Browsing by Subject "caregiver education"

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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    Effect of Caregiver Education Materials on Faculty Preparedness and Confidence
    (2023-05-11) Kendall, Mary; DeRolf, Annie; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Threewits, Whitney
    A child’s primary occupation is play. Participation in play is crucial for skill development, including fine motor, gross motor, communication, cognition, attention, and social skills. These skills can aid the child through role transitions, such as the role of a student, where they can support classroom participation and success. In a preschool located in the south-central part of Marion County, faculty identified that out of 157 Burmese students enrolled in 2021, 40 were diagnosed with either Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or developmental delay with characteristics of ASD (S. Keller, personal communication). During the needs assessment process of the doctoral capstone, decreased preparedness, lack of time, and lack of resources were identified by faculty as barriers to addressing developmental delays with refugee learners’ caregivers. Research supports the use of caregiver education, community programming, and communication between teachers and caregivers to improve executive function, play skills, and learning in students. The purpose of the capstone project was to increase faculty preparedness and confidence in discussing developmental delays and at-home skill development with caregivers. The doctoral capstone student wrote and visually recorded materials that faculty can provide to caregivers; materials were translated into languages frequently used in the township to improve accessibility. The program evaluation post-survey supported the use of these materials, as faculty reported increased satisfaction with the resources available to them and increased preparedness to discuss developmental delays with caregivers.
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    Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Approaches for Feeding in Early Intervention: A Rapid Systematic Review
    (2023-05-05) Barrett, Mackenzie; Bullard, Kelsie; McGee, Alexis; Pisockyj, Mariah; Pulos, Emily; Sego, Daniel; Chase, Tony; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences
    Objective Newborns are admitted to the NICU for multiple reasons that require services. Feeding difficulties is an aspect of care that many NICU babies present with that require care from a multidisciplinary team. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of numerous OT feeding interventions on the infants’ ability to feed independently compared to one that does not receive OT services. Study design The study was conducted as a RSR using a software called Covidence. There were 3,189 articles uploaded to screen in Covidence and one additional article individually uploaded. From those articles a full text review was completed including 50 articles which then resulted in 24 articles which were included in the RSR from the initial search. Total, there were 25 articles included: 24 from Covidence and one individually uploaded. Results This study aimed at examining numerous feeding interventions approaches to increase independence in feedings. Multisensory stimulation was found to have a significant increase in weight gain compared to groups receiving a different approach. Infants exposed to a soothing noise while feeding had an increase in sucking rates compared to infants that were not exposed to sound. Infants that received an odor-based intervention approach of being exposed to a food related scent were shown to have a decreased length in time until full feedings and shorter hospital stays. Infants who received skin to skin contact 60 minutes after birth had no difference shown but ones that received skin to skin contact immediately after had a higher breastfeeding and sucking scores. Parents that received caregiver education on feeding and positioning were shown to have less feeding difficulties, appropriate positioning of the baby during feedings, and improved bonding relationships with infants. Adaptive equipment such as nipples for feeding were analyzed and showed moderate improvement of feeding performance. Studies that used various approaches of oral motor stimulation showed a decreased hospital stay, improved feedings, and weight gain. Conclusion Numerous approaches of intervention to improve feeding performance on infants were reviewed in the RSR. Studies concluded an improvement in one or more outcomes measure of weight gain, improved performance, sucking ability, relationship, and decreased hospital stay. Further research could be conducted to enhance reliability of the intervention approaches due to limited population sizes, geographical differences, and wider age range evaluated.
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    Inclusive Health Programming for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
    (2022-05) Nickerson, Sarah; Chase, Anthony; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Devine, Samantha
    People with intellectual disabilities face many health disparities including limited access, knowledge, communication, and quality healthcare services. The capstone experience aimed to decrease some of the gaps that the intellectual disabilities community faces. The project applied the focuses of education and advocacy to increase awareness in society of inclusive healthcare. Through the various projects completed in the capstone experience, the target populations received educational resources and materials to increase participation. The capstone was designed to assist in people with intellectual disabilities to achieve their full health potential by providing access to quality health providers, educational opportunities, and resource and feedback sharing. Through qualitative feedback and discussions, the capstone experience engaged members of the intellectual disability (ID) community to increase knowledge and independence of their own health. The capstone student gained competence in working with the ID population as well as the significance of inclusive healthcare in future career decisions and client interactions. The overall capstone experience resulted in an increase in inclusive healthcare through the organization and for a future statewide level in the community.
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    Promoting Equity for Ronald McDonald House Families with a Family Information Guide
    (2022-05) Alexander, Joelyn, F.; Zeigler, Jayson; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Mitchell, Lisa
    Ronald McDonald House (RMH) near Lurie Children’s Hospital is an organization that offers housing and support to families seeking assistance and proximity to their hospitalized child. RMH identified a gap in support services offered to families prior to and after their stay. Parents and caregivers who have a child in the hospital are frequently unprepared and often seek information regarding this new care management role. When their information needs go unmet, they can experience burden, challenging role transitions, and occupational imbalance. The profession of occupational therapy has a distinct role in educating and empowering caregivers to adapt to their new demands. This doctoral capstone project and experience aimed to foster successful role transitions and increased quality of life for the families of RMH through the provision of equitable access to resources, the reduction of caregiver burden, and the promotion of occupational justice. After collaborating with vital stakeholders, reviewing the literature, and conducting multiple needs assessments, the doctoral capstone student was able to develop and implement a family information guide that directly combats cases of occupational injustice. With the foundation of the Framework of Occupational Justice and Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory, the doctoral capstone student was able to create a project with a human-centered design and resources pertinent to the life circumstances of RMH families. As a result of addressing both the perceived and unperceived informational needs of RMH families, this project successfully promoted caregiver confidence and security prior to their stay, during their stay, and after their stay at RMH.