Meral Huri

Effects of occupational therapy on quality of life of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. A randomized controlled study

Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of occupational therapy relative to a home program in improving quality of life (QoL) among men who were treated for metastatic prostate cancer (MPC). Methods: Fifty-five men were assigned randomly to either the 12-week cognitive behavioral therapy based occupational therapy (OT-CBSM) intervention (treatment group) or a home program (control group) between March 2012 and August 2014 in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to measure the occupational performance and identify difficulties in daily living activities. The QoL and symptom status were measured by The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 and its Prostate Cancer Module. A 12-week OT-CBSM intervention including client-centered training of daily living activities, recreational group activities, and cognitive behavioral stress management intervention were applied. Results: The COPM performance and satisfaction scores, which indicate occupational participation and QoL increased statistically in the treatment group in relation to men who were included in the home-program (p≤0.05). Conclusion: A 12-week OT-CBSM intervention was effective in improving QoL in men treated for MPC, and these changes were associated significantly with occupational performance.

Burnout and occupational participation among dentists with teaching responsibilities in universities

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of burnout and explore the relationships between burnout and occupational participation among dentists with teaching responsibilities. Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to evaluate occupational participation with questions on demographic information among 155 dentists with teaching responsibilities. Age, gender, years of experience, academic position were the factors affecting level of burnout and occupational participation. Occupational performance score was negatively correlated with emotional exhausment (r = –.731) and depersonalization (r = –.693) while positively correlated with personal accomplishment (r = .611). Occupational satisfaction scores were negatively correlated with emotional exhausment (r = –.631) and depersonalization (r = –.625) while positively correlated with personal accomplishment (r = .614). Occupational participation level can effect burnout among dentists with teaching responsibilities. Further studies with a larger sample are needed to investigate these preliminary results deeply.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Sensory Processing and Motor Development in Preterm Infants

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants. METHOD. We included 30 preterm and 30 term infants with corrected and chronological ages between 10 and 12 mo. We used the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants to evaluate sensory processing and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale to evaluate motor development. RESULTS. The Spearman correlation test indicated a strong positive relationship between sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants (r = .63, p < .001). CONCLUSION. Given the relationship between sensory processing and motor development in the preterm group, the evaluation of sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants was considered necessary for the effective implementation of physiotherapy assessment and interventions.

Üst ekstremite travma öyküsü olan otizm spektrum bozukluğu tanılı çocuklarda el fonksiyonlarının değerlendirilmesi

BACKGROUND The present study was designed to compare hand function in autistic children with history of upper extremity trauma with that of autistic children those who do not have history of trauma. METHODS The study group included total of 65 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and was divided into 2 groups: children with trauma history (Group I) and control group (Group II) (Group I: n=28; Group II: n=37). Hand function was evaluated with 9-Hole Peg Test and Jebsen Hand Function Test. Somatosensory function was evaluated using somatosensory subtests of Sensory Integration and Praxis Test. Results were analyzed with Students t-test and Mann-Whitney U test using SPSS version 20 software. RESULTS Hand function and somatosensory perception test scores were statistically significantly better in children without upper extremity trauma history (p<0.05). When association between hand function tests and upper extremity somatosensory perception tests was taken into account, statistically significant correlations were found between all parameters of hand function tests and Manual Form Perception and Localization of Tactile Stimuli Test results (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Autistic children with upper extremity trauma history had poor somatosensory perception and hand function. It is important to raise awareness among emergency service staff and inform them about strong relationship between somatosensory perception, hand function, and upper extremity trauma in children with ASD in order to develop appropriate rehabilitation process and prevent further trauma.

Development of a Turkish Version of the Sensory Profile: Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Psychometric Validation

The purpose of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the Sensory Profile (SP), which is used to measure sensory processing abilities of children ages of 3–10 years, and test its reliability and validity for use with Turkish children with autism. A cross-cultural adaptation process was carried out by bilingual experts, following typical guidelines. The test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity studies of the Turkish SP were done for 144 children with autism. A comparison was also made between results of children with autism and 101 healthy children to test the validity of the Turkish SP. There were significant differences between results of autistic and healthy children on all subsections of the test. The Cronbachs as ranged from .63 to .97 for all subsections except I, J, and N, which had poor internal consistency reliability. Test-retest reliability over a one-week period was excellent (ICC > .90).

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Turkish version of the Cancer Fatigue Scale in patients with breast cancer

Background/aim: The Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) was developed to evaluate the severity of fatigue in patients with breast cancer. The aim of this study is to translate and culturally adapt a Turkish version and investigate the validity and reliability of the CFS in Turkish patients with fatigue symptoms. Materials and methods: Eighty participants completed the Turkish version of the CFS for breast cancer and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire ″Core 30″ (EORTC QLQ-C30). Test-retest reliability was evaluated by repeating the CFS with a 7-day interval. Results: The CFS demonstrated high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.95) and good internal consistency (Cronbach′s alpha = 0.74) for all domains. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was found to be 0.819, which is considered to be satisfactory (>0.5). Correlations between domains of CFS physical and EORTC physical (r: 0.77), CFS cognitive and EORTC cognitive (r: 0.70), and CFS physical and EORTC fatigue (r: 0.80) were found to be significant. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the CFS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess physical, effective, and cognitive dimensions of fatigue. The CFS may be used to evaluate the severity of fatigue in Turkish-speaking breast cancer patients.

The Effect of Sensory Integration Therapy on Occupational Performance in Children With Autism

Sensory processing problems and related dysfunctions are among the most common conditions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the effect of sensory integration therapy (SIT) on different aspects of occupational performance in children with ASD. The study was conducted on an intervention group (n = 16) receiving SIT and a control group (n = 15) with 3- to 8-year-old children with ASD. The Short Child Occupational Profile (SCOPE) was used to compare the two groups in terms of the changes in their occupational performance and the Sensory Profile (SP) was used to assess sensory problems. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvement in all the SCOPE domains, as well as in all the SP domains, except for the “emotional reactions” and “emotional/social responses” domains, (p < .05). The effectiveness of SIT in improving occupational performance in children with ASD as a health-related factor is supported by our findings.

Rehabilitation of Patients with Prostate Cancer

Cancer rehabilitation involves helping an individual with cancer to regain maximum psychological, physical, cognitive, social, and vocational functioning with the limits up to disease and its treatments in an interdisciplinary team concept. Prostate cancer is one of the most frequent male malignancies in the world. Prostate cancer treatment options have the risk of some side effects including loss of muscle strength, fatigue, pain, urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, cognitive problems, decrease in bone density, weight loss, gynecomastia, and hot flushes with stress-related psychosocial problems. Relative to other cancers, the prognosis of men with prostate cancer is much better and the potential treatment-related side effects have important implications which can affect the health-related quality of life (QOL) of this population. Recent studies support the efficiency of multimodal treatment to recognize, prevent, and increase functional recovery with an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team which includes physical and occupational therapists. This chapter describes briefly cancer rehabilitation and rehabilitation approaches at every stage of patients with prostate cancer for minimiz‐ ing the morbidity rate associated with prostate cancer treatment to increase occupa‐ tional participation and improve QOL.

Association between burnout and depressive symptoms among Turkish dentists

Background/purpose Health care professionals including dentists can experience increased professional burnout. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and burnout among Turkish dentists. Materials and methods This study was conducted among a Turkish dentist sample in Ankara (Turkey) between February 2015 and August 2015. From a total of 500 dentists, 337 were included. A self-structured questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were completed by the participants. The Student t test or analysis of variance was used to compare the variables. Results A total of 337 dentists (162 female dentists; mean age of participants 36 ± 4.45 years) participated in this study. Age, sex, professional status, years in profession, sector, and number of patients seen/d were factors affecting level of burnout (P < 0.05); 29% of the participants showed burnout and 22.2% showed depressive symptoms. Participants showed increase in emotional exhaustion (38%), increase in depersonalization (22%), and decrease in personal accomplishment (12%). The mean score of BDI significantly correlated with those of the MBI subscales (P < 0.05). All items of BDI except weight loss, irritability, and loss of appetite significantly correlated with MBI subscores (P < 0.05). Conclusion Dentists may face burnout and depressive symptoms during their professional life. Increased burnout level can give an idea on depressive symptoms, and may provide an opportunity to identify depression earlier. Creating and raising awareness about burnout are important to avoid and prevent depression among dentists. Further longitudinal studies analyzing the effects of interdisciplinary client-centered self-management programs for dentists on depressive symptoms and burnout must be planned.

Occupational Therapy in Autism

Autism, a developmental disability, is defined by behavioural characteristics. Primary features of autism are described as problems in language skills, plays and social interaction [1]. It is considered a spectrum disorder, as the abilities of children with autism may very greatly from one child to another [2]. Symptoms begin during early childhood and distinctive incompetence and limited, repetitive behaviours are seen in socio-communicative field. In addition to these primary features, individuals with autism generally have sensory processing and sensory integration dysfunction, which affect adaptive behaviour and participating daily activities. Many children with autism are unable to register many of the sensations from their environ‐ ment. They cannot integrate those sensations to form a clear perception of space. Atypical sensory registration and orientation can interfere with the processes of inhibition and facili‐ tation in sensory systems. Some self-stimulatory behaviour is the expression of a sensory need in children with autism. Assessing sensory integrative functioning in children with autism is critical for planning and implementing effective intervention in occupational therapy [3-5]. As far as motor functions are concerned, motor impairments have been reported in children with autism. The studies shown that problems are observed in coordination, posture and balance control, locomotion and motor preparation in individuals with autism [6-10].