Browsing by Author "Nguyen, Elizabeth"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Advanced Clinical Skills and Educational Resources in Pediatric Feeding
    (2024-04-26) McIntyre, Velvet; Nguyen, Elizabeth; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Miller, Taylor
    Pediatric feeding difficulties are becoming more prevalent within the scope of occupational and speech therapy. After conduction of a needs assessment and thorough literature review, it was evident that an outpatient pediatric therapy clinic lacked caregiver involvement and limited educational resources. The purpose of this capstone project was to create evidence-based feeding resources to educate caregivers on different milestones and strategies to implement within the home environment in order to decrease parental stress, decrease the overall impact their child’s feeding difficulties had on the caregiver’s daily life, and improve occupational performance for children with feeding issues. Three pre- and post-assessments were utilized to measure the effectiveness of feeding therapy and the educational resources. Overall, the occupational performance for children with feeding issues improved by 21.5 points, the parental stress levels decreased by 7%, and the overall impact their child’s feeding difficulties had on the caregiver’s daily life slightly decreased. Keywords: occupational therapy, pediatric feeding, pediatric feeding disorder, feeding difficulties
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    Exploring Occupational Therapy’s Role in Optimizing Positive Sensory Experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
    (2024) Gibbons, Molly; Nguyen, Elizabeth; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Bushur, Stephanie
    Admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a psychologically and physically distressing experience for infants and their families (Givrad et al., 2021). Prolonged exposure to increased stress and overstimulation among preterm infants can have negative short- and long-term effects on health status, growth, and development (Sathish et al., 2019). This capstone project was completed at a level III NICU in central Indiana, with the purpose of increasing awareness and education related to the sensory experiences that preterm infants are exposed to in the NICU. In collaboration with the site, the capstone student aimed to address an existing gap through the creation of evidence-based educational materials and a comprehensive assessment of the sound environment within the NICU. NICU nursing staff were engaged in an educational in-service to discuss the findings of the capstone project and ways to support the creation of a healing environment as it relates to noise levels in the NICU. Through project evaluation, results indicated a positive trend in nursing staff’s knowledge and understanding as it relates to the sensory environment and ways to incorporate positive sensory experiences. Overall, the project had a positive impact on the capstone site as all participants agreed that the information provided was valuable and pertinent to the care of infants in the NICU.
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    Increasing the Use of Technology in Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation
    (2022-05-03) Nguyen, Elizabeth; Van Antwerp, Leah; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Kozlowski, Whitney
    Assistive technology (AT) can facilitate increased participation and independence for individuals, and occupational therapists (OTs) are well suited to utilize it with their patients. The use of technology, specifically video games, is motivating to children, and is supported by the literature. Thus, the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation team at a local hospital identified that they would like to use technology more frequently to increase evidence-based practice and motivation. However, barriers included lack of awareness of appropriate technology and modifications for patients with a wide range of abilities and limited time for set up and to learn how to use technology. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to increase the use of technology on this unit. To do this, the doctoral capstone student focused on targeting individual outcomes by using technology in OT intervention and translating technology programming to practice through barrier reduction by providing educational materials and in-services. The technology programming was supported by positive responses from the program evaluation survey, including increased knowledge of technology, intent to use it, and acknowledgement of the benefits of its use. Time continues to be a barrier, including time to set up systems and increase comfortability with/confidence in using the technology available. With this, the doctoral capstone student recommends that the site continues to practice quality improvement by providing additional in-services and opportunities for hands-on learning to support sustainability of technology programming.
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    Rapid Systematic Review of Occupational Therapy-Adaptable Interventions to Improve Social Engagement in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (2020-08-27) Alexander, Joelyn; Gordon, Madeline; Heydon, Mallory; Klukken, Angela; Moring, Kelly; Nguyen, Elizabeth; Chase, Anthony; Petrenchik, Terry; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences
    In this rapid systematic review, we describe how evidence-based interventions aiming to improve social engagement in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be potentially adapted to be included within the scope of occupational therapy. Children and adolescents with ASD often experience difficulty with social engagement, impacting overall social participation and other aspects of daily life. It is important to address this issue within this population to ensure engagement in the occupation of social participation, which is vital to optimal health and well-being. We discovered several themes including communication, joint attention, peer engagement, social skills, and play as outcomes addressed within the interventions included in this review. There is limited research available regarding social engagement interventions for children and adolescents with ASD directly including an occupational therapist within the intervention. This review demonstrates that there is a large variety of social engagement interventions that could be implemented by occupational therapists; however, therapists must be mindful of choosing an intervention that is specific to the client's condition. There is strong evidence to suggest that interventions targeting social engagement in children and adolescents with ASD result in increased social abilities. Further research should be conducted assessing the implementation of these interventions by occupational therapists to ensure generalizability.
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    Recognizing and Modifying Environmental Factors to Support Gifted Students’ Sensory Processing in the School Environment
    (2024) Banks, Riley; Nguyen, Elizabeth; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Fritz, Tiffany
    Gifted students have a higher prevalence of emotional sensitivities that may be related to sensory processing difficulties. Thus, ensuring sensory inclusivity in a school environment for exclusively gifted students is essential to supporting socio-emotional and learning outcomes. Within a local school for gifted students, many environmental barriers and sensory processing vulnerabilities were identified. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to identify specific sensory needs of the population and make social and physical environmental accommodations accordingly. Results of the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM-2) for 30 participating students indicated a high prevalence of sensory difficulties among the student population. The teachers and teacher aides participated in weekly discussions with the doctoral capstone student to discuss findings of students’ sensory processing patterns, available accommodations through occupational therapy (OT), and opportunities for implementation of sensory resources and interventions in the classrooms. The doctoral capstone student also modified the physical environment of their clinic rooms to reduce visual stimulation. Preliminary results from interviews with teachers indicated increased knowledge and awareness of sensory processing patterns and opportunities for social and physical environmental modifications. The doctoral capstone student recommended that the site reduce physical environmental stimuli and increase opportunities for sensory experiences throughout the school day to support sustainability of OT services provided through a community based approach.