The purpose of this thesis was to examine the effects of occupational therapy rehabilitation on geriatric patients by reviewing studies conducted on motivation in occupational therapy. In occupational therapy it is important that you set goals for your patients (Creek & Lougher, 2008). It is also important to understand what motivates a patient to achieve those goals because goals and valued activities are intimately connected to motivation. Motivation deals with why we perform certain behaviors. It can predict physical performance and how well a person might recover from an illness and has been suggested to be predictive for rehabilitation success (Carlson, 1997). Because the geriatric population has more longevity, it is important to ensure that they receive the appropriate care necessary to improve and maintain their quality of life (Mason, 1994). After reviewing multiple studies the results reinforced the importance of motivation in occupational therapy treatment. Self-efficacy was found to highly influence a person’s motivation and was a recurring theme throughout this review (Peralta-Catipon & Hwang, 2011). One key to understanding and studying motivation in older adults was to identify what occupations matter to them (Teitelman, Raber, & Watts, 2010). It is important that occupational therapists understand how occupations become meaningful for the geriatric population as participation in those occupations plays an important role in promoting productive aging. When the occupational therapist was able to understand how occupations became meaningful to the patient, they were more equipped to help motivate the patient to participate in their rehabilitation (Janssen & Stube, 2013).

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The use of discretionary time among older adults and its relationship to well-being is of particular interest to many researchers, practitioners, and service providers. Interview data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 171 persons 65 years of age and older from the urbanized area of Roanoke, Virginia. The study ascertains whether there is a relationship between amount of participation in thirteen activity categories and morale among older adults, after implementing controls for age, self-perceived health, and income. Using multiple regression analysis, results suggest that morale is largely influenced by the control variables, particularly health. In fact, almost none of the variance of the dependent variable is attributable to amount of activity. Implications for activity program development and theoretical refinement are discussed. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

The focus of this study was to determine what types of information and support families wanted at the time they admitted a relative to a long-term care facility. Twenty families were interviewed by telephone, including both the primary caregiver and, where appropriate caregiving family members. It was found that half of the families felt they wanted no additional information or support than they had received, and that they were basically satisfied with the facility's admission process. The majority of the families felt that the institution also encouraged their continued involvement with their relatives after admission. The results suggest that researchers and practitioners need to be aware, however, that the admission process if often a stressful time, and that family members may be so involved in making long-term care arrangements that they do not focus on their own needs, but only on those of the elderly patient. Support services and information should be provided on an individual basis, considering such factors as whether the caregiver is employed full-time and the distance the caregiver lives from the facility. / Master of Science

No / Objectives This paper describes DCM 8 and reports on the initial validation study of DCM 8. Methods Between 2001-2003, a series of international expert working groups were established to examine various aspects of DCM with the intention of revising and refining it. During 2004-2005 the revised tool (DCM 8) was piloted in seven service settings in the UK and validated against DCM 7th edition. Results At a group score level, WIB scores and spread of Behavioural Category Codes were very similar, suggesting that group scores are comparable between DCM 7 and 8. Interviews with mappers and focus groups with staff teams suggested that DCM 8 was preferable to DCM 7th edition because of the clarification and simplification of codes; the addition of new codes relevant to person-centred care; and the replacement of Positive Events with a more structured recording of Personal Enhancers. Conclusions DCM 8 appears comparable with DCM 7th edition in terms of data produced and is well received by mappers and dementia care staff.

Tidigare forskning har funnit samband mellan gång och kognitiv funktion, men sambandet mellan lindrig kognitiv svikt (MCI) och gång är inte helt klarlagt. Syftet med den föreliggande examensuppsatsen var således att undersöka hur gångvariabler och gångvariabilitet är påverkat hos personer med MCI i relation till kognitivt friska individer. Studien genomfördes i det pågående projektet the Healthy Ageing Initiative vid Umeå Universitet. Totalt 1937 personer inkluderades i studien. Samtliga var 70 år gamla och bosatta i Umeå kommun. Totalt 112 personer bedömdes ha MCI utifrån instrumentet Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Gånganalys genomfördes med den elektroniska gångmattan GAITRite® system och deltagarna utförde fyra gångförsök: egenvald hastighet, snabb hastighet, kognitiv dual task och motorisk dual task. Resultatet visade att det finns skillnader mellan grupper vad gäller både spatiala och temporala aspekter, främst i de tre första försöken. Exempelvis uppvisade gruppen MCI lägre gånghastighet, kortare steg och kliv samt längre double support och kortare swing. Gruppen MCI uppvisade högre variabilitet under kognitiv dual task. Ett flertal gång- och variabilitets-variabler under kognitiv dual task kunde, enligt logistisk regression, predicera sannolikheten att ha MCI. Resultaten indikerar att gången hos de med MCI kan ge ökad fallrisk. / Previous research has found a connection between gait and cognitive function. However, the relationship between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and gait has not been fully explored. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine how spatiotemporal gait parameters, and gait variability, are affected in people with MCI compared to cognitively healthy individuals (CHI). The study was carried out in cooperation with the Healthy Ageing Initiative research project, Umeå University, Sweden. A total of 1937 participants were included in the study. All participants were 70-years old and residents of the municipality Umeå. A total of 112 participants were classified as having MCI, as measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Gait analysis was performed with the GAITRite® system, and participants performed four trials: preferred pace, fast pace, cognitive dual task and motor dual task. Results showed group differences in both spatial and temporal aspects of gait, especially during the first three trials. For example, participants with MCI walked more slowly, had shorter steps and strides, as well as a longer duration of the double support phase and lower duration of the swing phase. Participants with MCI revealed higher gait variability during cognitive dual task. Several of these variability variables, as well as spatiotemporal variables, could predict probability of having MCI, as seen through logistic regression. Results indicate that the gait observed in MCI could be related to a higher risk of falling.

Objective: To examine the factorial validity of the Team Skills Scale (TSS). The TSS is a 17-item scale developed by Hepburn, Tsukuda, and Fasser (1996). The Scale is purported to assess self-perceived team skills.Data Source: Data for this study were provided by The New York University Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training (GITT) Resource Center and were collected as part of the evaluation of the GITT program. The data were collected between January 1997 and June 2000.Study Design: This quasi-experiential study was focused on the trainee (N=1,715) as the unit of analysis. The Model of Individual-Level Team Competencies (Model of I-LTC) served as the conceptual framework and guided a priori specification of the TSS confirmatory factor analysis measurement model. The Model of I-LTC was developed by this author based on review and interpretation of the team literature.Principal Findings: The TSS is a one-factor structure comprised of eight of the original 17 indicators. Also, the revised measurement model was found to be invariant when the data were randomly divided into two equal samples. Finally, the covariance structure model indicated that attitude about the physician as team leader and sole patient care decision-maker had a significant and negative association with variation in responses to the TSS. Attitude about the quality of team delivered patient care had a significant and positive association with variation in responses to the TSS.Conclusion: This study found that the TSS in a single factor structure comprised of eightof the original 17 TSS items. It is believed that the eight items measure self-perceivedteam collaboration skills. Although the factor structure was confirmed by the data, thisdoes not mean that the proposed structure is absolute. It just means that the structure hasnot been falsified. However, it is possible that this constellation of indicators was datadriven. Therefore, further psychometric testing, to include the use of other data sources,is recommended.

Oral history is a method of preserving historical information through in-depth interviews. Because the process requires narrators to use remote recall while sharing their life experiences, it can also be considered a reminiscence-related activity. Before this study, the positive effects on narrators of providing an oral history were noted in the research literature but had not been evaluated through quantitative methods. Based on theoretical constructs of Erikson and Butler, it was hypothesized that participation in oral history interviews would improve the life satisfaction of narrators. Life satisfaction was operationalized and measured using the Life Satisfaction Index Version A (LSIA). The purposes of this study were to evaluate the influence of an oral history intervention on the life satisfaction of community-dwelling elders and to identify participant characteristics associated with change in life satisfaction scores.Sixty community-dwelling, older adults who were free of cognitive impairment and mental illness were recruited from agencies serving the social and recreational needs of elders in Richmond, VA. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. LSIA scores were collected pretest, posttest, and again at retest, ten weeks after the intervention. Mean LSIA scores from the control and treatment groups were compared for differences at posttest and retest using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Regression analysis was used to identify participant characteristics associated with improved life satisfaction at posttest and retest. Oral history interviews were conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University students enrolled in a gerontology course. Participants discussed lifetime events with students on three occasions for approximately one hour per session using a researcher-developed interview guide. No statistically significant differences in LSIA scores were found between groups at posttest (p=0.74) or retest (p=0.051) although retest scores may indicate a trend toward improvement. Lower LSIA scores at pretest were associated with positive change in LSIA scores at retest (p=5.001). These results suggest that oral history may not improve life satisfaction immediately but there may be a trend toward improvement given time and that elders least satisfied with their lives at the onset are most likely to show positive change by retest.