The role of occupational therapy for individuals living with sickle cell disease

The purpose of the research study was to determine the role occupational therapy plays in the management of sickle cell disease (SCD). A descriptive survey was administered to 39 persons living with or caring for persons living with SCD. This survey was administered at two sickle cell foundations and one hospital. ^ The research study determined that none of the 10.3% of the sample who had rehabilitative therapy received occupational therapy. Furthermore, at least 50% of persons surveyed agreed that SCD affected their activities of daily living; at least 38.5% agreed that work and productive activities were hampered; and at least 18% agreed that play/leisure activities were affected. No one within the sample received gene therapy. ^ It was concluded that occupational therapy is relevant for persons who are disabled by SCD. It is recommended that occupational therapists realize the importance of treating patients with SCD from a more holistic perspective. ^

Neuromuscular Changes in Older Adults during the Lateral Step Task

Older adults may have trouble when performing activities of daily living due to decrease in physical strength and degradation of neuromotor and musculoskeletal function. Motor activation patterns during Lateral Step Down and Step Up from 4-inch and 8-inch step heights was assessed in younger (n=8, 24.4 years) and older adults (n=8, 58.9 years) using joint angle kinematics and electromyography of lower extremity muscles. Ground reaction forces were used to ascertain the loading, stabilization and unloading phases of the tasks. Older adults had an altered muscle activation sequence and significantly longer muscle bursts during loading for the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, vastus medialis, bicep femoris, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus muscles of the stationary leg. They also demonstrated a significantly larger swing time (579.1 ms vs. 444.8 ms) during the step down task for the moving leg. The novel data suggests presence of age-related differences in motor coordination during lateral stepping.

A follow-up outcome evaluation of independent living services for foster care youth

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Independent Living (IL) program targeting foster youths to prepare them for effective adulthood. The study employed a pre-post, two-group comparative research design. The IL group was composed of 49 young adults who participated in the IL or SIL (subsidized IL) program prior to their emancipation from foster care (mean age, 20.6 years). The comparison was made up of 18 young adults who experienced foster care but never participated in the IL or SIL programs (mean age, 20.2 years). Data were collected via a mailed survey that included the Daniel Memorial Independent Living Assessment (DMILA) and an additional questionnaire developed by the researcher. The study also examined: (1) why youth in foster care do not participate in IL programs, (2) how participating youth evaluate IL services and what recommendations they make to improve services, and (3) the internal consistency of the DMILA. Results suggest that the DMILA assessment has mediocre reliability. IL program participation is associated with better educational, employment, income, housing, early parenting-prevention, transportation, anger control, criminal-prevention, and self-evaluation outcomes. However, IL participation is not associated with better social support, perceived parenting competence, substance abuse-prevention, sexual risk-prevention outcomes, increased knowledge in money management skills, job seeking and job maintenance skills, interpersonal skills, or lower depression. Results also suggest that the outreach activities of the IL program may be flawed. IL participants reported the IL program was doing best in educational preparation, criminal involvement prevention, and money management preparation and least well in parenting preparation, housing preparation, employment preparation, and substance abuse prevention. To improve services, youths recommended primarily that IL counselors develop closer relationships with youths, that IL training better address organizational skills, and that monthly subsidy be raised and SIL eligibility requirements softened. The study's political context and limitations are also discussed and implications are derived regarding prevention, intervention, outreach, mentorship, empowerment, cross-systems collaboration, and future research. ^