Dementia And The Role Of Occupational Therapy: American Occupational Therapy Association Fact Sheet

Dementia results from impaired cognition, due to damage to the brain. The majority of dementia cases (60% to 80%) are classified as Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s Association, n.d.). The signs of dementia generally include, but are not limited to, decreased short term memory, decreased problem solving skills, decreased perceptual skills, and personality changes. The onset of dementia is gradual, and the course of the disease spans several years or more. In Alzheimer’s disease, the person progresses through several stages that roughly coincide with reverse developmental levels, with those in the final stages being completely dependent on others. Occupational therapy practitioners, through their academic curricula, expertise in activity analysis, and work with older people in various settings, address dementia as a condition that affects occupational performance. Practitioners can educate family members, concerned others, and even those in the early stages of the disease about dementia and its functional implications. Occupational therapists evaluate persons with dementia to determine their strengths, impairments, and performance areas needing intervention (Schaber & Lieberman, 2010). Although remediation of cognitive performance is not likely, the person may demonstrate improved function through compensation or adaptation. Occupational therapy practitioners also assist care providers to help them cope with this difficult, and yet often rewarding, role

Staying Sharp: The Cutting Edge Of Research On Cognition And Aging

Workshop PowerPoint presentation given June 11, 2015, for the 25th Maine Geriatrics Conference in Bar Harbor, Maine. Presentation reviews the latest evidence on cognition and aging. While there is an overwhelming amount of data out there, it is crucial to be informed consumers so the information can be used to enhance one\u27s own life and the lives of others. As people age, changes occur in the brain that can impact learning, memory, and overall daily performance. However, techniques based on promoting preserved skills, embracing new learning, and providing contextual adaptations can be used to improve overall performance. Workshop presentation included active learning activities through the lens of occupational therapy intervention.https://dune.une.edu/ot_facpres/1001/thumbnail.jp

Quality of Life and Aging: Exploring the Paradox of Well-Being

During the past 50 years, quality of life is a construct that many researchers have studied. Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants often claim to improve the quality of their clients\u27 lives. Making note of references to quality of life in the occupational therapy literature, one could gather a list of hundreds of articles. However, in the occupational therapy context, the term quality of life rarely is defined. The words quality and life are easy enough to discern, but the meanings behind the words seem to vary with author. Sometimes, quality of life has been described in vague terms, such as well-being, or as the lack of something, such as the absence of disease or pain. In occupational therapy, quality-of-life improvements sometimes are equated to improvements in self-care or other functional skills. When working with older adults, the concept of quality of life becomes particularly problematic because society tends to promote the idea that quality of life decreases with age because people suffer from the consequences of aging. It is hoped that this article provides occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants with information that refutes these common societal perceptions and will assist practitioners in designing interventions that are even more data meaningful and more client centered

When the Challenges of Aging and Visual Impairment Collide: Working Together to Build a Toolbox of Rehab Ideas of Best Care for Older Adults

Workshop/presentation by Regi Robnett, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, professor in the UNE Department of Occupational Therapy and Kathy Clarrage, COMS, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the State of Maine. Given at the North East Chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NEAER) conference, this presentation encouraged health care providers to work as a team to care for older, visually impaired adults. The professional audience included orientation and mobility specialists, vision rehabilitation therapists, low vision specialists, administrators in the field of blindness, social workers in the field of blindness and vocational rehabilitation counselors.https://dune.une.edu/ot_facpres/1000/thumbnail.jp

Usefulness of the ManageMed Screen (MMS) and the Screening for Self-Medication Safety Post Stroke (S5) for Assessing Medication Management Capacity for Clients Post-Stroke

Occupational therapists need to efficiently and accurately screen a client’s medication management capacity, especially for clients post-stroke. Most therapists are not aware of, nor do they utilize specific assessments for, medication management capacity. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the results of the ManageMed Screen (MMS), the Screening for Self-Medication Safety Post Stroke (S5), and the Montreal Assessment of Cognition (MoCA) on a population of rehabilitation clients post-stroke to determine the usefulness of the medication assessment tools in clinical practice. These screens were designed for use in occupational therapy practice among other healthcare professions: the MMS was validated for the general adult population, the S5 for clients post-stroke, and the MoCA is a cognitive screen used with adult clients with a variety of diagnoses including stroke. The MoCA was used to explore the potential relationship between cognition and medication management capacity. Study participants included five clients post-stroke and three occupational therapists. Clients were screened by the occupational therapists with the MMS, S5, and MoCA, and clinicians also participated in a focus group to assess their perceived usefulness of the screens. Results demonstrated that the MMS score compared to the S5 score was not statistically significant (r=.671, p=.215). There is no established consistency between the MoCA and MMS given these five clients. The MMS score was correlated to the MoCA score and was not found to be significant at a value of .205 with p=.741. The S5 score was also correlated to the MoCA score using SPSS and was found to have a non-significant value of -.287 and p=.640. Additionally, through a focus group, clinicians deemed both the MMS and S5 as useful, but felt the MMS was a more useful screen for their clinical practice with regard to efficient and practical use with clients post-stroke in a rehabilitation setting

The Development Of A Multiple Errands Test For Pre/Post Concussive Testing On A College Campus: The University Multiple Errands Test - Lessons Learned

The Multiple Errands Test (MET) is an occupation-based assessment tool, used to determine if someone who has sustained an acquired brain injury can successfully complete everyday errands, such as purchasing items at a gift shop, mailing a letter, and determining what hours a store is open. The MET has been used successfully in a hospital setting. Due to the MET’s ecological validity, we sought to determine if an adapted MET (revised for a college campus setting) would be an appropriate alternative to the ImPACT, an often-required, on-line pre and post-concussion neuropsychological assessment for high school and college athletes. Students may underperform on the ImPACT, thinking that this would result in quicker return to sport. A University MET was designed and pilot-tested on 29 undergraduate student volunteers. The study taught us many lessons, including that college campuses are dynamic settings and real-life task testing is time intensive. Expecting the University MET to take the place of a quick, on-line, group administered test such as the ImPACT was not realistic. Nonetheless, as a clinical rehabilitation assessment tool, a setting-specific MET can continue to contribute valuable information to occupational therapy intervention planning and goal setting

Transportation: A Crucial Issue for Adult Day Care in Vermont

Transportation arrangements are an integral but fragile element in the effectiveness of adult day care services in Vermont and nationwide. Almost by definition, adult day center participants generally cannot drive due to cognitive and/or physical limitations. Since adult day care services are congregate in nature and serve community-residing elders, this long-term care option is feasible only when there are arrangements to transport elders to and from service centers. Transportation is therefore a major issue for adult day care services. The aim of this report is to call attention to transportation issues in adult day care services in Vermont. The report provides an overview of adult day care transportation arrangements for the state and focuses on the dimensions of transportation arrangements that are critical to the success or failure of adult day care services. The report is based on information from a number of sources. Interviews were conducted during November and December of 2001 with administrators of all of the adult day care service programs in the state. Administrators were asked to report on their involvement with transportation arrangements, their sources of transportation services, transportation financing, and issues in offering transportation services effectively. Additional information for this report was obtained through interviews with directors of several regional public transportation agencies and administrators in the Vermont Department of Aging and Disability. Also reported here is a statistical profile of individual transportation arrangements reported by nine centers for 389 participants. These centers provided information for each of their participants on the mode of transportation used, the distance traveled, the travel time, and the sources of transportation financing