified a need to improve students’ emotional regulation abilities and address caregiver wellness through capstone program development. The purpose of this capstone project was to meet the identified needs through the: implementation of a pediatric yoga program and outlining of a caregiver wellness workshop. At the conclusion of the capstone, teachers were satisfied with the yoga implementation, believed it helped promote emotional regulation development in the students, and stated they had a high likelihood of continuing yoga sessions after the capstone. The capstone student identified common caregiver stressors, which in turn highlighted client-centered topics to be considered for a caregiver wellness workshop.
Doctoral Capstone: A Process Evaluation of the Implementation of Trust-Based Relational Interventions within Indian Creek Schools
(2023-05-02) McGillem, Cassandra L.; Petrenchik, Terry; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Long, Eric
This doctoral capstone project focuses on conducting a process evaluation of the implementation of Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI) within Indian Creek Schools. TBRI is a trauma-informed approach that focuses on connecting with, empowering, and correcting children to obtain positive behavior changes (Purvis et al., 2013). With increasing literature surrounding trauma and its negative impact on the occupation of education, occupational therapists have the opportunity to advocate for trauma-informed practices within the school setting. This doctoral capstone began with a needs assessment and literature review which allowed the capstone student to gather pertinent background information regarding TBRI and the site. The capstone student attended a TBRI caregiver training, created and distributed surveys to the teachers at Indian Creek Schools, and conducted interviews with the teachers. 15.6% (n=21) of the teachers (n=134) completed a survey and 6.7% (n=9) of the teachers participated in an interview with the capstone student. While this was a low response rate, the capstone student was able to share with the site the data regarding the evaluation of the implementation process. The process evaluation revealed that the teachers felt either unequipped to apply TBRI or did not see the value in utilizing TBRI. Both of these factors lead to the inconsistent implementation of TBRI within Indian Creek Schools. This low implementation fidelity has led to many teachers abandoning the program prior to meeting desired outcomes. Understanding the current process of implementation is a key baseline component to ensure the future success of TBRI in meeting the needs of the Indian Creek Schools.
CNA Care Provision Through the Lens of an Occupational Therapist: A Doctoral Capstone Experience
(2023-05-03) Stuckwisch, Devin; Sego, Daniel; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Gerlach, Scott
Occupational therapists have long played a unique role in the rehab and care given to clients within the skilled nursing facility environment. Occupational therapists have a distinct skillset and vital role in the ability to increase a client’s independence in activities of daily living which include self-care tasks, such as bathing, toileting, dressing, and functional mobility. With extensive education and expertise in multiple areas in client care, OTs have the ability to play a leading role in the promotion of interprofessional collaboration across multiple disciplines. With a great overlap in care, the capstone study developed an educational program to promote interprofessional collaboration between nursing and therapy staffs to improve health outcomes of residents in a skilled nursing facility.
Efficacy of a Hydrotherapy Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
(2023-05) Johnson, Lauryn J.; Van Antwerp, Leah R.; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Bushur, Stephanie E.
15 million infants are born premature each year leading to increased neonatal and childhood morbidity and mortality (de Oliveira Tobunaga et al. ,2016). While in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), these infants are exposed to a noisy environment, daily manipulation, and painful procedures that have the potential to impact their clinical stability and neuro-psychomotor development (Novakoski et al., 2018). A level III NICU, located in Carmel, Indiana, developed a hydrotherapy program to mitigate the harsh environment of the NICU and address neuro-motor development in these pre-term infants. The doctoral capstone experience (DCE) aimed to determine the efficacy of the program in improving psychological stability and reducing pain. Pre-and-post data, including physiological parameters and pain, were collected before and after each session. The results showed an overall increase in axillary body temperature, heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR) with a reduction in oxygen saturation (SPO2). Pain was also assessed before and after the intervention. The results, of this current study, suggest hydrotherapy may promote slight irritation. Though hydrotherapy is a safe, low-cost intervention offering several benefits, further studies should be completed and include a larger sample population and randomization before determining efficacy in the NICU.
Improving Perinatal Health Care: Increasing the Utilization of Mental Health Screening Tools Among Pelvic Health Therapists
(2023-05-01) Caes, Sydney; Van Antwerp, Leah; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Hess, Pamela; Hernandez, Kaylene
Perinatal mental health disorders affect approximately 1 in 5 birthing parents and can have serious negative implications if left undiagnosed and untreated. For example, birthing parents with such diagnoses are less likely to engage with their infant which can result in impaired bonding and caregiving. This capstone project sought to improve knowledge and confidence regarding perinatal mental health screening and referral among pelvic health therapists at an outpatient rehabilitation clinic. The project included an evidence-based presentation highlighting the importance of perinatal mental health screening, as well as newly created standardized screening and referral protocols that were presented to the therapists and implemented at the clinic. These protocols were created to ensure that patients receive appropriate screening and referrals for perinatal mental health disorders. Quasi-experimental research was conducted to gauge the therapist’s knowledge and confidence regarding perinatal mental health and determine the effectiveness of the presentation in educating staff. The results indicated statistically significant improvements in both knowledge and confidence among the therapists. This project had a meaningful impact on both the occupational and physical therapy professions, as it emphasized the importance of therapists’ involvement in perinatal mental health screening. This project adds to the growing body of research to support occupational therapy’s role in perinatal mental health.
The Purpose Program: Improving Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents with Dementia Through Participation in Meaningful Activity
(2023-05-03) Rueff, Martina; Hull, Kristin; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Schomber, Jerica
Before the pandemic, the memory care residents at Aspen Place Health Campus (APHC) had fulfilling schedules with limited downtime. The residents were provided with vast opportunities for meaningful activity and occupational engagement provided by the nursing staff and activities department. During the pandemic, APHC was forced to stop all activities with the memory care residents due to safety restrictions and precautions. Since then, APHC has been instructed to resume “normal” pre-pandemic daily activities and programming. The activities department was successful in providing the memory care residents activities, however the nursing staff was not due to high staff turnover, and limited guidance and resources on the activities they should had been conducting with the residents. Because of this, the memory care residents were given limited opportunities to engage in meaningful activities during downtime, which resulted in poor mood, increased sedentary behavior, and overall decreased quality of life (QOL). There was a gap between what the memory care residents wanted and needed to do and what APHC provided for them. This capstone project, titled The Purpose Project, was focused on providing APHC an activity program that consisted of over 80 meaningful and evidence-based activities for the nursing staff to implement with the memory care residents to reduce sedentary time, improve mood and increase QOL of the residents. The Purpose Project was conducted twice a day, every weekday for five and a half weeks with participating memory care residents. Overall, Dementia Quality of Life (DEMQOL) scores increased by an average of 13 points for the participating residents, 92% of the activities resulted in positive mood after and sedentary time of the participating memory care residents was reduced by 66%.
Accessibility Guidelines for Increasing Independence in Daily Life for Children with Disabilities
(2023-04-30) Prentice, Alex; Hull, Kristin; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Chase, Tony
There is often a gap between how the environment is designed and what individuals with disabilities are able to do (Solvang & Haualand, 2014). I analyzed the limitations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it applies to all areas of disability. Universal design is a good alternative to design recommendations from ADA as it strives to design for all people regardless of ability level. Universal design concepts and recommendations from an architect and disabled self-advocates were combined to create accessibility guidelines that surpass the limitations of the ADA. These guidelines were presented to a group of caregivers of children who use wheelchairs. Feedback received from the caregivers indicated that the guidelines will be used to assist them in making home modifications. The guidelines will continue to be updated and annually given to caregivers of participants in a community-based wheelchair skills program.
Improving the Discharge Planning Process in Inpatient Rehabilitation
(2023-05-02) Flores, Jessica; Hull, Kristin; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Thompson, Laura
The discharge planning process is a process that identifies the type of care you will need once you discharge from a healthcare facility and prepares you for the transition of care. An efficient discharge planning process can help prevent patients from experiencing adverse events, and, thus, reduce hospital readmissions. However, current literature suggests that healthcare facilities may struggle with maintaining an efficient discharge planning process due to discharge planning barriers and post-discharge concerns. One way to address this problem is through discharge planning, or transitional care, interventions designed to enhance this specific process. The ultimate purpose of this capstone project was to develop discharge planning interventions for a local inpatient rehabilitation hospital that identified gaps in its discharge process but lacked the resources to develop new interventions. After conducting a needs assessment, completing a literature review, and collaborating with crucial stakeholders, the capstone site was provided with two discharge interventions, a discharge checklist, and patient and caregiver resource binders. Utilizing an occupational therapy lens, the Plan-Do-Study-Act model, and the Adult Learning Theory, these interventions were designed to support and meet the needs of the patients, their caregivers, and the rehabilitation staff at the capstone site. Based on evaluation survey results, the site’s therapy staff were satisfied with the interventions as they perceived them to be beneficial for all the rehabilitation therapists, the patients, and the caregivers. Due to the project’s overall impact on the site and the profession of occupational therapy, this capstone project was deemed a success.

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