Participation in Physical Activity among Inpatients with Severe Mental Illness : a Pilot Study

Aims: Severe mental illness is associated with low levels of physical activity. This study explored participation in a physical activity programme among patients with severe mental illness and its relationships to other variables. Methods: Eighteen hospitalized patients participated in the study. Their level of participation in a physical activity programme was explored and their age and anxiety and depression levels were used to predict participation. Findings: The patients had low levels of participation. Seventy-eight percent attended 50 percent or less of the activities, while the sample mean level was 28 percent participation. Participation in the programme increased with age. Conclusions: This pilot study has several limitations, most importantly the limited sample size. A greater variety in activities offered and better inclusion of personal activity preferences may increase motivation to participate among younger patients. Adequate social support may counteract barriers related to anxiety and depression symptoms, and thus increase participation. Recommendations for future research include undertaking larger scale studies exploring the relationships between physical activity and other variables, and to investigate processes of motivation for physical activity among patients in this group

Exploring Gender Differences in Quality of Life

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine gender differences with regard to physical activity, psychiatric symptoms, and quality of life in patients with severe mental illness. In addition, associations between the variables are to be explored. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional design was employed. Eighteen patients, 12 men and six women, were assessed at admission to hospital with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the WHO Quality of Life-Bref. Mann-Whitney U-tests, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and partial correlation were used in the statistical analyses. Findings – Women had lower levels of quality of life and trended towards being more depressed than men, whereas men had more global psychiatric symptoms. When controlling for depression in the participants, the bivariate relationships between male gender and higher quality of life were weakened. The findings indicate that the initial association between gender and quality of life may be mediated by depression levels. Practical implications – Women with severe mental illness tend to have more depression and lower quality of life than their male counterparts, and combating depression appears to be important for increasing quality of life in women with severe mental illness. Originality/value – This is the first explorative study of gender differences in hospitalized patients with severe mental illnes

Self-reported therapeutic style in occupational therapy students

Introduction: The client-therapist relationship has long been viewed as important for both the process and outcomes of occupational therapy. The recently developed Intentional Relationship Model introduced six therapeutic modes as different ways of relating to clients. Increasing students’ awareness of modes, and increasing their skills in using them flexibly, has the potential of improving their subsequent practice as occupational therapists. This article aims to describe occupational therapy students’ affiliation with the therapeutic modes in a variety of hypothesized practice situations. In addition, relationships between the students’ affiliation with the different modes are explored. Method: The study had a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 31 occupational therapy students in Norway, using the Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, repeated measures ANOVA tests, and correlation analyses were employed in the analytic procedures. Findings: The students identified the problem-solving mode to be their most preferred way of relating to clients, whereas the advocating mode was the least preferred. High affiliation with the problem-solving mode was significantly associated with low affiliation with the collaborating mode. Conclusion: Several limitations indicate that caution should be taken when comparing this study with previous research. Nonetheless, differences between the results of this study and previous work on the therapeutic modes are of interest. Possible explanations for differences are discussed, as are implications for practice and research

Changes during hospital treatment in patients with SMI

Severe mental illness (SMI) is associated with low levels of functioning, severe symptomatology, and low levels of physical activity and quality of life. This study explores changes in these variables during hospital treatment in a sample with SMI. Participants were 11 patients with SMI who completed assessments at admission and discharge from hospital. Changes with regard to physical activity levels, global functioning, psychiatric symptoms, and quality of life during treatment were investigated with non-parametric tests for related samples. Participants achieved higher functional status and experienced reduced depression during treatment. There was a trend of increased quality of life during treatment, but no changes were detected on other measures. Physical activity levels were unchanged from admission to discharge. Efforts to increase physical activity levels among patients with SMI should have a long-term perspective, as significant changes may not occur during hospital treatmen

An examination of the structural validity of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire-Short Form (PSDQ–S) using the Rasch Measurement Model

It is important for self-report scales and measures used by educators and health care professionals (such as the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire-Short Form [PSDQ–S]) to have documented reliability and validity. The aim of this study is to investigate the structural validity of the full PSDQ–S composite scale and 11 subscales using the Rasch Measurement Model. 117 healthy children (65 males and 52 females; M = 10 years, 2 months, SD = 1 year, 4 months) completed the PSDQ–S. The PSDQ–S’s rating scale functioning, dimensionality, hierarchical ordering, differential item functioning (DIF), and item and person separation reliability were examined. Results supported the scale functioning, dimensionality, hierarchical ordering, DIF, and reliability of the PSDQ–S composite scale and each of its 11 subscales. Therefore, the PSDQ–S composite scale and 11 subscales can be used with confidence to assess children’s self-reported physical self-concept.publishedVersio

Role Performance and Role Valuation Among Occupational Therapy Students in Norway

Background: The Model of Human Occupation describes roles as providing the person with a framework around which to organize daily occupations. Role performance and role valuation in young adults may be related to gender, but there are few research studies to date to support this view. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional design using a sample of 87 occupational therapy students in Norway. We used the Role Checklist to assess the students’ performance and valuation of roles, and a variety of statistical procedures were employed in the analysis. Results: Compared to the female participants, males performed roles in the community, social, and civic life area of participation more frequently. Otherwise, male and female participants were largely equal in current role performance. For most roles, we found associations between role performance and high valuation of the respective roles. Discussion: Gender appears to be a factor of relevance for our understanding of role performance. This study suggests that occupational therapists should consider the societal as well as the personal aspects of roles. In addition, occupational therapy interventions could aim toward improving congruence between the roles clients perform and the value these roles have for the

The short ASSIST scales: measurement properties in a sample of occupational therapy students in the USA

Shortening measurement scales can improve the scales’ feasibility, but at the same time, their measurement properties can be affected. This study investigated psychometric properties of the short Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) among occupational therapy students in the United States. The students (n = 120) completed the ASSIST and provided basic socio-demographic and education-related information. Scale structure was examined with Principal Components Analysis (PCA), while consistency between scale items was assessed with Cronbach’s α and inter-item correlations. Three factors were confirmed, but three items showed poor or ambiguous fit with the proposed scales. These items were subsequently removed from the scales, resulting in improved fit with the expected three-factor solution. Cronbach’s α for the amended scales ranged from 0.55-0.70 (mean inter-item correlation 0.20-0.34). In conclusion, the amended short ASSIST scales showed satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing study approaches in the sample. Given the variability in psychometric properties found for the short ASSIST scales across studies, the properties of the instrument should preferably be checked before using the scales with new populations.publishedVersio

Aging at home: factors associated with independence in activities of daily living among older adults in Norway—a HUNT study

BackgroundMaintaining independence in activities of daily living (ADL) is essential for the well-being of older adults. This study examined the relationship between demographic and living situation factors and ADL independence among community-dwelling older adults in Norway.MethodsData was collected in Norway between 2017 and 2019 as part of the fourth wave of the ongoing Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) survey, sent to all citizens in Trøndelag county over 20 years of age, which is considered representative of the Norwegian population. Included in the current cross-sectional study were 22,504 community-living individuals aged 70 years or older who completed the survey and responded to all items constituting the ADL outcome measure. Group differences in ADL independence were examined with Chi Square tests, while crude and adjusted associations with ADL independence were examined with logistic regression analyses. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.ResultsThe participants reported a high degree of independence in primary ADL and slightly lower in instrumental ADL. In the fully adjusted analyses, ADL independence was associated with lower age, female gender, higher levels of education and income, higher subjective well-being, having no chronic or disabling disease, and having someone to talk to in confidence. Surprisingly, women who were married had higher likelihood of ADL independence than unmarried women, whereas married men had lower likelihood of ADL independence than unmarried men.ConclusionIn addition to known demographic and disease-related factors, the social context affects independence in ADL even in a society that offers advanced health and homecare services to all older adults equally. Furthermore, the same social setting can have differential effects on men and women. Despite the healthcare system in Norway being well-developed, it does not completely address this issue. Further improvements are necessary to address potential challenges that older adults encounter regarding their social connections and feelings of inclusion. Individuals with limited education and income are especially susceptible to ADL dependency as they age, necessitating healthcare services to specifically cater to this disadvantaged demographic

Improvement in quality of life following a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Parkinson’s disease follows a chronic course, and therefore quality of life is important to assess in relation to rehabilitation programs for persons with the disease. Aim: To examine whether a brief rehabilitation program can promote positive changes in functional status, general self-efficacy, and quality of life and to examine factors associated with changes in quality of life. Methods: Patients with Parkinson’s disease (n=83) completed the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire at the beginning of a rehabilitation program and at three weeks follow-up. Within-person changes were analyzed with paired t-tests. A hierarchical linear regression was conducted to assess the independent associations between the independent variables and changes in quality of life during the three weeks program, while adjusting for the covariance between the independent variables. Results: Patients reported higher functional status (d=0.37, p<0.001), general self-efficacy (d =0.28, p<0.01), and quality of life (d=0.32, p<0.001) at three weeks follow-up, compared to their baseline scores. The regression analysis showed that having a better initial functional status (β =−0.26, p<0.05) and lower quality of life (β =0.51, p<0.001) were associated with more improvements in quality of life. Conclusion: The study suggests that actual functioning in persons with Parkinson’s disease is a better predictor of improved quality of life than self-efficacy beliefs and that those who have lower levels of initial quality of life benefit more from rehabilitationpublishedVersio

Job satisfaction among psychomotor physiotherapists in Norway

The objective of the study was to investigate (i) levels of job satisfaction among employed and self-employed psychomotor physiotherapists in Norway and (ii) factors associated with job satisfaction. Although there are several studies on job satisfaction among physiotherapists, there is limited knowledge about job satisfaction among psychomotor physiotherapists in Norway. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapists (n=64) via a weblink. Job satisfaction was measured with 2 different scales (Warr’s and Speakman’s Job Satisfaction Scales). Group differences were analyzed with chi-squared tests and independent sample t-tests. Adjusted associations with job satisfaction were analyzed with multivariate linear regression. Fifty-eight women (90.6%) and 6 men (9.4%) were included in the study. The results revealed an overall high level of job satisfaction among the participants. None of the independent variables were associated with ratings on Warr’s Job Satisfaction Scale. When using Speakman’s Job Satisfaction Scale as outcome, employed practitioners had a higher level of job satisfaction, compared to their self-employed counterparts (P<.01). Being employed was associated with a higher level of job satisfaction, compared to being self-employed. Self-employed physiotherapists also felt more overworked and experienced the job to be more physically demanding than their counterparts.publishedVersio