ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The number of older adults with cancer is growing, increasing the need for professionals who are able to meet these patients' special needs. In palliative care settings, physical therapists strive to promote quality of life. Minimal research exists, however, to guide therapists working with patients with terminal illness. The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge that can be used by physical therapists to more effectively assess and treat older people with cancer receiving hospice care. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A qualitative single-case study with replication was conducted with 3 older women with cancer who were receiving hospice care. Interview data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. RESULTS: Four themes emerged as central to the experience of the informants: social relationships, spirituality, outlook on mortality, and meaningful physical activity. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: In addition to maintaining physical function, physical therapists, who attend to nonphysical as well as physical aspects of care, may foster social cohesion, help maximize life's meaning, and support stabilizing strategies of older women with cancer who receive hospice care.
Subject(s)
Hospice Care/psychology , Life Change Events , Neoplasms/psychology , Neoplasms/rehabilitation , Palliative Care/psychology , Physical Therapy Modalities/psychology , Aged , Attitude to Death , Breast Neoplasms/psychology , Breast Neoplasms/therapy , Case-Control Studies , Colonic Neoplasms/psychology , Colonic Neoplasms/therapy , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Lung Neoplasms/psychology , Lung Neoplasms/therapy , Lymphoma/psychology , Lymphoma/therapy , Middle Aged , Palliative Care/standards , Patient Care Management , Physical Therapy Modalities/standards , Religion and Psychology , Social SupportABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fetal movement occurs early in human gestation and can be observed by ultrasound imaging. This was a descriptive study of fetal hand movements from 14 weeks of gestation to postnatal day 1. The purpose of the study was to identify specific hand movements and their developmental trends in order to better understand low-risk human development. SUBJECTS: Twenty-one women with low-risk pregnancies were identified from a university obstetrics clinic. Their fetuses or neonates were the focus of this study. METHODS: Ultrasound imaging was used at 14, 20, 26, 32, and 37 weeks of gestation, and videotaping was used at 1 day after birth. Between 12 and 16 minutes of usable imaging was obtained at each fetal age, and 24 minutes of videotape was collected neonatally. The duration and frequency of 7 hand movements were determined and reliably scored. Nonparametric analyses were used. RESULTS: Fetal and neonatal movements did not appear to be random, and they appeared to be directed or aimed at specific targets. Fetal movement was variable throughout gestation. Differences occurred between fetal and neonatal data. Durations of certain hand movements provided data that exhibited some developmental trends, such as decreasing linear trends and regression-type U curves. Fetal movements to or at the head and face and the observations scored at 32 weeks of gestation were the best predictors of neonatal movement. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Results suggest the potential for fetal movement to be observed and scored reliably, with scores used to further our understanding of the development of human movement.
Subject(s)
Embryonic and Fetal Development/physiology , Fetus/physiology , Hand/physiology , Infant, Newborn/physiology , Motor Activity/physiology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Functional Laterality , Gestational Age , Humans , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Trimesters , Regression Analysis , Statistics, Nonparametric , Time Factors , Ultrasonography, PrenatalABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To gain a better understanding of the experience of living with tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (OA) as young and middle-aged adults. METHODS: Heuristic qualitative research methods were used. Four informants between the ages of 25 and 45 years diagnosed with tibiofemoral OA were purposively sampled. Informants were white, college educated, middle class, and physically active. Informants were interviewed for 4 hours. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to a van Kaam method modified by Moustakas. RESULTS: Living with tibiofemoral OA involved pain, fear, isolation, helplessness, and loss of function, identity, and perceived control. The informants struggled with adapting to their pathology. Behavior change and activity modification were difficult and seemed to be related to the physical, sociologic, and psychologic aspects of pathology. CONCLUSIONS: A biopsychosocial model of chronic pathology was developed that may guide health professionals in treating and developing interventions for younger adults with arthritis.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Attitude to Health , Osteoarthritis, Knee/psychology , Sports/psychology , Activities of Daily Living , Adult , Age Factors , Disabled Persons/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Psychological , Nursing Methodology Research , Osteoarthritis, Knee/complications , Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology , Pain/etiology , Surveys and QuestionnairesSubject(s)
Autistic Disorder/psychology , Brain Damage, Chronic/psychology , Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Brain Damage, Chronic/diagnosis , Child, Preschool , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Life Change Events , Longitudinal Studies , Neuropsychological Tests , Personality Development , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications/diagnosis , Pregnancy Complications/psychology , Prenatal Diagnosis , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors , Social EnvironmentABSTRACT
There is inconsistency in the obstetric literature regarding the relationship between the mother's knowledge of fetal health gained by ultrasound and maternal psychological attachment to the fetus. To evaluate the relationship more precisely, this study assessed variables of physician-patient interaction, parental mental health in pregnancy and infancy, and 3-month infant and parent behavior. The results show that maternal mental health scores increased as a function of the stress associated with an "at risk" pregnancy necessitating ultrasound assessment. As the parent received more definitive information, scores on measures of anxiety, depression, and hostility decreased. There was no significant relationship, however, between definitive information gained through ultrasound and later parent and infant behavior in play interaction. Shifts in fetal and neonatal health status and the positive interaction between physician and parent suggest the need for further analysis.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior , Maternal Behavior , Pregnancy/psychology , Prenatal Diagnosis/psychology , Ultrasonography , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Parent-Child RelationsABSTRACT
A pilot project was undertaken to study the effect of educational play as an intervention approach. The study was conducted with 14 neurologically impaired, physically handicapped preschool children, parents, community teachers, and developmental center staff. Educational play consisted of art and drama group activities presented according to the normal sequence of play development, from sensorimotor, to symbolic, to sociodramatic play. After a 7-week course of intervention, the children's performance, as measured by items in the Vulpe Assessment Battery, improved in six areas of development. Overall improvement was statistically significant. In addition, participating adults began to value the use of play as an essential component of child development. Results suggest the need for a systematic study of play in intervention with preschool, neurologically impaired, and physically handicapped children.
Subject(s)
Nervous System Diseases/rehabilitation , Occupational Therapy/methods , Play and Playthings , Child , Child, Preschool , Cognition Disorders/rehabilitation , Concept Formation , Disabled Persons , Education, Special , Female , Humans , Male , Psychomotor PerformanceABSTRACT
This paper describes the use of four educational taxonomies in establishing a task grid for guiding and determining sequential learning opportunities and activities for the developmentally delayed child and for treatment planning for team members working with the child. It describes a three-dimensional grid that includes learners, areas of learning, and levels of learning. To clarify the use of this model, the grid has been applied to feeding intervention with the delayed child. Use of the task grid suggests three factors are needed in intervention with the developmentally delayed child: 1. objectives should be stated for all domains of learning since learning occurs concurrently in different areas; 2. activities should be sequenced not only for the child but also for all those directly involved with the child, since all are involved in the learning process; and 3. analytical behavior should be stimulated in the therapist so that theory-based practice can be realized.
