Utilization of the Swedish version of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills

Abstract Introduction: The Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills is based on the Mode

Wellness through a comprehensive Yogic breathing program – A controlled pilot trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing rates of psychosocial disturbances give rise to increased risks and vulnerability for a wide variety of stress-related chronic pain and other illnesses. Relaxation exercises aim at reducing stress and thereby help prevent these unwanted outcomes. One of the widely used relaxation practices is yoga and yogic breathing exercises. One specific form of these exercises is Sudarshan Kriya and related practices (SK&P) which are understood to have favourable effects on the mind-body system. The goal of this pilot study was to design a protocol that can investigate whether SK&P can lead to increased feeling of wellness in healthy volunteers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were recruited in a small university city in Sweden and were instructed in a 6-day intensive program of SK&P which they practiced daily for six weeks. The control group was instructed to relax in an armchair each day during the same period. Subjects included a total of 103 adults, 55 in the intervention (SK&P) group and 48 in the control group. Various instruments were administered before and after the intervention. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale measured the degree of anxiety and depression, Life Orientation Test measured dispositional optimism, Stress and Energy Test measured individual's energy and stress experiences. Experienced Deviation from Normal State measured the experience of altered state of consciousness.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no safety issues. Compliance was high (only 1 dropout in the SK&P group, and 5 in the control group). Outcome measures appeared to be appropriate for assessing the differences between the groups. Subjective reports generally correlated with the findings from the instruments. The data suggest that participants in the SK&P group, but not the control group, lowered their degree of anxiety, depression and stress, and also increased their degree of optimism (ANOVA; p < 0.001). The participants in the yoga group experienced the practices as a positive event that induced beneficial effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data indicate that the experimental protocol that is developed here is safe, compliance level is good, and a full scale trial is feasible. The data obtained suggest that adult participants may improve their wellness by learning and applying a program based on yoga and yogic breathing exercises; this can be conclusively assessed in a large-scale trial.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Australian Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN012607000175471.</p

Amphiphilic starch derivatives by reactive processing: Preparation and properties

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Participating in diagnostic experience: adults with neuropsychiatric disorders

Abstract Knowledge about neuropsychiatric disabilities has increased in recent years, resulting in an increasing number of adults requesting neuropsychiatric evaluation. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe adult clients&apos; experiences of participating actively in a supportive assessment process in which they received a diagnosis of either Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and then received follow-up counselling, guidance, and compensatory resources that were immediate and directly integrated into the diagnostic experience. The Occupational Performance History Interview -Second Version (OPHI-II) was selected because it is client-centered. It measures how a significant life event affects a person&apos;s occupational identity, occupational competence, and interaction with the environment. The OPHI-II was administered to capture 15 participants&apos; experiences of being diagnosed with ASD and/or ADHD as the significant life event of focus. Three categories were formed by using qualitative content analysis: (I) strengthened occupational identity; (II) compensatory support enhances occupational competence, and (III) effects of the social environment on relationships. Findings indicated that the diagnostic experience had transformative effects on participants&apos; occupational identities, occupational competence, and ability to self-advocate for increased understanding and resources within their environments. Implications of these findings and future research are discussed

Övergångsprocessen från skola till vidare studier och arbete : intervjuer med unga vuxna med ADHD och Aspergers syndrom

Det övergripande syftet med studien var att få en fördjupad förståelse av övergångsprocessen från skola till vidare studier och arbete för unga vuxna med ADHD och Aspergers syndrom. Utifrån syftet har studien tre frågeställningar som är följande: Vilka strategier använder deltagarna för att hantera övergångsprocessen? Hur förhåller sig deltagarna till diagnosen och dess betydelse förövergångsprocessen? Vilka faktorer stödjer respektive hindrar övergångsprocessen? Bakgrunden i rapporten innefattar en presentation av funktionshinderpolitiken i Sverige. Vidare återfinns en forskningsöversikt över studier som belyser utbildning och arbete för personer med ADHD och Aspergers syndrom och som är relevanta för studien. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med nio kvinnor och elva män i åldrarna 19–30 år som har ADHD eller Aspergers syndrom. Samtliga utom en deltagare har avslutat grundskolan med fullständiga betyg. Åtta har avslutat gymnasiet med fullständiga betyg och endast en person har genomgått universitetsutbildning. Sex deltagare har arbete varav två på öppna marknaden och fyra i daglig verksamhet enligt lagen om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade. Av övriga deltagare är sex arbetslösa och uppbärande av arbetsmarknadspolitiska åtgärder. Kvalitativ analys har använts för att bearbeta data. Resultatet är indelat i tre delar. Resultatet i del ett innefattar två idealtyper ”pådrivarna” och ”accepterarna” som beskrivs som två olika strategier som deltagarna använder för att hantera övergångsprocessen. Del två beskriver hur deltagarna förhåller sig till sin diagnos och dess betydelse för övergångsprocessen. Den tredje delen visar faktorer som stödjer och hindrar övergångprocessen från skola till vidare studier och arbete. Fyra av faktorerna; socialt stöd, lärsituation, institutionella förutsättningar och samhälleligt stöd har såväl främjat som hindrat övergångsprocessen för deltagarna. Förekomsten av kognitivt stöd är en stödjande faktor, medan individuella förutsättningar visar sig vara en hindrande faktor. I diskussionen tas upp att övergångsprocessen består av faktorer på såväl individ som på samhällsnivå, vilket leder till att det krävs en mångfald av aktörer som samverka för att underlätta övergångsprocessen för unga vuxna med ADHD och Aspergers syndrom. Fortsatt forskning inom området är nödvändigt med tanke på att  forskningsområdet är under utveckling

Utilization of the Swedish version of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills

Introduction The Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills, which is based on the Model of Human Occupation, is used when observing a client’s skills to communicate and interact with others while performing an occupation. The utility and psychometric status of an assessment is critical for treatment planning in occupational therapy. The aim of the current study was to examine the utility of the Swedish version of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills from the perspective of occupational therapists working in the field of mental health, considering its clinical relevance and potential for implementation. Method Eight occupational therapists performed 116 assessments. Most of the 58 clients had affective or anxiety disorders. Descriptive and qualitative analysis were performed. Results In 76% of the assessments, the occupational therapists perceived that they had obtained a deeper knowledge of the client’s communication and interaction skills. This supports the clinical relevance of the assessment. Concerning the implementation potential and time required for using the assessment, all occupational therapists considered it reasonable. Conclusion The Swedish version of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills is appropriate to use in the field of mental health for supporting occupational therapists in the treatment planning process

Creation of monitoring of the draft laws on NAIS.lv website

Likumprojektu monitorings ir sadaļa portālā NAIS.lv, kas dod iespēju reģistrētam lietotājam sekot likumprojekta izskatīšanas gaitai, saņemot atgādinājuma ziņojumus e-pastā. Visiem portāla apmeklētājiem pieejami pēdējā sasaukuma likumprojekti. Likumprojektus var sameklēt pēc nosaukuma, tā numura, statusa. Pie kam, izmainot kādu no parametriem, rezultātu kopa tiek dinamiski atjaunota. Informācijā par likumprojektu (likumprojekta kartīte) tiek attēlota tā izskatīšanas gaita. Likumprojekta kartīte satur arī saites uz to pavadošajiem dokumentiem, kā arī uz aktuālo likuma redakciju, ja likumprojekts ir grozījums. Savukārt lietotājam, kurš ir reģistrējies NAIS.lv portālā, pieejamas plašākas iespējas. Katram topošā likumprojektam ir iespējams sākt sekošanu, pievienot papildus e-pastus, uz kuriem saņemt atgādinājuma ziņojumus, termiņu tuvošanās gadījumos. Reģistrēts lietotājs var pievienot savas piezīmes un komentārus. Likumprojektu monitorings izveidots ciļņu veidā: Monitorējamiem likumprojekti; Jaunākās izmaiņas; Atgādinājumi Šī sadaļas saskarne un iespējas līdzinās tiesvedības lietu monitoringa sadaļai, kas dos iespēju esošajiem lietotājiem viegli adaptēties. Sadaļa būs ērti izmantojama jauniem lietotājiem, kuri vēl nav iepazinušies ar to, jo pieejamās funkcijas ir viegli un intuitīvi saprotamas.Monitoring of the draft laws is a section on NAIS.lv website, which allows following the process of a draft law, receiving remainders to their emails. All users are able to see all the last term draft laws. You can search through draft laws by its name, number, status. As well as if you change some of the parameters, the results will change dynamically. In the information section about a draft law (card of draft law) there are its status reports. In the card of draft law, there are links to connected documents, as well as to its actual edition of law, if the draft law is a modification. If a user is registered, then there are more opportunities available. You can start following to the future draft laws, add extra emails, to which receive notifications, as well as add own comments. Monitoring of the draft laws are made as tabs: Monitoring draft laws; Latest changes; Remainders. The interface of this section as well as functionality is similar to “Court cases monitoring” section, which lets users, who already have used it, easily adapt to the new section, though it won’t be complicated for new users to get to know it, because the functions available are simple and intuitively understandable

The myth of participation in occupational therapy: reconceptualizing a clientcentred approach. Scand J Occup Ther 2012;19:421–7

Abstract Participation is often the comprehensive objective of treatment but also an indication of the extent to which the process of occupational therapy is client-centred. The purpose of this study was to explore levels of participation during occupational therapy among clients in the area of mental health from the occupational therapists&apos; perspectives. Additionally we seek to identify factors that might hinder client participation. Postal questionnaires were sent out to 670 Swedish occupational therapists working with persons with mental illness and learning disabilities. The questionnaire required therapists to rate clients&apos; levels of participation during occupational therapy. Findings indicated the most common level of participation for the clients was interdependent meaning that problems, goals, and plans were identified jointly and collaboratively with the occupational therapist. However, more than 20 % of the clients were described as being dependent. Almost 90 % of the occupational therapists rated client participation in therapy to be very important and nearly 70 % claimed that client participation in general needed to be increased. Occupational therapists rated the primary barriers to participation as being clients&apos; inability to participate and organizational and financial problems. Implications of these findings for education in client-centred practice approaches are discussed