Employee Wellness in Acute Mental Health Settings – An Occupational Therapy Perspective

This poster outlines a doctoral capstone project focused on addressing the holistic factors influencing patient recovery and well-being in acute mental health settings. A comprehensive needs assessment was conducted to identify knowledge gaps, sources of staff stress, and environmental barriers impacting occupational performance. Findings informed the development of a staff-focused program aimed at mitigating stressors and enhancing therapeutic engagement. In addition, a report will be created with evidence-based recommendations for physical environment modifications to support both patient and employee well-being and occupational participationhttps://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1011/thumbnail.jp

Discovering the Cultural Impacts on Asian American, Pacific Islander (AAPI) Occupations from Adolescent Experiences

Background: Among the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) population, there is a gap in mental health (MH) utilization and seeking support for anxiety and depression (Wu et al., 2021). Adolescents experience a higher risk for self-isolating behaviors and struggle to find appropriate support (Ai et al., 2022; Santos & Kawabata, 2023). Based on cultural and socio-political contexts, what is the occupational impact on AAPI adolescents? How do cultural factors impact the utilization of community-based MH services? Method: A convergent mixed methods study of unobtrusive data (n = 14), surveys (n = 29), and interviews (n = 4) was conducted to assess the occupational harmony between occupational performance and MH supports. Reflexive thematic analysis of the unobtrusive data and interviews provided overlying themes, whereas graphical analysis of survey responses provided visual descriptors. Results: Family and cultural values have a strong relationship affecting how adolescents develop their values. Most AAPI adolescents are not familiar with MH supports (41%) and rarely sought external support (38%) or resources (83%). The rate of occupational harmony is skewed left with a moderate alignment of roles (mean = 6.69, SD = 1.58) and harmony (mean = 6.41, 1.52). Conclusion: The cultural impact on occupations and responsiveness to mental health services are significant in supporting adolescents to find belonging and community. Occupational therapists within MH settings may acknowledge the cultural and spiritual differences to provide appropriate services to promote mental wellness resources.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1061/thumbnail.jp

Promoting Occupational Balance for High School Student-Athletes Transitioning to College

The purpose of this proposal is to outline my vision of my capstone project focused on the transition of high school athletes to their first year of collegiate sports while maintaining occupational balance. The average high school student who is beginning their transition into their first year of college can find this journey to be difficult and come with a lot of new responsibilities. There are changes within their current roles, routines, and habits that affect their ability to be successful within the first year of college, which can result in not returning to the college or university the second year (Van Rooij et al., 2017). First-year college athletes experience occupational imbalance during their transition from high school sports to college sports. This imbalance can result in collegiate athletes prioritizing their athletic participation rather than their responsibilities for their academics (Dos Santos et al., 2020). The second phase of the capstone project includes the creation of the occupational-based program. Within this 5-module program, students met during their scheduled times for their Individual Graduation Plans (IGP) that were conducted with their assigned counselor or with their scheduled meeting with other stakeholders, such as a college advisor. Module 1 included a fact sheet about occupational therapy (OT) to ensure that the participants understand OT\u27s scope of practice and role within the high school population. Module 2 included resources on how to manage social and emotional stress. Module 3 included time management and scheduling skills and resources. Module 4 included college preparation resources and skills that were needed, and Module 5 included extracurricular activities and clubs that students can participate in to prepare for certain majors in college. The data was collected and gathered through a series of informal surveys and interviews of Chester High School (CHS) students, staff, and the surrounding community. The findings of the results show the need for and importance of occupational therapy to provide a more organized, structured, holistic approach for student-athletes during their transition from high school to college and achieving occupational balance and harmony during this transition. The results from the needs assessments were analyzed and assisted with creating the 5 modules for this program, which included a fact sheet about OT, resources to manage social and emotional stress, time management and scheduling skills, college preparation resources and tips, and lastly, extracurricular activities and clubs. This project emphasizes the focus on providing an occupational-based program to assist the transition of high school athletes to their first year of collegiate sports while maintaining occupational balance.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1078/thumbnail.jp

The Role of Occupational Therapy in Bladder and Bowel Management for Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries: An Educational Video Series

Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are uniquely positioned to support individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in developing effective bowel and bladder management (BBM) routines. However, most existing literature approaches BBM from a medical perspective, offering limited guidance on how to translate occupation-based strategies into OT practice. This lack of discipline-specific resources contributes to reduced confidence among generalist practitioners and hinders the consistent implementation of BBM interventions across inpatient and community settings. To address this gap, a nine-part educational video series was developed to enhance OT practitioners’ knowledge, clinical reasoning, and confidence in delivering BBM interventions for clients with SCI. The series covers foundational neurophysiology of the bowel and bladder systems, outlines OT’s distinct role in BBM, and emphasizes promoting independence and participation in toileting-related activities. Developed through literature review, clinical fieldwork observations, and collaboration with a medical supplier, the series incorporates SCI functional groupings based on hand function to guide expectations for independence and intervention planning. It also reframes the evaluation process by introducing non-standardized assessment questions that can be easily integrated into routine practice, followed by guidance on intervention planning. Recommendations for adaptive equipment and catheter types are tailored to client-specific factors and barriers. The series highlights various catheter options and introduces practical tools to support real-world carryover. Its modular, stand-alone format allows for flexible, on-demand learning. By positioning OT as a key contributor in SCI care, this project strengthens the profession’s role in BBM routines and addresses a critical gap in occupation-based literature

Aquatic Therapy in Neurorehabilitation

Healthcare workers and their patients have seen the benefits of aquatic therapy (AT), but education is lacking (Marinho-Buzelli, 2023). Research suggests that AT can improve fatigue and balance for people with an acquired brain injury (Bhatnagar et al., 2019). These findings highlight the need to enhance occupational therapy (OT) education and implementation of AT in clinical practice.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1052/thumbnail.jp

PODEROSAS: A Program to Meet the Occupational Needs of Latina Women

Many women who have immigrated from Mexico and other Latin American countries and who have experienced some form of sexual trauma, sexual violence, sexual abuse, or sex trafficking have unmet occupational needs as they adjust to their lives in the United States. Limited research and resources are available to address these needs. A culturally sensitive program was curated to identify and meet the occupational needs of these women. Three themes that encompassed their primary occupational needs included the need for social participation and connection, the need for emotional and mental health promotion and maintenance, and the need for security and stability. By the end of the 7-week program, these needs were met successfully. Further research, program development, and advocacy are required to refine the individual care occupational therapists can provide to women from this population.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1028/thumbnail.jp

Aquatic Based Exercise for Adults with Lymphedema to Improve Quality of Life

Individuals diagnosed with lymphedema can face physical, emotional, and psychosocial complications. Since lymphedema is a lifelong condition, symptom management is crucial to an individual’s daily routine and well-being. Aquatic therapy is an approach where individuals perform exercises in the water, and the characteristics of the water provide many benefits for lymphedema. The purpose of this capstone was to develop an aquatic-based exercise program for individuals with lymphedema to increase social participation and improve overall quality of life. Increasing the awareness of aquatic therapy for lymphedema can educate individuals and occupational therapists on another treatment option to help manage lymphedema symptoms.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1020/thumbnail.jp

Educating Occupational Therapy Students on the Role, Scope, and Delivery of Occupational Therapy Services in End-of-Life Care

Patients at the end-of-life (EoL) experience a decline in body functions and performance skills along with challenges in maintaining occupational roles, routines, habits, and performance patterns (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020). Despite their decline, patient want to continue to participate in their chosen occupations, which are unfulfilled due to the role, scope, and delivery of OT services in EoL care being misunderstood by OT students and practitioners, healthcare professionals, patients, families, and caregivers (Hammill et al., 2019; Knecht-Sabres et al., 2019; Mueller et al., 2021). There is a need for increased education and training so OT students can better understand their role in EoL care. To address this problem, an EoL care simulation was developed to educate OT students on the role, scope, and delivery of OT services within this population. The purpose of this simulation was to provide OT students with hands-on experience in evaluating and treating individuals at the EoL and educating and training their caregivers. This capstone project aspires to improve OT students\u27 understanding of the role of OT in EoL care and overall improve OT practice in EoL care. Ultimately, this project can broaden OT practice and the scope of EoL care to comprehensively meet the needs of terminally ill patients and their families.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1016/thumbnail.jp

An OT Web-based Program for Assessing and Treating Vision Deficits in TBIs

This capstone project supported occupational therapists in addressing vision deficits associated with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) through a web-based educational program. The program focused on assessment strategies, intervention techniques and strategies, and caregiver education. Guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance model and the Occupational Adaptation frame of reference, the project promoted occupational engagement and improved quality of life for individuals with vision deficits associated with TBIs and their caregivers by increasing clinicians’ confidence and knowledge.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1049/thumbnail.jp

Effectiveness of A Mindfulness Program on Traumatic Upper Extremity Injuries

The general overview of this research study is to develop and assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness program for supporting the psychosocial symptoms that are associated with post traumatic UE injuries. Mindfulness as an intervention will be used to support possible negative psychosocial implications the patient is experiencing post traumatic injury.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1038/thumbnail.jp