Ginette Aubin

Meaning of Daily Activities and Subjective Quality of Life in People with Severe Mental Illness

The occupational therapy services for adults with severe and persistent mental illness are concerned with their quality of life. A correlational study explored the relationship between the meaning of daily activities and the subjective quality of life of this group of people. In this study, the meaning of activities was defined by three elements, related to the Human Occupation Model: perceived competence, value and pleasure, measured by the Occupational Questionnaire. The Wisconsin Quality of Life-Client Questionnaire provided a global score for the subjective quality of life. A total of 45 people with severe and persistent mental illness, living in downtown Montreal, participated in a semi-structured interview. The results suggest that perceived competence in daily tasks and rest, and pleasure in work and rest activities are positively correlated with subjective quality of life. The influence of occupation and its meaning on quality of life, an occupational therapy assumption, is supported by these resu...

Use of the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform System of Task Analysis for persons with schizophrenia: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND/AIM Task analysis that targets information processing skills is an essential tool to understanding difficulties encountered by people with schizophrenia in their daily activities. The purpose of this preliminary study was to explore the use of the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis for this clientele. The specific objectives were to describe information processing difficulties as measured by the PRPP and to examine preliminary evidence of construct validity and interrater reliability. METHODS In the first part of this study, 10 participants with schizophrenia living in the community were assessed using the PRPP during both a simple and a complex meal preparation task. Community functioning was measured using the Independent Living Skills Survey. In the second part, interrater reliability was appraised using three trained raters, who scored 15 participants preparing the complex meal preparation task. RESULTS Analysis of performance demonstrates that people with schizophrenia have difficulties especially in the Perceive and Plan quadrants of the PRPP and are more challenged in the complex task. The PRPP total score for the complex task is strongly related to the community functioning score. Results indicate good interrater reliability for the PRPP total score and moderate interrater reliability for the quadrant scores. CONCLUSION  Despite the small sample size, results from this preliminary study support the use of the PRPP System of Task Analysis to further explore the impact cognitive deficits have on daily task performance and thus on community functioning in people with schizophrenia.

Daily Functioning and Information-Processing Skills Among Persons With Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to describe the limitations in information-processing skills observed among persons with schizophrenia performing daily tasks and to explore whether subgroups of participants have similar profiles based on these functional limitations. METHODS Eighty-two participants with schizophrenia living in the community were assessed during their performance of a daily activity (meal preparation). Measures included a performance-based assessment for evaluating information-processing skills-the Perceive, Recall, Plan, and Perform System of Task Analysis-community functioning and symptom assessments, and neuropsychological tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Research participants were classified as having high efficiency or low efficiency according to their score on the performance-based assessment and were compared on the functional, cognitive, and symptoms variables. RESULTS Participants committed various errors, and functional limitations, namely problematic information-processing skills in the perceive, recall, and plan quadrants, were observed during the daily task performance. Participants from the high-efficiency group were more independent in their living skills and more successful in attaining residential independence compared with participants from the low-efficiency group. The only cognitive test that differentiated both groups was the visuospatial associative learning test. No differences were found in the severity of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that both performance in a daily task and memory-and specifically associative learning capacity-provide key information for the level of residential independence. Interventions aiming for the efficient use of information-processing skills during daily tasks among persons with schizophrenia should be carried out accordingly.

Antipsychotic-induced parkinsonism is associated with working memory deficits in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Abstract In view of the significant cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and their impact on patients’ social and occupational functioning, and considering that the influence potential influence of antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms on cognition in schizophrenia remains poorly understood, the current study sought to identify the clinical, socio-demographic and neurologic predictors of the cognitive performance of schizophrenia patients. Eighty-two schizophrenia-spectrum (DSM-IV criteria) outpatients were recruited. Psychiatric symptoms were evaluated with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. Extrapyramidal symptoms were evaluated with the Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale, while spatial working, planning abilities and visual paired associates learning were evaluated with the CAmbridge Neuropsychological Tests Automated Battery. The Stroop test was also administered. Multivariate hierarchic linear regression analyses were performed. We found that negative symptoms were associated with cognitive flexibility, planning, visual learning and working memory performance in schizophrenia. Age, sex, number of hospitalizations and antipsychotic type also emerged as significant predictors. More importantly, we found a significant association between antipsychotic-induced parkinsonism and working memory performance. The fact that negative symptoms and socio-demographic variables predicted cognitive performance in schizophrenia is consistent with the previous literature on the topic. The finding of an association between parkinsonism and working memory may have clinical implications, since working memory deficits are considered putative endophenotypes of schizophrenia and are known to impair patients’ social and occupational functioning. Our results will need to be replicated in longitudinal studies involving larger samples of patients.

[Home safety and severe mental disorders: Developing an evaluation tool].

BACKGROUND Home safety evaluation is an important issue within the context of current perspectives on accommodation for people with a serious mental illness who favour a more independent way of life. PURPOSE This paper describes the development and content validation of the Evaluation de la sécurité a domicile et de la gestion des risques (ESGR), an occupational therapy assessment tool for people with a serious mental illness. METHOD The ESGR was developed from scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Assessing content validity was done in two phases and involved the consultation of 11 experts. FINDINGS In its current form, the ESGR includes 67 items organized into three categories (environment, occupation, person). IMPLICATIONS According to the experts consulted, there is a clinical interest in using the ESGR to support occupational therapists in the assessment of home safety for people with serious mental illness. The statements are clear and representative of the concept and the target audience.Background. Home safety evaluation is an important issue within the context of current perspectives on accommodation for people with a serious mental illness who favour a more independent way of life. Purpose. This paper describes the development and content validation of the Évaluation de la sécurité à domicile et de la gestion des risques (ESGR), an occupational therapy assessment tool for people with a serious mental illness. Method. The ESGR was developed from scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Assessing content validity was done in two phases and involved the consultation of 11 experts. Findings. In its current form, the ESGR includes 67 items organized into three categories (environment, occupation, person). Implications. According to the experts consulted, there is a clinical interest in using the ESGR to support occupational therapists in the assessment of home safety for people with serious mental illness. The statements are clear and representative of the concept and the target audience.

Sécurité à domicile et troubles mentaux graves : élaboration d’un outil d’évaluation

BACKGROUND Home safety evaluation is an important issue within the context of current perspectives on accommodation for people with a serious mental illness who favour a more independent way of life. PURPOSE This paper describes the development and content validation of the Evaluation de la sécurité a domicile et de la gestion des risques (ESGR), an occupational therapy assessment tool for people with a serious mental illness. METHOD The ESGR was developed from scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Assessing content validity was done in two phases and involved the consultation of 11 experts. FINDINGS In its current form, the ESGR includes 67 items organized into three categories (environment, occupation, person). IMPLICATIONS According to the experts consulted, there is a clinical interest in using the ESGR to support occupational therapists in the assessment of home safety for people with serious mental illness. The statements are clear and representative of the concept and the target audience.Background. Home safety evaluation is an important issue within the context of current perspectives on accommodation for people with a serious mental illness who favour a more independent way of life. Purpose. This paper describes the development and content validation of the Évaluation de la sécurité à domicile et de la gestion des risques (ESGR), an occupational therapy assessment tool for people with a serious mental illness. Method. The ESGR was developed from scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Assessing content validity was done in two phases and involved the consultation of 11 experts. Findings. In its current form, the ESGR includes 67 items organized into three categories (environment, occupation, person). Implications. According to the experts consulted, there is a clinical interest in using the ESGR to support occupational therapists in the assessment of home safety for people with serious mental illness. The statements are clear and representative of the concept and the target audience.