Factors Shaping Occupational Injustice among Resettled Syrian Refugees in the United States.

Background: There have been a limited number of studies that have focused on factors which shape the experiences of resettlement and occupational injustice among refugee populations. Purpose: To explore the factors that shape the living difficulties of Syrian refugees who were lawfully admitted into the United States and ways whereby they might interfere with shaping occupational injustice. Method: Mixed methodologies were incorporated. The living difficulty scale for refugees (LDSR) was disseminated. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and fieldnotes were collected as sources of qualitative data. Results: 254 participants (mean age 36.2 ± 9.6 yrs; 159 females and 95 males) completed the survey, and nine of them participated in the semistructured interviews. Age (p < 0.01), region (p < 0.001), and time in the United States (p < 0.05) had significant effects on the experiences of the participants, but not gender (p = 0.308). Occupational injustice is an outcome of an interaction between interpersonal and contextual factors. Practice Implications. Occupational therapists need to assume a vital role in maximizing opportunities of engagement in meaningful occupations for Syrian refugees to counteract occupational injustice and difficulties associated with resettlement.

Simulated driving performance of combat veterans with mild tramatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: We determined differences in driving errors between combat veterans with mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder and healthy control participants. METHOD: We compared 18 postdeployed combat veterans with 20 control participants on drivingerrors in a driving simulator. RESULTS: Combat veterans were more likely to be male; were younger; and had more racial diversity, less formal education, and lower cognitive scores than control participants. Control participants made more signaling errors (t [19] = -2.138, p = .046, SE = 0.395), but combat veterans made more overspeeding (t [17.3] = 4.095, p = .001, SE = 0.708) and adjustment-to-stimuli (t [17] = 2.380, p = .029, SE = 0.140) errors. Young age was related to overspeeding. CONCLUSION: Combat veterans made more critical driving errors than did control participants. Such errors made on the road may lead to crashes or injuries. Although limited in generalizability, these findings provide early support for developing safe driving interventions for combat veterans.

Driving simulator sickness: an evidence-based review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (2nd edition; American Occupational Therapy Association, 2008), we conducted an evidence-based review on simulator sickness (SS). METHOD: We searched Web of Science, PubMed, SafetyLit, Google Scholar, and recently published literature. We used the American Academy of Neurology's classification criteria to extract data from 10 studies and assign each a level of 1-4, with "1" indicating the highest level of evidence. We grouped studies that addressed SS into client factors, context and environment factors, and activity demands. RESULTS: Client factors (i.e., older clients [>70 yr; Level B], women [Level B]) and context/environment factors (e.g., refresh rates, scenario design and duration, simulator configuration, and calibration; Level B) probably increase the rates of SS, whereas activity demands (vection, speed of driving, and postural instability; Level C) possibly contribute to SS. CONCLUSION: We classified factors contributing to SS and identified the need for randomized trials to identify causes of SS.

Feasibility of machine-based prompting to assist persons with dementia.

Nearly 14% of people over age 71 have some form of dementia, with prevalence increasing to nearly 40% of those over age 90. As dimentia progresses, it impacts a person's independent functions and can increase the burden on caregivers. The use of assistive devices can help individuals with dementia live more independently. However, older individuals with cognitive impairment have difficulties using assistive technology devices because the devices are not designed to address their needs. The development of "smart devices" has potential in assisting older adults with cognitive impairment. Eleven community-dwelling seniors with moderate cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination scores ranging from 12-20) participated in this study. The Functional Independence Measure scores of participants were also collected to determine participants' current level of independence on selected tasks. Three tasks were selected to represent three levels of complexity: drinking water, brushing teeth, and upper body dressing. Participants were prompted through these tasks with simulated smart machine-based prompting. The need for prompts was highly individual, but given appropriate machine-delivered messages, participants completed the tasks an average of 86% of the time across the three self-care tasks. Machine-based prompting devices could aid caregivers as well as increase independence in some tasks.