Distribution of Motor Neurone Disease Patients in Occupational Therapy Departments

1986 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 260-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Langford Jones ◽  
R S Ramaiah

In a study to ascertain the distribution of motor neurone disease patients in occupational therapy departments, it was found that care takes place in a variety of settings. Although occupational therapists based in the specialist units were seeing a comparatively larger number of patients, care was also provided in the nonspecialist units as well as in the community-based services. It is suggested that this finding illustrates the need for training occupational therapists in the management of motor neurone disease patients.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863292199490
Author(s):  
Ruca Maass ◽  
Tore Bonsaksen ◽  
Astrid Gramstad ◽  
Unni Sveen ◽  
Linda Stigen ◽  
...  

Community-based occupational therapy is an increasingly important domain of work for occupational therapists. In Norway, this has been emphasized by the Coordination reform (2012), which assigned municipalities increased responsibility to protect and promote the health of their inhabitants. However, even if approximately 400 positions have been established between 2012 and 2017, little is known whether they have contributed to increased and/or more equal coverage across municipalities. To explore this matter, survey data was gathered among members of the Norwegian Occupational Therapy Association during 2017. Data was analyzed statistically (descriptive, comparative and associative) with SPSS 25. Results suggest large regional variations in the establishment of new positions. Moreover, most new positions were established in medium-sized municipalities that already had (an) occupational therapist(s) in the community. Number of prior positions, as well as being in the process of merging with another municipality were the only significant predictors for the establishment of new positions during regression analysis. Findings suggest that no levelling-out of geographical distributions of OT-coverage has occurred, even if new positions might have contributed to level-out workload (number-of-patients-per-therapist). Further, we discuss implications of our findings for policy-making and recruitment of Occupational Therapists for rural positions.


1995 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lyons

The emphasis on community-based services for people with psychiatric disorders requires a concerted response from occupational therapists, if we are to assist people to live meaningful lives in their own communities. This article draws on the fieldwork experiences of 16 Australian and American occupational therapy students, to reflect on fieldwork education and how it may be preparing students to meet the demands of proactive practice in psychiatry. Attention is drawn to the Importance of fieldwork education in community contexts for occupational therapy students, if these future therapists are to be adequately prepared for the demands of community mental health practice.


Author(s):  
Amy Sullivan ◽  
Christy Morgan

OBJECTIVE: This study identified opportunities for occupational therapists serving those with a spinal cord injury needing community based dental care. METHODS: Dental professionals answered survey questions on attitudes toward treating clients with a spinal cord injury, knowledge of transfer skills, occupational therapy as a community resource, and dental clinic physical design. The data collected for this pilot study were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The participants revealed hesitation toward treating these clients, some knowledge of occupational therapy as a community referral source, limited knowledge for transfer skills, and questionable clinic designs for meeting accessibility guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this pilot study should spark interest in more similar study’s and expand sample size. Based upon the initial findings, it would seem occupational therapists should search for appropriate dental offices in which to refer clients with a spinal cord injury. In addition, occupational therapists could serve as consultants to local dental clinics ensuring adequate quality of care for a variety of disabilities. Ultimately, the profession is uniquely positioned to educate clients and providers promoting utilization of community oral health care services.


2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie A Campbell

A model of a podiatry service has been developed which takes into consideration the effect of changing access criteria, skill mix and staffing levels (among others) given fixed local staffing budgets and the foot-health characteristics of the local community. A spreadsheet-based deterministic model was chosen to allow maximum transparency of programming. This work models a podiatry service in England, but could be adapted for other settings and, with some modification, for other community-based services. This model enables individual services to see the effect on outcome parameters such as number of patients treated, number discharged and size of waiting lists of various service configurations, given their individual local data profile. The process of designing the model has also had spin-off benefits for the participants in making explicit many of the implicit rules used in managing their services.


2012 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Smith ◽  
Melinda J. Suto

Background. It continues to be a challenge to define and utilize spirituality in client-centred occupational therapy practice. Dialogue about spirituality is especially problematic for occupational therapists working with people with schizophrenia. Purpose. To explore the meaning of religion and/or spirituality for people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Methods. Nine community-based individuals with schizophrenia engaged in interviews about the meaning of religion and/or spirituality and demonstrated self-defined spiritual practices. Phenomenology, hermeneutic theory, and a symbolic interactionism framework provided methodological and analytic guidance. Findings. Participants employed religious and/or spiritual practices to cope with schizophrenia symptoms and make meaning of their lives. Individuals used multiple systems of meaning to explain their experiences. Religious and/or spiritual agency, an individual's sense of freedom to choose among the spiritual options, renewed their sense of empowerment. Implications. Therapists can engage in spiritual negotiation with clients by using well-worded empowering questions toward a common goal of life enhancement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deshini Naidoo ◽  
Jacqueline Van Wyk ◽  
Robin Joubert

Background: Primary healthcare (PHC) is central to increased access and transformation in South African healthcare. There is limited literature about services required by occupational therapists in PHC. Despite policy being in place, the implementation of services at grassroots level does not always occur adequately.Objectives: This study aimed at gaining an understanding of the challenges of being disabled and the services required by occupational therapists (OTs) in rural communities in order to better inform the occupational therapy (OT) training curriculum. Method: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative design was implemented using purposive sampling to recruit 23 community healthcare workers from the uGu district. Snowball sampling was used to recruit 37 members of the uGu community, which included people with disability (PWD) and caregivers of PWDs. Audio-recorded focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, which were thematically analysed. Ethical approval was obtained from the Biomedical and Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (BE248/14).Results: Two main themes emerged namely: firstly, the challenges faced by the disabled community and secondly appropriate opportunities for intervention in PHC. A snapshot of the social and physical inaccessibility challenges experienced by the community was created. Challenges included physical and sexual abuse, discrimination and marginalisation. Community-based rehabilitation and ideas for health promotion and prevention were identified as possible strategies for OT intervention.Conclusion: The understanding of the intervention required by OT in PHC was enhanced through obtaining the views of various stakeholders’ on the role. This study highlighted the gaps in community-based services that OTs should offer in this context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pier-Luc Turcotte ◽  
Annie Carrier ◽  
Mélanie Levasseur

Background. Occupational therapists who provide community-based services are well positioned to foster older adults’ social participation. However, community occupational therapists rarely address social participation and require support to change their practice. Purpose. This study initiated a remodelling of community occupational therapy services by (a) selecting practices fostering older adults’ social participation and (b) identifying factors that could affect their integration. Method. A community-based participatory research study was conducted in a large Canadian city. Four focus group meetings and seven individual interviews were held with 28 key informants. Findings. A continuum of emerging practices was identified, including personalized, group-based, and community-based interventions. Potential enablers of these practices included clinical support, better communication, and user involvement. Organizational and systemic barriers were related to the institutional culture and performance indicators. Implications. These results point to innovative ways to foster older adults’ social participation and identify potential enablers and barriers affecting their integration.


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