The purpose of this study was to measure the illness behavior of acute and chronic upper extremity pain patients using the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ), to determine' the rehabilitation outcome by pre-set criteria, and to determine the effectiveness of the seven scales of the IBQ in predicting the problem pain patient. Each subject completed a self-administered test packet which included the IBQ. Each was identified by the investigator as a problematic or as a problematic patient using information in the medical chart. Patients entering the study with acute pain (n=12) had less pain upon discharge and returned more quickly to activities of vocation, avocation and daily living than did the chronic pain patients (n=8). Statistical analysis of the IBQ scores of the problematic and a problematic patients did not support the use of the IBQ as a predictor of the problem pain patient.

A paucity of research exists in the strength training and aging literature. Hettinger (1958) reported that strength declined with age and that older persons gained less with strength training than younger persons. This study altered Hettinger's design by using a different muscle and a different strengthening routine. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of isometric strength training of the non-dominant left abductor digiti minimi muscles of young subjects and old subjects. The ten young female subjects, mean age 22.6 years, were all nursing students. The ten older female subjects, mean age 69.2 years, did not constitute a similar homogeneous group; although they all lived in the metropolitan area of Richmond, Virginia. All subjects were volunteers. Training consisted of each subject performing twenty maximal isometric contractions of the left abductor digiti minimi three times weekly for six weeks. A pretest and six weekly measurements of strength were made on a strain gauge. The results of this study are not in agreement with Hettinger's findings. Significant strength increases were found for the pretest-post-test measurements within each group at the same P < .0001 level. However, when the young and older groups were compared on the initial strength measurements, no statistically significant differences were found. Therefore the null hypotheses were accepted.

Thesis (MPH)-- University of Limpopo, 2011 / Background The increased access to HAART and increased survival of perinatally HIV-infected children have given rise to challenges that parents and caregivers face of disclosure of HIV serostatus to their infected children. Given the increased number of children on ART in the country health care providers and caregivers are now faced with the challenge of a population of children who have not been disclosed. The issue of disclosure should be viewed as a great public health concern. Aim and objectives The aim of the study was to determine the socio-demographics of caregivers and children and determine caregivers’ reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure of HIV diagnosis to children on antiretroviral therapy. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive study using researcher administered questionnaires was conducted with a sample of 149 disclosed and non-disclosed caregivers of children aged 4-17 enrolled in an antiretroviral treatment programme of a district hospital. Data were cleaned, coded and captured on Microsoft Excel and analysed in STATA version 10. Results Of 149 caregivers, 97.99% were females, and 2.01% were males, age ranged from 19-81 years with a mean age of 42 years, 25% attained primary education, 51% the grade not completed, 21% completed grade 12, and 3% had a tertiary education, 55.7% were unemployed, 27.3% fully employed, 14% were pensioners, 3% were schooling. Of the 149 children, 58% were girls, 42% boys, aged range of 4-17 years, mean age of 8.3 years, mean diagnosis age was 6 years, mean time on ARVs was 3.1years, and mean disclose age was 9.3 years. Majority (52.3%) children were cared for by mothers, (28.2%) by grandparents, and of the rest (17.4%) by other relatives, only 2% by their fathers. About 38% single orphans having lost their biological mothers, 35% were double orphans. About 39.6% of children were disclosed to and 60.4% not disclosed to. For those children to whom disclosure had been made 52.5% were disclosed to between ages 6-10, 35.6% between ages 11-15, 10.2% between ages 1-5. Reasons for disclosure were varied, and most cited were adhere to medication (36.5%), consistent questioning about disease and medications (36.5%), fear of accidental disclosure (9.5%), prompted by health professionals (7.9%), and child reaching puberty (3.2%). Reasons for non disclosure were also varied, most cited were child was too young to understand the disease, child will tell others, fear of stigma and discrimination, and did not have the skills to disclose Conclusions Prevalence of disclosure was much higher (39.5%) than other findings and there was greater involvement of health care providers in disclosing HIV to children. The study found a low disclosure rate among biological mothers who were in majority in the sample. Adherence to medication and persistent questioning about the disease and medication were the most cited reasons for disclosing HIV to children. Majority of caregivers delayed disclosure fearing that children will tell others because they are still too young to understand the implications of the diagnosis. Fear of stigma and discrimination also influenced disclosure. Caregivers delayed disclosure because they did not have the skills to disclose and explain HIV to children. Recommendations We recommend that disclosure guidelines be developed and healthcare providers trained in disclosure counselling to better advice caregivers on how to disclose to, thus making HIV disclosure to children an integral part of the comprehensive care of children on ART. Strengthening of life skills education programs at school to take into account the situation of children living with HIV Key words: Disclosure, non-disclosure, caregiver, children, ART, South Africa

Thesis (MSc (Clinical psychology)) -- University of Limppopo, 2011. / Client-Centred therapy is a form of therapy that necessitates the use of emotion words in order to facilitate empathy between client and therapist. The current study investigated the availability of emotion words in the South Sotho language within the context of the South African Police Services. The availability of emotion words in the South Sotho language will help client-centred therapists to facilitate empathy with their South Sotho clients. The investigation in this study employed three phases. A convenient sample of South Sotho-speaking SAPS trainees participated in a free listing phase. The frequency of the words was recorded and the words with a frequency of 5 and above were retained. The list obtained from the free listing phase was given to a convenient sample of South Sotho language experts for prototypically rating. Cronbach’s Alpha was computed, and words with a mean of 0,4 and more were considered to be prototypes of the concept of emotion. Individual Client-Centered therapy was conducted with twelve SAPS members in English. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and given to two Client-Centered therapists to identify the emotion words. These words were compared with the words from phase two for their South Sotho translation. The findings indicate that almost 40% of the English emotion words from individual Client-Centered interviews did not have South Sotho equivalents. This implies that Client-Centered therapists will have difficulty facilitating empathy to their clients in South Sotho. And as such, the effectiveness of Client-Centered therapy will be compromised. However these results should be looked at with caution as the study’s sample was small and may not represent the larger population

This pilot study examined the effects of a program designed for Hispanic older adults to promote wellness and a health promoting lifestyle. Pre and post-tests were administered using the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) to all participants in the experimental group (n=25) and in the control group (n=19). The experimental group participated in a 16 session health and wellness program that included lectures, activities, and discussions in the areas of health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management. Participants in the program significantly improved their overall HPLP-II score, p < .001, as well as each of the HPLP-II areas. Participants in the program scored significantly higher than the control group on the overall HPLP-II score, p < .001, and in each of the HPLP-II areas. Health perception, although not significantly related to engagement in wellness and a health promoting lifestyle for participants in this study, was in the expected direction rs = 0.28, p = 0.062. Results indicate a culturally-relevant occupational health promotion program can improve wellness and a health promoting lifestyle for Hispanic older adults.

This study aims to examine the differences in expressive language in preschool children (n=36) across contexts. Children’s lexical diversity, lexical productivity, and verb use was compared between two language sampling contexts: a narrative retell task and a naturalistic language sample via a LENA device. Correlations are reported between LSA and standardized measures of expressive language. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 12, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Carla Wood, Professor Directing Thesis; Juliann Woods, Committee Member; Lindsey Dennis, Committee Member.

Perceptual-training paradigms offer a promising platform for improving intelligibility of dysarthric speech by offsetting the communicative burden from the speaker onto the listener. Much of the research to date has utilized young adults as listeners; however, there is reason to believe that these samples of listeners do not sufficiently represent the population of listeners who would most benefit from perceptual training, namely older caregivers of individuals with dysarthria. Due to evidence suggesting younger and older listeners process degraded speech differently, this study was conducted to evaluate intelligibility gains secondary to perceptual-training paradigms with older adults. Nineteen adults aged 60 and over completed a standard perceptual training protocol, which consisted of a pretest transcription, familiarization, and posttest transcription phase using recordings produced by a male speaker diagnosed moderate ataxic dysarthria. Mean pretest and posttest scores were compared to evaluate the effect of the familiarization experience on transcription accuracy. Additionally, older adults’ transcription accuracy improvement scores, reflected as the difference between post- and pre-test accuracy, were compared to historical data collected from 50 younger adult listeners previously reported in Borrie, Lansford, and Barrett (2017). Importantly, older adults were found to have significantly higher transcription accuracy in the posttest, relative to the pretest, condition, indicating a perceptual gain following training. In comparison to the younger listeners, transcription accuracy scores were consistently lower in the older listeners. However, transcription accuracy improvement scores demonstrated no age-related effect, indicating that both listener groups enjoyed a similar magnitude of learning following the familiarization experience. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 25, 2017. / dysarthria, older listeners, perceptual learning, speech perception / Includes bibliographical references. / Kaitlin Lansford, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael Kaschak, Committee Member; Erin Ingvalson, Committee Member.

Currently there is no model of the development of reading skills currently exists for children with hearing impairments. Using the framework of a commonly excepted model of reading for children with typical hearing researchers have sought to determine how children with hearing impairments develop reading skills. The purpose of this is study was to examine a possible link between two components of reading development, speech reading and language. Participants consisted of 5 school aged children with severe to profound hearing loss with cochlear implants or hearing aids. These children were administered the CELF-4 and a department created speech reading test. Results indicated that children with poor language scores had the best speech reading scores while the child with good language scores had poor speech reading score. Performance on tasks examining syntax proved to be crucial to performance on speech reading tasks.

The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) To determine what type of early intervention for stuttering is being offered in the public schools and compare those interventions to the Lidcombe Program for early stuttering. 2) To find out if the Lidcombe Program can be effectively implemented in the public schools. A small focus group of speech language pathologists was conducted and a questionnaire was completed by 47 school speech language pathologists in Knoxville, TN. The questionnaire revealed that school clinicians have very little familiarity with the Lidcombe Program, most do not use any particular evidenced-based programs for fluency intervention, parents have very limited roles in the treatment of preschool students who stutter, and most children are not being identified for services until approximately third grade. In order to determine if the Lidcombe program could be implemented effectively in the schools, one treatment subject, female, 4;5, received Lidcombe treatment for 10 weeks at her school while a control subject, male, 5;3, received traditional therapy from his school SLP. The treatment subject decreased in severity from moderate to mild and her percent stuttered syllables (PSS) was reduced by 76% (from 25% to 6%). The control subject increased in severity from moderate-severe to severe and his PSS rose from 12% to 16%. As a result, it appears that the Lidcombe Program can be effectively implemented in the public schools and it would be extremely cost-effective for schools to use the program. Community education and SLP training, however, are essential to increase early identification and intervention of children who stutter.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the kinematics of two ankle brace testing protocols. They were drop landing on a slanted surface and the inversion drop test. Difference in kinematics and ground reaction forces of drop landing wearing an ankle brace on flat and lateral slant surfaces were also investigated. Eleven healthy subjects performed five trials in each of six dynamic movement conditions. They were an ankle inversion drop test on the inversion platform, drop landing from 0.45 m onto slant surface, and drop landing from 0.45 m onto flat surface with and without an ankle brace. A 7-camera motion analysis system was used to obtain the threedimensional kinematics. In addition, a force platform was used to measure the ground reaction forces (GRF) during drop landing. A 2 × 2 (brace × movement) repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate selected variables for inversion drop test and landing on slant surface (p < 0.05). In addition, the differences between landing on the flat and slant surfaces were examined using a 2 × 2 (brace × surface) repeated measures ANOVA. The results showed that the slant surface landing resulted in significantly earlier maximum inversion angle occurrence. Significantly higher maximum eversion and inversion velocities were also found in the slant surface landing compared to the inversion drop. In the comparison of landing on the slant surface and flat surfaces, the results showed that slant surface landing led to smaller 1stand 2ndpeak vertical and horizontal GRFs, greater maximum inversion and its range of motion (ROM), and smaller dorsiflexion ROM. The results suggest that the slant surface landing simulate ankle sprain mechanism better than the inversion drop test. Subjects adopted a softer landing strategy when landing onto the flat surface and a stiffer strategy when landing onto the slanted surface.