Browsing by Subject "occupational deprivation"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    COVID-19 Implications on Student Athletes Occupational Engagement and Mental Health
    (2021-04-28) DePue, Brianna; Wilburn, Victoria; Pierce, David; Wilburn, Victoria; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Wilburn, Victoria
    Occupational engagement in preferred activities has been difficult to obtain throughout the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic for high school athletes with the disruption to high school sports. High school athletes utilize sports as a way to interact within their environment and engage in play which is a key factor for facilitating normative development. The purpose of this capstone project is to further understand if associated mental health outcomes exist in high school athletes due to limited occupational engagement within sports through self-reported measurements. This project utilized a cross sectional, mixed methods survey, from a convenience sample of 104 high school athletes in order to obtain student athletes perspectives regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their sport performance, mental health, occupational deprivation, and future collegiate goals/scholarships. This project used a chi square analysis with a linear regression to understand relationships between datasets. Statistically significant (p= .003) relationships were found between grade level and student's self-reported occupational deprivation. This study also found indications of other predictive relationships between factors such as limited playing time or different rules while participating in sports and student's self-reported negative mental health symptoms (r= 2.3). With limited research on COVID-19 in this vulnerable population, this study provides foundational evidence for the need to engage within preferred occupations for normative development in high school athletes and the need to address mental health in this population who undergo feelings of adverse mental health within circumstances out of their control such as the impact of COVID-19.
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    The Efficacy and Feasibility of Occupational Therapy Programming Focused on Health and Wellness within a Homeless Shelter
    (2021-04) Munson, Victoria; Wasmuth, Sally; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Hoffman, Lisa
    Homelessness is a serious problem and can have many negative effects, including poor health (Hodge et al., 2017). Homelessness is closely tied to occupational deprivation and occupational injustice (Cunningham & Slade, 2019). The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to address the occupational needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. By working with the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children, this project aimed to decrease occupational deprivation and increase overall wellness through the implementation of occupation-based programming. Occupation-based programing was introduced over the course of 14 weeks, in combination with ongoing program evaluation. Success of the program was evaluated in a number of different ways, including distributing pre- and post-program surveys, evaluating results from the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and by receiving verbal feedback from staff members. Participants were recruited from the Foundations of Wellness program at the Wheeler Mission and included individuals with a wide range of health concerns. Results indicated that participants had statistically significant increases in satisfaction with programming following the implementation of occupation-based programming, as well as significant increases in self-perceived occupational performance and satisfaction. These results can be used to advocate for the role of occupational therapists within homeless shelters, as they can increase occupational engagement and participant satisfaction. Additional research is needed to further define the role of occupational therapists within homeless shelters and to further investigate the impact occupational therapists can have on homeless populations.
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    Facilitating Occupational Engagement Among Newly Resettled Refugees Through a Life Skills Curriculum
    (2023-05-02) Richason, Hannah; DeRolf, Annie; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Vestal, Joel
    Refugees resettle in the United States due to the threat of war, persecution, or other situations which require legal protection. Occupational deprivation occurs when one is unable to participate in desired occupations due to barriers to engagement. Refugees often experience occupational deprivation after resettlement due to a variety of barriers to occupational participation. Occupational engagement is essential for one’s health and well-being, and experiencing barriers to accessing occupation can therefore negatively impact one’s health and well-being. Occupational therapists facilitate participation in occupation, and thus have a role in addressing occupational deprivation among refugees. The purpose of this Doctoral Capstone Project was to partner with an Indianapolis nonprofit, Migros Aid, Inc., to create a guide for volunteer mentors to utilize for addressing life skills with refugees. Over the course of the Doctoral Capstone Experience, the capstone student created and disseminated the Life Skills Curriculum and associated materials. Volunteer mentors participated in a training presentation addressing how to access and use the Life Skills Curriculum, as well as trauma-informed approach principles and cultural humility principles in line with best practice recommendations for resettlement work. Quantitative outcome data indicated an increase in mentors’ knowledge and confidence in teaching life skills to refugees before (n=15) and after (n=9) the presentation. This project contributed to literature about occupational therapy’s role when working with resettled refugees at a population level and provided resources to facilitate increased occupational engagement among refugees in Indianapolis.
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    Implementation of a Wellness Exploration Group for Women with Substance Use Disorder
    (2024-05) Mathieu, Hannah; Belkiewitz, Johnna; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Young, Nikole
    Individuals with substance use disorders are heavily impacted in participation and performance of their daily activities due to the neurobiology, occupational deprivation, and occupational balance barriers. In the theory of addiction as occupation, individuals with substance use disorder are more likely to relapse if their addiction is not recognized as an occupation (Wasmuth et al., 2014). When addiction is removed from their daily routines an occupational deprivation is created and must be addressed for success in recovery (Wasmuth et al., 2014). The capstone student implemented a wellness exploration group focused on meeting adult female residents at a recovery house where they were at with their recovery process. Wellness exploration groups concentrated on resident-identified leisure, social participation, and self-care activities on a weekly basis. The intent of group meetings was to improve quality of life, well-being, and occupational balance while also addressing occupational deprivation with occupational replacement of healthy lifestyle activities. Outcome data was collected through a survey composed with the PROMIS database. The survey was administered before group implementation and after group implementation in aggregate. The results of this project indicated an improvement in quality of life, well-being, and occupational balance through survey dissemination and verbal comments. This further demonstrated the important role that occupational therapy can play in treatment for substance use disorder.