Development of an Enhanced Recovery Program in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Surgical Oncology Patients.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are standardized perioperative treatment plans aimed at improving recovery time in patients following surgery using a multidisciplinary team approach. These protocols have been shown to optimize pain control, improve mobility, and decrease postoperative ileus and other surgical complications, thereby leading to a reduction in length of stay and readmission rates. To date, no ERAS-based protocols have been developed specifically for pediatric patients undergoing oncologic surgery.

Feasibility and Implementation of a Multimodal Supportive Care Program to Improve Outcomes in Older Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Increasingly, patients age ≥65 years are undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Although age alone is a well-documented predictor of overall survival (OS) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM), growing evidence suggests that poor functional status and frailty associated with aging may have roles as well. Our goal in the present study was to identify and improve these and other aging-related maladies by developing a multimodal supportive care program for older allo-SCT recipients.

Catalyzing Research to Optimize Cancer Survivors' Participation in Work and Life Roles.

Participation refers to a state of health in which a person is able to fully engage in roles and life situations. Adults living with and beyond cancer often report persistent participation restrictions that affect their productivity and quality of life. The American Occupational Therapy Foundation convened a group of scientists from seven different disciplines in a Planning Grant Collective (PGC) to stimulate research to identify scalable ways to preserve and optimize participation among cancer survivors.

Employment Concerns and Associated Impairments of Women Living With Advanced Breast Cancer.

Objective: To describe the clinical and personal factors associated with work status, distress regarding work status, and the desire to resume employment and receive help to address work challenges reported by women living with advanced breast cancer.

Design: Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to explore factors related to employment challenges in this secondary analysis of an existing dataset.

Setting: Participants were recruited from an outpatient oncology clinic specializing in breast cancer at a free-standing comprehensive cancer center.

Occupational Therapy Interventions for Adults With Cancer.

This Evidence Connection describes a case report of a man with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who underwent an allogenic stem cell transplant. The occupational therapy assessment and treatment processes for an outpatient rehabilitation setting are described. Evidence Connection articles provide a clinical application of systematic reviews developed in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's Evidence-Based Practice Project.

Toward a National Initiative in Cancer Rehabilitation: Recommendations From a Subject Matter Expert Group.

The health care delivery system in the United States is challenged to meet the needs of a growing population of cancer survivors. A pressing need is to optimize overall function and reduce disability in these individuals. Functional impairments and disability affect most patients during and after disease treatment.

Population Health and Occupational Therapy.

Occupational therapy practitioners play an important role in improving the health of populations through the development of occupational therapy interventions at the population level and through advocacy to address occupational participation and the multiple determinants of health. This article defines and explores population health as a concept and describes the appropriateness of occupational therapy practice in population health. Support of population health practice as evidenced in the official documents of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the relevance of population health for occupational therapy as a profession are reviewed.

P4 medicine and pediatric occupational therapy.

Pediatric occupational therapy practitioners face a complex and ever-changing health care environment, creating many challenges and opportunities. P4 medicine is a systems approach to health care that emphasizes proactive wellness over reactive acute care disease management. The four Ps of P4 medicine stand for predictive, personalized, preventive, and participatory, concepts that align well with the practice of pediatric occupational therapy.

Social justice and resource utilization in a community-based organization: a case illustration of the role of the occupational therapist.

Social justice and occupational justice have received increased attention in the occupational therapy literature. This evolving discourse has focused on establishing a connection between the effects of social injustice and the resulting negative influences on occupational participation. This literature has also addressed the role of occupational therapists in responding to social injustice at the societal, population, or individual levels.

A controlled study of services to enhance productive participation among people with HIV/AIDS.

Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of a model program designed to increase productive participation among people living with HIV/AIDS within supportive-living facilities.

Methods: Using a nonrandomized, two-group design, 65 study participants were assigned to either the model program or standard care. Data on productive participation were collected at 3, 6, and 9 months after completion of the model or standard program.

Narrative slope as a predictor of work and other occupational participation.

This study aims to determine the utility of the narrative slope in predicting the vocational/productive outcomes of participants. For 65 participants living in supportive facilities for adults with HIV/AIDS in the United States, narrative slopes, based on the Occupational Performance History Interview II, were constructed and classified as progressive, stable, or regressive. Information regarding participants' productive activities was collected at discharge from intervention programming, and at 3-month intervals, up to 9 months.

Psychometric properties of the Worker Role Interview.

Objectives: This study examined the psychometric properties of the rating scale of the Worker Role Interview (WRI). The study also asked whether the scale's items formed a valid measure of the construct, psychosocial capacity for work, and whether they were targeted to and could effectively discriminate between persons at different levels of psychosocial ability for work.

Method Of Study: Data were collected from 21 raters on 440 participants from the United States, Sweden and Iceland.

HIV/AIDS and return to work: a literature review one-decade post-introduction of combination therapy (HAART).

It has been a little over one decade since the introduction of the first protease inhibitor that ushered in new era of treatment for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). As of the end of 2003, an estimated 37.8 million people worldwide were infected with the HIV.

Interdisciplinary staff perceptions of an occupational therapy return to work program for people living with AIDS.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the perception of interdisciplinary staff members regarding the impact of a model work and independent living oriented program for residents in supportive living facilities. This study used focus groups and individual interviews to collect these perceptions. Staff members identified four areas of impact: utilization of a holistic and process-oriented approach, an ability to identify and work with the strengths of clients, emphasis on the learning of practical skills, and creating an intersection for all aspects of services.

Occupational identity, occupational competence and occupational settings (environment): influences on return to work in men living with HIV/AIDS.

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine and describe the relationship between the efforts of twelve men living with AIDS to reestablish a worker role following completion of a vocational rehabilitation program and changes in their occupational identity, occupational competence and perception of occupational settings (environment).

Methods: A series of in-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed and analyzed via categorical content analysis using sections of the text as the unit of analysis.

Findings: Findings illustrate how constructs measured by the sub-scales of the OPHI-II may be helpful in understanding how persons frame past, present and anticipated experiences as they attempt to reestablish a life role lost after the onset of disability.

Impairments and perceived competence in persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Medical advances have transformed HIV/AIDS from a short-term terminal illness to a long-term chronic condition. Consequently, the disability experience of persons with HIV illness has shifted from issues related to physical well-being to those concerning performance of daily life activities and wider community participation. These changes have necessitated rehabilitation interventions for persons with HIV/AIDS to focus on issues related to enabling participation in all spheres of everyday activities.

Resident and staff perceptions of barriers to independence and employment in supportive living settings for persons with AIDS.

The purpose of this study was to identify perceived barriers to independent community living and employment among clients and staff members in a transitional living facility for persons with AIDS. This qualitative study used focus groups to collect these perceptions from staff members (N = 21) and clients (N = 16). Whereas staff identified both systemic and personal barriers, clients only identified systemic barriers.

Therapists' and clients' perceptions of the occupational performance history interview.

SUMMARY The Occupational Performance History Interview-Second Version (OPHI-II) is a semi-structured interview that gathers life history information. The interview data is used to score three rating scales and complete a narrative slope. Previous research has primarily examined the validity of the scales.

Developing and evaluating community-based services through participatory action research: two case examples.

Occupational therapy has a strong history of embracing concepts of client empowerment. However there is limited literature in the field on how to achieve empowerment, or on how to extend empowerment to the level of the community and social groups and services within it. This article discusses how concepts and strategies of participatory action research, an extension of empowerment theory, can be used to inform service development and evaluation in occupational therapy.

Outcomes of a vocational program for persons with AIDS.

Advances in medical treatment combined with changes in the demographics of persons who are becoming infected with autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have transformed this illness from a rapidly progressing to a chronically disabling condition in a short period of time. This paper describes the development, implementation, and outcomes of a program of vocational services for persons with AIDS. This program was studied using a single group design, in which participatory action research strategies were used to investigate and improve the program as it unfolded.