Browsing by Author "Williams, Kim"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Caregiver Burnout Prevention at a Midwest Parkinson's Foundation
    (2024) Goyke, Madison; Bednarski, Julie; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Williams, Kim
    Parkinson’s Disease is a rapidly growing neurological condition that can affect participation in everyday activities. As more individuals become diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, the number of those caring for people with Parkinson’s Disease also increases. Caregivers can become susceptible to caregiver burnout, which is a stress that accumulates over time, produces a negative outlook on caregiving, and affects many areas of one’s life. Literature suggests that key areas to caregiver burnout prevention are daily care hours, education on disease, social support, and mindfulness. Through a needs assessment of a midwest Parkinson’s organization, a gap was identified between where the organization wanted to be with caregiver burnout prevention and where it was. The goal of this capstone project was to equip the organization with caregiver burnout prevention resources and strategies to promote caregiver health, well-being, and quality of life. Based on the needs assessment, two educational sessions were created and delivered to participants at three caregiver support groups over the topics of mindfulness, medication management, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT), and respite. Program outcomes were measured via pre- and post- surveys, and this data was analyzed through independent t-tests. There was a statistically significant difference with a large effect size for mindfulness, medication management, and respite educational sessions. Outcomes suggested that caregiver confidence and satisfaction in applying burnout prevention strategies greatly increased following the educational sessions.
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    A Community-Based Occupational Therapy Program for Parkinson's
    (2023-05-02) Stiens, Maria; Hull, Kristin; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Williams, Kim
    Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that causes symptoms that interrupt safety, performance, and participation in everyday life activities. The literature supports occupational therapy’s role in maximizing quality of life and preventing occupational decline in people with Parkinson’s disease. Despite the effectiveness of occupational therapy treatment with this population, occupational therapy services are under-utilized among those with Parkinson’s disease. This doctoral capstone experience and project sought to increase access to occupational therapy services to individuals with Parkinson’s within the state of Indiana through free occupation-based groups hosted by a local Parkinson’s organization. Through needs assessments and client-centered surveys, the occupational needs and interests of site stakeholders were determined. Fourteen in-person training sessions were created and delivered to two Parkinson group locations within the greater Indianapolis area. There was a total of approximately thirty participants primarily consisting of community-dwelling individuals with Parkinson’s. Post-survey results indicated a positive trend, demonstrating an overall decrease in participants’ perceived difficulty with surveyed tasks. This study supports the continued need for occupation-based education and training for individuals with Parkinson’s.
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    The Effectiveness of Dance Intervention for Parkinson's Disease
    (2021-05-06) Messer, Kyle; Albright, Megan; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Williams, Kim
    Fear of falling and increased fall risk is a common issue for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Secondary to balance and coordination complications experienced these individuals can experience extreme difficulty navigating their environment because of compromised mobility. This difficulty can manifest, causing mobility issues, insecurity with functional mobility, and transitioning from one position to another. The resulting effects of PD can drastically influence the quality of life in which individuals with PD experience. The impact can present in fear of transferring from seated to standing positions, inability in completing daily self-care tasks, inability to participate in activities which bring an individual enjoyment, and result in significant fatigue levels experienced. The purpose of this doctoral capstone experience is to introduce dance as a fun and interactive exercise-based intervention. Ideally, introducing a Samba dance style to the participants of the study will decrease the risk/frequency of falls among participants, improve engagement in Activities of Daily Living (ADL)/ Instrumental Activities of Daily living (IADL) and improve quality of life. During the study, participants engaged in one weekly Samba dance intervention accompanied by a warm-up and stretch routine to address issues. Four separate subjective assessments were implemented addressing independence with ADL/IADLs, a fall risk/mobility measure, an assessment addressing fatigue levels experienced, and a measurement to see the strain placed on caregivers. The results of the study are inconclusive and have several statistical variations among the four participants which completed both -pre and -post-assessments. The doctoral capstone student hypothesized that with objective measures implemented, increased frequency of the intervention, and a larger sample size a similar, future study may provide positive results when addressing improvements in independence with ADL/IADL performance, improved mobility/decrease in fall risk, and improved overall quality of life.
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    Home Modification and Adaptation Educational Seminar for Individuals with Parkinson Disease to Reduce Risk of Falls
    (2022-05-02) Kidwell, Hannah R.; Bednarski, Julie A.; Bednarski, Julie A.; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Williams, Kim
    Clients with Parkinson’s disease have high rates of falls within their homes due to the movement disorders typically associated with the disease. This study used quantitative methods to determine the program evaluation of educational seminars on home modifications and adaptations to reduce the risk of falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD) clients. Two educational seminars were given to PD clients and caregivers on how to make modifications and adaptations to their homes and included resources for where to find adaptive equipment and services for providing installations and modifications. Data was collected through pre and post-surveys and analyzed using an independent samples t-test analysis. There was a significant difference in the knowledge of how to make living spaces, bathrooms, and bedrooms safer to reduce the risk of falls in the home. There was also a significant difference in the overall satisfaction of participants’ knowledge on how to complete home modifications and adaptations and for their knowledge on resources/places to find adaptive equipment. Recommendations included continuing to provide home modification education to people with Parkinson’s to ensure further safety and help reduce the risk of falls within the home. The results propose that PD clients are not receiving education on home modifications at rates that would be of benefit to them.