The on-line version is available to members only. To subscribe or purchase a PDF, e-mail subscriptions@caot.ca The on-line version is available to members only. To subscribe or purchase a PDF, e-mail subscriptions@caot.ca
CJOT Abstracts
Volume 69, Number 2
April 2002
National Perspective
Attitudes that breed the vicious circle of fear and violence
by Margaret Brockett
Key Words Ethics Professional · Fear · Violence
Discharging older adults with a severe and chronic mental illness in the community
by Nadine Larivière, Isabelle Gélinas, Barbara Mazer, Beverlea Tallant & Isabelle Paquette
In recent years, a deinstitutionalization movement has been occurring in Canadian psychiatric institutions. Occupational therapists, experts in evaluating occupational performance, are key contributors to the selection of appropriate community housing environments. This study describes the global functioning, performance in activities of daily living, social behavior, cognitive status, and quality of life of 33 older adults with a severe and chronic mental illness, who were transferred from a psychiatric hospital to community facilities between 1995 and 1998. Evaluations were repeated five times, twice before discharge and three times after the transfer. Participants demonstrated stability in their global, social and ADL functioning over time. In general, participants required occasional intervention for management of social behaviors, moderate assistance in activities of daily living, and were highly satisfied with their community accommodation. The transfer to community settings did not lead to a significant deterioration in the participants’ levels of global functioning and quality of life.
Key words Mental health · Health services for the aged · Occupational performance
Individualized outcome measures: A review of the literature
by Catherine Donnelly & Anne Carswell
The client-centred nature of occupational therapy acknowledges the individual as the central element of treatment. This philosophy, however, challenges the therapist to choose an outcome measure that is capable of reflecting this individualized perspective.
Recent papers published in the rehabilitation literature have reported on the increased responsiveness of such measures over traditional self-report questionnaires. Although the need for a comprehensive review of individualized outcome measures has been identified in the literature, none exists to date.
The purpose of this paper is to review six individualized outcome measures that have been identified in the rehabilitation and psychology literature. The measures include: the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, McMaster (MAC) Toronto Arthritis, Goal Attainment Scaling, Target Complaints and the Patient Specific Functional Scale.
The reliability, validity, responsiveness and clinical utility of each outcome measure was examined and critiqued. Each tool, to a varying degree, met the description of a standardized, client-centred outcome measure.
Key words Outcome assessment · Client-centred practice, occupational therapy · Canadian Occupational Performance Measure
Collaborative fieldwork education with student occupational therapists and student occupational therapist assistants
by Bonny Jung, Sandy Sainsbury, Rosa Maria Grum, Seanne Wilkins & Joyce Tryssenaar
The profession of occupational therapy has a long history of working collaboratively with support personnel. This paper describes the process of a fieldwork education partnership developed between the McMaster University, BHSc (OT) Program and the Mohawk College, Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physical Therapist Assistant Program. Eight student occupational therapists and eight student occupational therapist assistants learned together in a variety of fieldwork settings, either in pairs or in groups. Both groups of students kept weekly journals of the experience and completed a post placement questionnaire. The journals were inductively analysed using a retrospective content analysis. The four emergent themes identified from the data are learning about each other’s role, collaborative learning, impact on client care and future practice, and resistance to roles. Recommendations for future collaborations are discussed.
Key words Fieldwork education, occupational therapy · Student supervision · Occupational therapy personnel
Measuring the impact of Parkinson’s disease: An occupational therapy perspective
by Paula Gaudet
Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting over 100,000 Canadians. With advances in medical and surgical treatments, clients are living longer and fuller lives. However, as the disease progresses those with Parkinson’s continue to face a variety of deficits in their occupational performance. Although this is the domain of occupational therapists, very little is described in the occupational therapy literature related to Parkinson’s. This article addresses this void by describing these deficits and current measurement tools that can be used to evaluate the impact on people living with Parkinson’s disease. Although several tools are cited, three tools are recommended for an occupational therapy evaluation of individuals with Parkinson’s disease: the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire.
Key words Parkinson disease · Occupational performance · Evaluation studies, occupational therapy