Utility of the Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment for Occupational Therapy Level I Fieldwork

This study examined the utility of the Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) among occupational therapy students and their perceptions of the use of an occupation-centered approach to design interventions during level I fieldwork. Twenty-five students completed training on the OCIA, used the tool on level 1 fieldwork, and then completed a post-test survey containing closed and open-ended questions. Content analysis was used to analyze open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data. Overall, students (N = 25) found the OCIA to be a beneficial tool to utilize during fieldwork experiences to recognize and develop interventions from an occupation-centered approach. Currently the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework and models of practice are the primary tools available for student reflection for intervention design. The findings of this study supported the need for a reflection tool to aide in the development and implementation of occupation-centered reasoning during fieldwork experiences

Career Goals and Student Perceptions of a Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral Experiential Component

Clinical doctoral education for occupational therapy includes the acquisition of advanced clinical reasoning skills, leadership capacity, and opportunities for professional development and career achievement. Post-professional students represent motivated individuals seeking to enhance their education, experiences, and explore professional growth opportunities. While not required, the final semester of a clinical doctoral program typically includes a doctoral experiential component (DEC), or culminating project. The purpose of this retrospective, mixed-methods study was to examine the DEC goals and experiences of post-professional occupational therapy doctoral (POTD) students. A total of 49 student DEC proposals, each including multiple personal goals, were categorized according to one or more POTD program goals. The most frequently selected long-term DEC goals by participants in this study were developing educative roles (n = 37, 27.30%), scholarly activities (n = 31, 22.96%), and advanced clinical skills (n = 31, 22.96). The DEC goals developed by the students were also categorized according to the experience as perceived by the students. Three primary areas of growth experienced by the students during their DEC were: (1) improved self-awareness and confidence through reflection, (2) a challenging, yet fulfilling, experience and (3) translation of new knowledge and skills to practice. The outcomes of this study may offer insight for administrators and prospective students of post-professional programs and align with the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Vision 2025 to produce effective and collaborative leaders capable of implementing evidence-based, client-centered, and cost-effective treatment to influence the complexities of healthcare

Examining the Associations of Racism, Sexism, and Stressful Life Events on Psychological Distress among African-American Women

African-American women may be susceptible to stressful events and adverse health outcomes as a result of their distinct social location at the intersection of gender and race. Here, racism and sexism are examined concurrently using survey data from 204 African-American women residing in a southeastern U.S. urban city. Associations among racism, sexism, and stressful events across social roles and contexts (i.e., social network loss, motherhood and childbirth, employment and finances, personal illness and injury, and victimization) are investigated. Then, the relationships among these stressors on psychological distress are compared, and a moderation model is explored. Findings suggest that racism and sexism are a significant source of stress in the lives of African-American women and are correlated with one another and with other stressful events. Implications for future research and clinical considerations are discussed. (APA PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Lessons Learned Adapting and Implementing Another Organization’s Program to Promote Healthy Aging

Programming which promotes healthy aging may be lacking in states where nutrition and health interventions are directed earlier in life. Due to Maryland’s increasing aging population, a team of 10 University of Maryland Extension Family and Consumer Sciences educators received permission to adapt and implement the Iowa Department of Public Health’s, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Human Services and Department on Aging, Fresh Conversations program to fit the needs of Maryland’s older adults. The purpose of this manuscript is not to discuss research findings but rather to share our challenges, successes, and recommendations for adapting and implementing another state’s multi-session program to meet the needs of individual states’ communities. Specifically, we discovered communicating with partnering sites, offering food tastings, accommodating various food cultures/traditions, following the original program design, and efficiently collecting data or programmatic form responses needed careful consideration. Despite the challenges we encountered, we expanded our national and state partnerships; reached 2,836 educational contacts across the state; and developed a detailed planning, implementation, and evaluation protocol and training, which is being used as a template for other statewide program efforts

The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment: Bridging Theory and Practice in Fieldwork Education

Occupational therapy’s identity is grounded in occupation-centered care. However, evidence suggests external factors in the healthcare system burden practitioners’ time and resources, reducing attention directed toward occupation-centered practice and student learning and transfer of theoretically grounded knowledge. The departure from theory-based practice can threaten the identity and viability of the profession. The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) was designed for practitioners or students to self-rate the degree to which interventions are occupation-based or occupation-focused, creating an occupation-centered framework. In this pilot explanatory sequential mixed methods study, Level II fieldwork educators and fieldwork students in Alaska completed OCIA training and utilized the tool. A pre- and post-survey identified attitudes toward theory application, feedback, confidence, developing and understanding occupation-centered perspectives, and the OCIA. Additionally, focus group participants discussed using the OCIA during Level II fieldwork and the impact on development, understanding, and communicating using an occupation-centered perspective. Results of the survey revealed preliminary receptivity to the tool as a communication aid and as a theoretical framework for an occupation-centered perspective. The focus group highlighted the “common language” provided by the tool and drew attention to contextual factors influencing the transfer of knowledge and use of the OCIA in practice. Further research is needed to understand the potential of the OCIA as a resource for facilitating student learning with a grounded, occupation-centered perspective

Association of in Utero Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Fetal Growth and Length of Gestation in an Agricultural Population

Although pesticide use is widespread, little is known about potential adverse health effects of in utero exposure. We investigated the effects of organophosphate pesticide exposure during pregnancy on fetal growth and gestational duration in a cohort of low-income, Latina women living in an agricultural community in the Salinas Valley, California. We measured nonspecific metabolites of organophosphate pesticides (dimethyl and diethyl phosphates) and metabolites specific to malathion (malathion dicarboxylic acid), chlorpyrifos [O,O-diethyl O-(3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl) phosphoro-thioate], and parathion (4-nitrophenol) in maternal urine collected twice during pregnancy. We also measured levels of cholinesterase in whole blood and butyryl cholinesterase in plasma in maternal and umbilical cord blood. We failed to demonstrate an adverse relationship between fetal growth and any measure of in utero organophosphate pesticide exposure. In fact, we found increases in body length and head circumference associated with some exposure measures. However, we did find decreases in gestational duration associated with two measures of in utero pesticide exposure: urinary dimethyl phosphate metabolites [β(adjusted) = −0.41 weeks per log(10) unit increase; 95% confidence interval (CI), (−)0.75–(−)0.02; p = 0.02], which reflect exposure to dimethyl organophosphate compounds such as malathion, and umbilical cord cholinesterase (β(adjusted) = 0.34 weeks per unit increase; 95% CI, 0.13–0.55; p = 0.001). Shortened gestational duration was most clearly related to increasing exposure levels in the latter part of pregnancy. These associations with gestational age may be biologically plausible given that organophosphate pesticides depress cholinesterase and acetylcholine stimulates contraction of the uterus. However, despite these observed associations, the rate of preterm delivery in this population (6.4%) was lower than in a U.S. reference population

Voting Systems and Election Reform: What Do Election Officials Think?

In the aftermath of voting problems in the 2000 presidential election, Congress passed legislation seeking to reform how elections were run and what voting technologies were used. Some of the new voting systems selected, particularly electronic voting systems, drew criticism for perceived security and transparency problems. Absent from this debate was any systematic representation of the views of the administrators who actually run these elections. This report presented the results of a survey of over 1400 local election officials from across the country. The survey solicited views on specific election systems and technologies; the factors local election officials consider in determining the appropriate election systems for their specific jurisdictions; the influence of vendors and federal, state, and local officials on the decision making process; the impact of federal reform on state and local jurisdictions; and other topics

The Entomopathogenic Bacterial Endosymbionts Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus: Convergent Lifestyles from Divergent Genomes

Members of the genus Xenorhabdus are entomopathogenic bacteria that associate with nematodes. The nematode-bacteria pair infects and kills insects, with both partners contributing to insect pathogenesis and the bacteria providing nutrition to the nematode from available insect-derived nutrients. The nematode provides the bacteria with protection from predators, access to nutrients, and a mechanism of dispersal. Members of the bacterial genus Photorhabdus also associate with nematodes to kill insects, and both genera of bacteria provide similar services to their different nematode hosts through unique physiological and metabolic mechanisms. We posited that these differences would be reflected in their respective genomes. To test this, we sequenced to completion the genomes of Xenorhabdus nematophila ATCC 19061 and Xenorhabdus bovienii SS-2004. As expected, both Xenorhabdus genomes encode many anti-insecticidal compounds, commensurate with their entomopathogenic lifestyle. Despite the similarities in lifestyle between Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus bacteria, a comparative analysis of the Xenorhabdus, Photorhabdus luminescens, and P. asymbiotica genomes suggests genomic divergence. These findings indicate that evolutionary changes shaped by symbiotic interactions can follow different routes to achieve similar end points

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month