Eun Young Yoo

A systematic review of the effects of occupational therapy for persons with dementia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE Meta-analysis was conducted to examine effects of OT interventions based on sensory stimulation, environmental modification and functional task activity on the behavioral problems and depression of individual with dementia. SEARCH STRATEGY An extensive search in database such as MEDLINE, CINAHL, ProQuest Medical Library, and Cochrane and OT related 11 journals was performed. SELECTION CRITERIA Potential studies were identified through the KEYWORDS dementia or Alzheimer, randomized controlled trials and occupational therapy or occupational therapist or ADL or sensory stimulation or Snoezelen or environmental modification or education for caregivers. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers independently identified studies, extracted data, assessed methodological quality of the studies. Effect size was estimated using standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were investigated. MAIN RESULTS Nine studies including 751 people were selected. Sensory stimulation was effective intervention in improving behavioral problems (0.32; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.59). CONCLUSION This review identified that OT intervention based on sensory stimulation was effective intervention to improve behavioral problems. However, the number of studies included in this review is limited. More research is needed to enable evidence-based OT for dementia patients.

Effects of functional task training with mental practice in stroke: A meta analysis

OBJECTIVE Meta analysis of studies was carried out to examine the effectiveness of functional task training with mental practice on functional performance following stroke. SEARCH STRATEGY An exhaustive search was conducted using computerized databases such as MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and EBSCO (CINAHL). SELECTION CRITERIA The search was performed using the following keywords: stroke, functional task, mental practice, randomized controlled trial. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers independently retrieved appropriate RCTs, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of each study. Selected studies needed to report the statistical values necessary for calculating the effect size, which was estimated using the standardized difference of the mean. Statistical heterogeneity and publication bias were also investigated. RESULTS The five studies included 146 participants. The overall effect size was moderate (0.51, p < 0.001). The 95% confidence interval was from 0.27 to 0.75. Significant heterogeneity and publications bias were not founded. CONCLUSION The present study is the first meta-analysis conducted on the effectiveness of functional task training with mental practice in stroke. The results indicate the clinical effectiveness of functional task training with mental practice provided by occupational and physical therapists in stroke rehabilitation.

The application of client‐centred occupational therapy for Korean children with developmental disabilities

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of client-centred occupational therapy using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). Eight girls and 23 boys from Korea, with developmental disabilities and from 3 to 10 years of age participated in this study. Each child participated in 20 to 24 sessions of client-centred occupational therapy. Both the COPM and the AMPS change scores demonstrated statistically significant improvement (p < 0.01) in occupational performance. Significant correlations were found between COPM - Performance and AMPS - Motor skills (r(s) = 0.64, p < 0.05), and COPM - Satisfaction and AMPS - Process skills (r(s) = 0.62, p < 0.05) in a group positive towards client-centred occupational therapy. The COPM was a valuable tool in guiding and measuring the client-centred occupational therapy for children with developmental disabilities. The small sample size of 31 children limits the generalizability of the studys results. Future research needs to use a larger and more diverse sample of children to further validate the effectiveness of client-centred occupational therapy.

Effect of specialized task training of each hemisphere on interlimb transfer in individuals with hemiparesis

BACKGROUND Therapeutic concept of interlimb transfer provides very important information relevant to patients with stroke because it can be applied to help these patients recover movement skills disrupted following unilateral damage to the brain. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the transfer effects for both specialized training in each hemisphere and reversed training of a specialized task. METHODS Twenty patients (ten women and ten men) with stroke and hemiparesis participated. All participants were in Brunnstrom recovery stage five or higher for arm and hand function and had Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≥25. We used a training task involving a modified static cone, modified box and block, and modified pegboard tasks. The specified-training group performed the reaching movements (based on grip, reach, and release movements) in a modified training setting in which left-handed participants began from a single starting location and proceeded to one of three target locations (1S3T condition), and the right-handed participants started form one of three starting locations and proceeded to a single target location (3S1T condition). The unspecified training group performed these movements starting under reverse-start and target conditions. RESULTS As a result of the left-to-right limb transfer in the specified-training group differed significantly in duration from that in the pre-training group. Also, the biceps brachii and triceps (lateral head) muscles were significantly more active after performing the specified training than before. On the other hand, the activity of the upper trapezius muscle did not significantly differ after specified training compared with before training. CONCLUSION Consequently, a symmetric transfer advantage was observed that depended on the characteristic resources of each hemisphere. The transfer of specified training from one arm to the other had a more positive influence on functional recovery than did unspecified training for patients with stroke and hemiparesis.

Development and Validation of the Activities of Daily Living Short Form for Community-Dwelling Korean Stroke Survivors

This study developed and validated a short form (SF) using activities of daily living (ADL) outcome measures from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) that can minimize survey administration burden for clinicians. This study utilized secondary data from the 2005 KNHANES with 422 community-dwelling stroke survivors. The KNHANES data were collected from April to June 2005 in South Korea. We created a 7-item SF from the 17 ADL questions in the survey using item response theory (IRT) methodologies. The precision and validity of the SF were compared to the full questionnaire of ADL items and the EuroQol-5D total score. Among the 17 ADL questions, 14 questions demonstrated unidimensional construct validity. Using IRT methodologies, a set of 7 items were selected from the full bank. The 7-item SF demonstrated good psychometric properties: high correlation with the full bank (r = .975, p < .001), good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .93), and a high correlation with the EuroQol-5D total score (r = .678, p < .001). These findings indicate that a well-developed SF can precisely measure ADL performance capacity for stroke survivors compared to the full item bank, which is expected to reduce the administration burden of the KNHANES.

Risk factors associated with low back pain in mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Abstract Introduction: Despite the important contribution of multifaceted risk factors on low back pain (LBP), only few studies have attempted to examine the impact of functional level and environmental factors on LBP in mothers of children with disabilities. Moreover, there has been no previous study investigating the risk factors associated with LBP in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Hence, the present study was to investigate the risk factors associated with LBP in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Patients and methods: A sample of 94 mothers of children attending three pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics at three major medical centers and local community rehabilitation centers for their rehabilitation services were recruited for this study. They were divided into two groups: group 1 (mothers of children with the Functional Independent Measure for Children [WeeFIM] score ≥ 5); and group 2 (mothers of children with WeeFIM score < 5). The independent variables included ...

Reliability and Validity of the Activity Participation Assessment for School-age Children in Korea

Objective This pilot study examined the internal consistency, test—retest reliability, construct validity, and discriminant validity of the Activity Participation Assessment (APA) for school-age children in Korea. Methods The construct validity of the APA was first established by factor analysis on the response of 134 nondisabled children. Internal consistency was evaluated for each of the factors. A test—retest study was conducted on 22 nondisabled children. Discriminant validity was established by comparing the participation of 56 nondisabled children and 56 children with intellectual disabilities and examining sex differences of 61 boys and 61 girls. Results Analysis of the APA revealed five factors, which were labeled as instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), sports and outdoor activities, hobbies and school activities, social activities, and personal care. The factors showed acceptable levels of internal reliability (Cronbachs alpha = .63–.89). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the five factors were all in the good range (ICC = .86–.92). We found statistically significant difference between nondisabled children and children with intellectual disabilities in five factors. We also found that girls participated in significantly more IADL, hobbies and school activities, and social activities. However, boys participated in significantly more sports and outdoor activities. Conclusion The APA shows good internal reliability, test—retest reliability, discriminant validity, and construct validity. However, evidence of psychometric properties was limited by a small sample size. Psychometric properties such as interrater reliability as well as concurrent validity and construct validity need to be tested using a larger sample size with representative demographics.