Factors affecting ethical behavior in pediatric occupational therapy: A qualitative study

Background: It is the responsibility of each occupational therapist to always act ethically and professionally in a clinical setting. However, there is little information available concerning the factors influencing ethical behavior of occupational therapists at work. Since no study has been conducted in Iran on this topic, this qualitative study aimed to identify the factors influencing ethical behavior of pediatric occupational therapists. Methods: Twelve pediatric occupational therapists participated in this study. The sampling was purposeful, and the interviews continued until reaching data saturation. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis, and the ethics of qualitative research was considered. Results: The factors influencing ethical behavior were classified into four main categories including organizational factors, therapist related factors, client's family issues, and social factors. Conclusion: This study identified numerous factors influencing the ethical behavior of pediatric occupational therapists that could be used to train occupational therapists, human resources managers, professional policy makers, and could also be used to conduct future researches, and produce tools

The effects of anxiety and dual-task on upper limb motor control of chronic stroke survivors

This study was designed to investigate the effects of anxiety and dual-task on reach and grasp motor control in chronic stroke survivors compared with age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (HC). Reach and grasp kinematic data of 68 participants (high-anxiety stroke (HA-stroke), n = 17; low-anxiety stroke (LA-stroke), n = 17; low-anxiety HC, n = 17; and high-anxiety HC, n = 17) were recorded under single- and dual-task conditions. Inefficient reach and grasp of stroke participants, especially HA-stroke were found compared with the control groups under single- and dual-task conditions as evidenced by longer movement time (MT), lower and earlier peak velocity (PV) as well as delayed and smaller hand opening. The effects of dual-task on reach and grasp kinematic measures were similar between HCs and stroke participants (i.e., increased MT, decreased PV that occurred earlier, and delayed and decreased hand opening), with greater effect in stroke groups than HCs, and in HA-stroke group than LA-stroke group. The results indicate that performing a well-learned upper limb movement with concurrent cognitive task leads to decreased efficiency of motor control in chronic stroke survivors compared with HCs. HA-stroke participants were more adversely affected by challenging dual-task conditions, underlying importance of assessing anxiety and designing effective interventions for it in chronic stroke survivors. © 2020, The Author(s)

Leisure time activities of Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis: a qualitative study

Background: Leisure time is one of the most important aspects of life, especially for people with chronic diseases. The concept and types of leisure have frequently been evaluated in different socio-cultural populations. The aim of this study was to identify the nature of leisure activities among a sample of Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and classify the identified types of activities in the context of Iranian culture. Methods: In this qualitative study, semi-structured interview was applied to gather data from 34 MS patients that were selected through purposive sampling. The interviews were continued up to the point of saturation. Content analysis was used to explore experiences of the interviewees regarding their leisure activities. Results: Six categories of leisure activities were extracted for the studied patients with MS i.e.physical, social, individual, art/cultural, educational and spiritual/religious. Conclusion: The results represented the range and heterogeneity of leisure activities amongst the MS patients. Considering participation in spiritual/religious and social activities as leisure time undertaking might reflect cultural diversity in the perception and use of time for recreation. For mental health promotion purposes, paying special attention to the types of activities that people of different socio-cultural background choose for their refreshment could help health care providers in giving tailored advice for patients with MS and other chronic debilitating disease

Assessment of the Saccular Function in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Our investigation was designed to assess the saccular function of the vestibular system upon postural control dysfunction amongst children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) using recording of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs), as well as to compare such findings with those in healthy subjects. Sixty two children (aged 7-12 years) were enrolled and assigned into two groups. There were 31 cases of spastic CP with the functional levels of I or II according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System in the patient group and 31 aged-matched healthy children as controls. The examined parameters were the latencies of the P₁₃ and N₂₃ waves, P₁₃–N₂₃ peak-to-peak amplitude, amplitude asymmetry ratio (AAR) and the cVEMP threshold. The cVEMP responses were recorded in 93.5 % of cases in the CP group and in all healthy subjects. Only 51.6% of the CP-group cases were within the normal AAR spectrum range. There were significant differences between the two groups with regard to the N₂₃ wave latency (P < 0.001), P₁₃–N₂₃ wave amplitude (P < 0.001) and cVEMP threshold (P<0.05). The significant difference in the cVEMP measured values between the CP cases and healthy controls may be attributed to a motor development delay and deficits in the vestibulo-collic reflex pathway. Our findings suggest that cVEMP recording may be considered an auxiliary tool for the assessment of the vestibular system in children with spastic CP. Such a test is expected to help more adequate planning for interventions.Метою нашого дослідження були оцінка сакулярної функції вестибулярної системи при постуральній дисфункції у дітей, що страждають на дитячий церебральний параліч (ЦП), з використанням відведення шийних вестибулярних викликаних міогенних потенціалів (cVEMP) та порівняння відповідних результатів із такими у здорових обстежених дітей. 62 дитини (вік сім–12 років) були розділені на дві групи (31 дитина зі спастичною формою ЦП при функціональних рівнях I та II відповідно до системи класифікації загальних моторних функцій та 31 здорова дитина відповідного віку, що складали групу контролю). Визначали наступні параметри: латентні періоди хвиль P₁₃ та N₂₃, амплітуди цих хвиль, амплітуду від піку до піку коливань P₁₃–N₂₃, коефіцієнт асиметрії хвиль (AAR) та поріг cVEMP. Істотні cVEMP були зареєстровані в 93.5 % випадків групи ЦП та в усіх здорових дітей. Тільки у 51.6 % дітей групи ЦП значення AAR відповідали нормальному діапазону цього індексу. Середні величини латентного періоду N₂₃-хвилі, міжпікової амплітуди P₁₃–N₂₃ і порогу виникнення cVEMP у групах ЦП і контролю вірогідно розрізнялися (P < 0.001, Р < 0.001 та P < 0.05 відповідно). Істотна відмінність виміряних параметрів cVEMP у групах ЦП та здорових дітей може бути пов’язана із затримкою моторного розвитку та дефектністю вестибуло-двогорбикового рефлексу. Наші дані свідчать про те, що відведення cVEMP може бути цінним допоміжним прийомом при функціональній оцінці вестибулярної системи у дітей зі спастичним ЦП. Вірогідно, даний тест може допомогти адекватніше планувати відповідні реабілітаційні заходи

Teacher reporting questionnaire : Queensland Government Schools

This instrument was used in the project entitled Teachers Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Towards Evidence-based Reform of Law, Policy and Practice (ARC DP0664847

Teacher reporting questionnaire : New South Wales Non-Government Schools

This instrument was used in the project named Teachers Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Towards Evidence-based Reform of Law, Policy and Practice (ARC DP0664847

Factors Influencing Expert Decision Making in the Management of Upper Limb Hypertoxicity of Clients with Cerebal Palsy

Objective: Therapists select and respond to specific information or knowledge (factors) to decide on appropriate intervention options for clients. This study aimed to identify the factors and their relative importance in the clinical decisionmaking process of expert occupational therapists in the management of upper limb (UL) hypertonicity of clients with cerebral palsy (CP). The methodology employed to address this aim was Social Judgment Theory