scholarly journals Home Intervention for Children with Unilateral Upper Limb Reduction Deficiencies

Author(s):  
Jessica Lukaszek ◽  
Jordan Borrell ◽  
Claudia Cortes ◽  
Jorge Zuniga

Abstract Purpose: Current training interventions assessing pediatric functional motor skills do not account for children with upper limb reductions who utilize a prosthetic device. It was hypothesized that a newly created 8-week Home Intervention program will result in significant improvements in gross manual dexterity, bimanual coordination, and the functional activities performed during the program. It was also hypothesized that the newly developed Prosthesis Measurement of Independent Function (PMIF) score will reflect the Home Intervention performance improvements. Methods: Five pediatric participants (ages 5-19 years) with congenital upper limb reductions were fitted with a 3D printed upper extremity prosthesis for their affected limb. Participants then completed the 8-week Home Intervention which included Training activities completed 2x/week for 8 weeks and Non-Training activities completed only at week 1 and week 8. Participant’s times were recorded along with each participant receiving a PMIF score ranging from 0 = unable to complete activity, to 7 = complete independence with activity completion. Results: Results showed a decrease in overall averaged activity times amongst all activities. For all activities performed, individual averaged time decreased with the exception of Ball Play which increased over the 8 week intervention period. There was significant interaction for home intervention performance with F = 2.904 (p = 0.003). All participants increased their PMIF scores to 7 (complete independence) at the end of the 8 week intervention period. Conclusion: Decreases in time averages and increases in PMIF scores quantitatively showed that the home intervention program facilitate improvements in function and independence.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan A. Borrell ◽  
Christopher Copeland ◽  
Jessica L. Lukaszek ◽  
Kaitlin Fraser ◽  
Jorge M. Zuniga

The purpose of the current case study was to determine the influence of an 8-week home intervention training utilizing a partial hand prosthesis on hemodynamic responses of the brain and gross dexterity in a case participant with congenital unilateral upper-limb reduction deficiency (ULD). The case participant (female, 19 years of age) performed a gross manual dexterity task (Box and Block Test) while measuring brain activity (functional near-infrared spectroscopy; fNIRS) before and after an 8-weeks home intervention training. During baseline, there was a broad cortical activation in the ipsilateral sensorimotor cortex and a non-focalized cortical activation in the contralateral hemisphere, which was non-focalized, while performing a gross manual dexterity task using a prosthesis. After the 8-week home intervention training, however, cortical activation shifted to the contralateral motor cortex while cortical activation was diminished in the ipsilateral hemisphere. Specifically, the oxygenated hemodynamics (HbO) responses increased in the medial aspects of the contralateral primary motor and somatosensory cortices. Thus, these results suggest that an 8-week prosthetic home intervention was able to strengthen contralateral connections in this young adult with congenital partial hand reduction. This was supported by the case participant showing after training an increased flexor tone, increased range of motion of the wrist, and decreased times to complete various gross dexterity tasks. Changes in HbO responses due to the home intervention training follow the mechanisms of use-dependent plasticity and further guide the use of prostheses as a rehabilitation strategy for individuals with ULD.


Author(s):  
Wataru Nagatomo ◽  
Junko Saito ◽  
Naoki Kondo

Abstract Background In light of recent theories in behavioural economics, an intervention program with monetary incentives could be effective for helping patrons order healthy food, even if the incentive is small and less than one’s perceived marginal value. Methods In this single-arm cluster crossover trial at 26 local restaurants, a 1-week campaign offered a 50-yen (approximately 0.5 US dollars) cash-back payment to customers ordering vegetable-rich meals, while no pre-order incentives were offered during the control period. Results In total, 511 respondents out of 7537 customers (6.8%), and 704 respondents out of 7826 customers (9.0%), ordered vegetable-rich meals during the control and intervention periods, respectively. During the intervention period, the covariate-adjusted proportion of vegetable-rich meal orders was 1.50 times higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29 to 1.75), which increased daily sales by 1.77 times (95% CI: 1.11 to 2.83), even when subtracting the cost of cash-back payments. Respondents who reported spending the least amount of money on eating out (used as a proxy measure for income) were the least likely to order vegetable-rich meals during the control period. However, these individuals increased their proportion of purchasing such meals during the intervention period (a 3.8 percentage point increase (95% CI: 2.82 to 4.76) among those spending the least vs a 2.1 percentage point increase (95% CI: 1.66 to 2.62) among those spending the most; P for interaction = 0.001). Similarly, irregular employees exhibited a larger increase (+ 5.2 percentage points, 95% CI: 4.54 to 5.76) than did regular workers (− 1.4, 95% CI: − 1.66 to − 1.05, P for interaction = 0.001). Conclusions A program with an immediate low-value monetary incentive could be a public health measure for reducing inequalities in making healthy food choices. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000022396. Registered 21 May 2016.


Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Boden-Albala ◽  
Dorothy F Edwards ◽  
Jeffrey J Wing ◽  
Shauna S Clair ◽  
Stephen Fernandez ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: There is sparse data about the nature of race-ethnic disparities in the acute stroke setting including differentials in stroke preparedness. The aim of this analysis was to explore race-ethnic differentials in time to arrival for acute stroke in a racial and ethnically diverse urban setting. METHODS: ASPIRE is a multi-dimensional intervention program (community, hospital, and EMS) for acute stroke preparedness targeted to increase IV tPA utilization in underserved black communities in the DC metro area. We prospectively identified stroke admissions and EMS utilization including acute stroke arrival time parameters for the 6 month pre and post intervention periods. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine predictors of arrival time. Proportionality of the hazards was checked. RESULTS: In the 6 month pre-intervention period, data was collected on 943 stroke cases; 53% female; 74% black; mean age 67 yrs. Of the subjects from the pre-intervention period with arrival times less than 48 hrs, the median arrival time to the emergency department (ED) was 9 hours; 20% presented under 3 hours. In multivariable Cox PH models, subjects were 38% more likely to arrive earlier if they had arrived by EMS (HR: 1.38, 95%CI: 1.21-1.58). Black subjects were 25% less likely to arrive earlier (HR: 0.75, 95%CI: 0.60-0.93), but this effect was dampened over time (p=0.03). The model included the interaction between black race and time and adjusted for insurance status, risk factors (hypertension and diabetes), gender, age and prior stroke. Ina gender by race analysis, there was a trend towards black women being less likely to arrive earlier to the ED (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.6 -1.0). However, overall, there was no race-ethnic interaction with arrival by EMS. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the perceived perception by the community suggesting there is a disparity in EMS utilization by the black DC community, we found no overall significant racial difference in EMS utilization for acute stroke. While there was a trend towards delayed overall arrival in black females, this was independent of EMS utilization.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorit Ravid ◽  
Vital Geiger

Research indicates that morphological awareness contributes to success in literacy acquisition and consolidation, since morphology links together phonological and semantic facets of language. The role of morphology is especially important in Hebrew, a highly synthetic Semitic language. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of an intervention program on knowledge and awareness of morphology in Hebrew-speaking grade-schoolers. Two three-month intervention programs were conducted in two groups of 4th-grade children: a metalinguistic morphological intervention program using linguistic humor, and a parallel intervention program using nonverbal humor. A morphological awareness test was administered to the two groups prior to and following the intervention period. The results demonstrate consistent advantages to the morphological intervention group, including tasks related both directly and indirectly to content taught.


Author(s):  
Duncan Carter-Davies ◽  
Junshen Chen ◽  
Fei Chen ◽  
Miao Li ◽  
Chenguang Yang

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheldon Hanton ◽  
Graham Jones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a multimodal intervention on swimmers debilitated by anxiety. A staggered single-subject multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used over 10 competitive races for 4 swimmers. Baseline observations on cognitive and somatic anxiety “direction” (facilitative/debilitating) scores were collected for three, four, and five races for Participants 2, 3, and 4, respectively, prior to treatment. The intervention was designed based on qualitative data from Hanton and Jones’s (1999) study and included the skills of goal setting, imagery, and self-talk. These psychological skills emerged as particularly important from Hanton and Jones’s investigation as a means of maintaining facilitative interpretations of precompetition anxiety symptoms. Preintervention, all participants reported debilitating interpretations of cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms. However, post intervention, the 3 participants who received treatment reported facilitative interpretations. Performance improvements were also evident for these swimmers. A postintervention follow-up showed that swimmers’ interpretations were still facilitative.


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