Sleep Management within Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Practice Survey.

A cross-sectional descriptive survey of 105 occupational therapy practitioners examined the practice patterns in sleep management within skilled nursing facilities. All participants viewed sleep as essential to address in their settings, since clients frequently reported inadequate sleep, daytime sleepiness, difficulty staying asleep, and situational interruption. Majority of the practitioners reported not screening, assessing, treating, or documenting sleep issues and lack the use of standardized assessments and evidence-based interventions for sleep.

Integrating the ICF with positive psychology: Factors predicting role participation for mothers with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Being a mother has become a realizable life role for women with disabilities and chronic illnesses, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Identifying psychosocial factors that facilitate participation in important life roles-including motherhood-is essential to help women have fuller lives despite the challenge of their illness. By integrating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and a positive psychology perspective, this study examined how environmental social factors and positive personal factors contribute to daily role participation and satisfaction with parental participation.

Distance education and teaching online: my journey from mystery to mastery.

With the burgeoning of online programs in higher education, many occupational therapy faculty will need to expand their teaching repertoire to include distance education methods. This article describes the transition of one teacher, moving from face to face instruction to a blended distance education format, and the components of the process. These include providing a good technical infrastructure and training for both teachers and students.

Exploring the relation of health-promoting behaviors to role participation and health-related quality of life in women with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.

Objective: We examined the relation of health-promoting behaviors to participation in life roles and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in women with multiple sclerosis.

Method: We used a correlational design. Frequency of health-promoting behaviors was obtained from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II.

Speech recognition software as an assistive device: a pilot study of user satisfaction and psychosocial impact.

The purpose of this study was to gather data concerning the psychosocial (quality of life) impact of speech recognition software on individuals with physical disabilities and to identify how satisfied these individuals were with this software as a computer access method. Two standardized questionnaires, the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) and the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology (QUEST) were administered to ten participants with physical disabilities who received speech recognition software following an assistive technology evaluation. The results of this study indicated that 90% of the participants were quite satisfied with speech recognition software as an assistive device and that the software had a somewhat positive psychosocial impact on their lives.

An examination of self-reported carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms in hand therapists, protective and corrective measures and job satisfaction.

Based on the physical nature of their work, hand therapists could be at risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The objective of this study was to examine the incidence of self-reported CTS symptoms among hand therapists and the corrective/protective measures utilized in response to symptoms. Additionally, the relationship of CTS symptoms to job satisfaction was explored.