Professional Occupational Therapists Research Articles

“Eu fui violentada por dentro, estando em um lugar deveria ser cuidada”: Experiências de opressão e violência em contextos de saúde em relação a mulheres com deficiências e abordagens da terapia ocupacional feminista

Abstract Introduction The practices of violence in health contexts constitute one of the multiple manifestations of violence against women with disabilities. In Chile, as in the rest of the world, the development of studies on this violence is still incipient. Objectives To characterize practices of violence against women with disabilities in health contexts, and to characterize experiences of vindication of human rights of this group of women in Chile, from the voices of activists and professional occupational therapists. Method A secondary analysis of qualitative data from a study executed between 2015 and 2020 was conducted. From a qualitative approach and collective case study, a secondary thematic analysis of the data obtained from 8 interviewees was performed. Results From the perspective of the informants, women with disabilities experience structural violence in a systematic and transversal way, which crosses other various forms of violence: physical, psychological, sexual, obstetric, and symbolic-institutional. The experiences of this group in claiming their human rights reflect processes of emancipation, resistance, and construction of practices that transform these violations. Conclusion The practices of violence in health contexts toward women with disabilities in Chile is a situation visualized as manifestations of domination and oppression against them, which perpetuate their social exclusion and inequalities in health. Faced with this situation of social injustice, women activists and professional occupational therapists propose the need to implement strategies for the vindication of human rights, together with practices of collective resistance.

Prioritising practice education through collaborations

The critical importance of practice education in occupational therapy to graduate outcomes and preparedness for practice is well recognised (Doherty, Stagnitti, & Schoo, 2009; Gray et al., 2012; Holmes et al., 2010) being referred to as the bridge between academic education and occupational therapy practice (Roberts, Hooper, Wood, & King, 2015). It is also the foundation on which graduates make career choices and develop as professional occupational therapists. Recognition of the importance of practice education is evidenced through a growing international collection of published research into both innovative models and the pedagogy of practice education (Roberts et al., 2015).

Training Improves Vibrotactile Spatial Acuity and Intensity Discrimination on the Lower Back Using Coin Motors.

Tactile vision substitution devices are assistive technologies for the blind that redirect visual information to the tactile sense. They typically include a tactile display that conveys visual information to the skin. Two important parameters that determine the maximum information bandwidth of tactile displays are the spatial acuity of the skin, and the ability of the user to discriminate between stimulus intensities. These two parameters were investigated by determining the two-point discrimination (TPD) threshold and the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) using coin motors on the lower back. Coin motors are eccentric rotating-mass motors that are affordable, energy-efficient, and easy to implement. The lower back was chosen because it is a discreet place to wear assistive technology. It is generally available for use, as it is usually not critically involved in activities of daily living. Rehabilitation with sensory substitution devices often requires training by professional occupational therapists, because the user needs to extract visual information from sparse information presented through an alternative channel such as the skin. In this study they determined whether short, automated training sessions of 5 min each could improve the TPD threshold and JND. It was found that 10 min of computer-assisted training improved the vibrotactile TPD threshold on the lower back by 36%, and that 18 min of training improved the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) by 44%. It was concluded that short, automated training sessions could provide a fast and inexpensive means to improve people's basic spatial acuity and intensity discrimination skills with coin motors.

Terapia ocupacional en la normatividad colombiana relacionada con conflicto armado

Introducción. La literatura especializada señala la importancia del terapeuta ocupacional en conflictos violentos al reportar múltiples reflexiones y experiencias; sin embargo, son ausentes los trabajos que en Colombia profundicen en los alcances y posibilidades profesionales según la legislación vigente.Objetivo. Analizar disposiciones del marco legal colombiano relacionadas con conflicto armado para identificar contenidos afines a la terapia ocupacional.Materiales y métodos. Investigación documental acerca de la normatividad colombiana sobre conflicto armado para su respectivo análisis.Resultados. Las disposiciones revisadas no mencionan la terapia ocupacional. Las normas, según áreas de ejercicio, se distribuyen así: bienestar social 21.8%, psicosocial 21.8%, sociolaboral 20.6%, biosocial 20.6% y educación 14%; estas, en su mayoría, cubren a víctimas del conflicto y se interesan en el desplazamiento forzado. Se destacan la mirada diferencial para protección de la población infantil y los procedimientos como atención directa, actividades grupales e intervención con familias.Conclusiones. Se evidencia una necesidad de impulso gremial al reconocimiento social de las posibilidades de la terapia ocupacional en ámbitos distintos al clínico. La falta de claridad por parte de la sociedad y el desconocimiento de legisladores sobre los alcances profesionales de los terapeutas ocupacionales pueden ser causa de la no mención en las disposiciones analizadas. Como retos gremiales queda participar en escenarios de formulación de políticas públicas, divulgar experiencias profesionales en conflictos violentos y fomentar programas dirigidos a actores armados.

A critical discourse analysis of the attitudes of occupational therapists and physiotherapists towards the systematic use of standardised outcome measurement

Purpose: To investigate discourses relating to the implementation of standardised outcome measurement within rehabilitation practise. Method: It is a critical discourse analysis of texts in professional occupational therapist (OT) and physiotherapist (PT) journals, along with transcriptions from three focus group interviews with 25 OTs and PTs in local rehabilitation settings. Results: Although positive attitudes towards outcome measurement were expressed in the professional journals, OTs and PTs in local settings had professional reservations about standardisation of the rehabilitation practise. The therapists were caught in what they considered to be a dilemma between taking a holistic approach and performing standardised practise. Systematic outcome measurement challenged the core values of their practise. Therapists often felt that ‘it did not make sense’ to use outcome measurement and this became a barrier to its implementation. Conclusion: If the use of standardised outcome measurement is to be increased, reflection is needed on how the measurements can be integrated to provide a meaningful contribution to individual rehabilitation processes. To optimise implementation, it is essential to make use of research in knowledge translation and adapt it to fit with the ways in which new ideas and recommendations are implemented in local rehabilitation contexts.Implications for RehabilitationSuccessful implementation of standardised outcome measurements depends on whether occupational therapists and physiotherapists have an experience of the measurements as being meaningful.Enforcement of standardised outcome measurements must be done by means of more than a few isolated arguments, if professional acceptance is to be gained.To reject established dogmas on, e.g. standardisation, deliberate and conscious reflections in local settings are needed. It is necessary to go beyond normal and familiar professional reflections. To this end, newcomers’ opinions are valuable.

Study of multi-sensory stimulation for the design of hand rehabilitation equipment for stroke patients

Stroke has long been a critical health issue in adults, affecting their physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. The purpose of this study was to develop hand rehabilitation equipment based on multi-sensory stimulation therapy for stroke patients. An experiment was conducted with seventeen professional occupational therapists (each having more than five years of work experience) who individually evaluated the effectiveness of hand rehabilitation using seven hand gestures with two treatment approaches (top-down and bottom-up) and their corresponding six rehabilitation techniques (top-down: mirror therapy and auditory stimulation; bottom-up: tactile stimulation, thermal stimulation, electrical stimulation, and vibration stimulation). Our study used a within-subject partial hierarchical design, where rehabilitation techniques were partially nested within treatment approaches and crossed with hand gestures. Analyses of the three-way factorial analysis of variance showed that rehabilitation technique had a significant effect and that vibration stimulation and mirror therapy were most effective. Based on the findings of this study, multi-sensory stimulation equipment (combining vibration stimulation and mirror therapy) was designed to improve the sensorimotor ability of stroke patients.

S.02.02 Midlife progression in brain tissue loss and clinical outcomes of schizophrenia in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

To assess the effect of aerobic exercise (AZ) on global cognition and different cognition domains in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) in daily care. Selection of the literature was done through the Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the effect of AZ on cognition of SZ patients. All assessment indicators were subjected to sensitivity analysis to test the stability of the result. Subgroup analysis was conducted on study type, follow-up time, supervisor and control method. Totally, 23 articles enrolling 1014 participants were included. The global cognition of SZ patients was improved after 6 months of follow-up. AE guided by an occupational therapist improved the global cognition of SZ patients. AE was associated with improved verbal learning and memory, reasoning and problem solving (SMD: 0.375, 95%CI: 0.009 to 0.741, P = 0.045). However, effects on speed of processing, attention/vigilance, work memory, visual learning and memory, social cognition were not significant. The effect of AE training on global cognition may be maintained over the long-term, and be domain specific. Patients with SZ can do AE guided by professional occupational therapist in their daily lives settings.

The provision of education and training for health care professionals through the medium of the Internet

Describes a new and experimental initiative to provide Internet‐based courses to student and professional occupational therapists in four centres in the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden. The basis of this collaborative Occupational Therapy Internet School (OTIS) is the concept of the “Virtual College”. The aim is to support and facilitate the whole range of educational activities within a remote electronic environment. A major feature of the course organisation is the adoption of a problem‐based approach in which students will collaborate internationally to propose effective intervention in given case study scenarios. Outlines the rationale for OTIS, the content and structure of the courseware, the technical specification of the system and evaluation criteria. In addition to the more conventional Web‐based learning facilities generally offered, a number of agent‐based approaches are being adopted to assist in the management of the course by ensuring the proper delivery of course materials and to assist the functioning of project groups.

An occupational therapy Internet school.

Four centres in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden have collaborated to provide Internet-based courses for student and professional occupational therapists. The basis of the occupational Therapy Internet School (OTIS) is the concept of the 'virtual college'. This comprises the design and implementation of a sophisticated Internet-based system through which courses can be managed, prepared and delivered on line, and through which students can communicate both with the staff and their peers. The aim is to support and facilitate the whole range of educational activities within a remote electronic environment.

Ability to solve problems, professionalism, management, empathy, and working capacity in occupational therapy--the professional self description form.

The majority of occupational therapists in Sweden previously worked on large occupational therapy wards. Health care policy has changed over the years and the system has been reorganized accordingly. The employment situation for occupational therapists has also changed. This paper focuses on the perception of professional self among occupational therapists. The objective was to explore the professional self and to suggest components important to the occupational therapist profession. The Professional Self Description Form (PSDF) was used for the exploration of self. The 19 items in the PSDF cover areas relevant to professional functioning and activity. Sixty-eight employed occupational therapists participated. The results of the PSDF were subjected to factor analysis and five factors were obtained; Ability to solve problems, Professionalism, Management, Empathy, and Working capacity. We believe that these five factors can function as improving domains of the role of the professional occupational therapist in Sweden.

Men in occupational therapy.

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of male occupational therapists so that better strategies for recruiting men into the profession can be developed and the problem of retaining men in the field can be addressed. Male occupational therapists were surveyed at 3-year intervals, in 1978, 1982, and 1985. Our survey results were compared with results of the 1969 American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Member Data Survey reported by Jantzen (1973), the 1982 AOTA Member Data Survey, and an unpublished study by Watson (1983). The number of professional occupational therapists almost tripled from 1970 to 1985, whereas the increase in the proportion of men was only from 3.9% to 5%. The study showed that as a group, male occupational therapists today are younger, more likely to have advanced degrees, and less likely to be married than their 1969 counterparts. Additional data included employment data, educational data, and demographic information such as family position, education and occupation of parents, extracurricular activities in high school and college, factors influencing career choice, and goals for the future.