This study examined whether occupational therapists were using treatment time to prepare adults with developmental disabilities for independent living opportunities. Eighty-eight occupational therapy evaluations for 54 adults with developmental disabilities in 18 different community agencies in the Boston area were reviewed to ascertain the focus of treatment goals that reflect treatment approa...

The effectiveness of treatment methods on a person's ability to carry out occupational roles competently is of interest to occupational therapists. This case study demonstrated how play, as an occupational role of childhood and as a measure of competence, can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of occupational therapy that uses a sensory integrative approach. The positive changes in C.C.'s pl...

The author draws on an Australian study using multiple qualitative methods to investigate truth telling in aged care. Thematic analysis of data from five nursing homes involving 23 personal care assistants revealed participants' role understanding as influencing their perceptions about truth telling in practice. Five themes emerged: role as the happy comfort carer, division of labor, division o...

BACKGROUND People with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy often do not implement the foot-care behavioural strategies that are suggested by many health professionals. The concept of self-efficacy has been shown to be an effective predictor of behaviour in many areas of health. This study investigated the relationships between foot-care self-efficacy beliefs, self-reported foot-care behaviour an...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to better understand how to structure educational interventions for heart failure patients to improve their self-efficacy for self-care behaviors. METHODS A computer search of the literature from 1966 through May 2009 was conducted, yielding 84 articles. All articles were reviewed in relation to the search ...

Healthcare staff providing care for people with a learning disability often deliver intimate personal care and have access to confidential information about vulnerable clients. Awareness of professional boundaries can help them to avoid either under- or over-involvement with patients and clients. Education and reflection can improve staff awareness of boundaries and help them reflect usefully o...

BACKGROUND In chronic disease management, patients are increasingly called upon to undertake a new role as lay tutors within self-management training programmes. The internet constitutes an increasingly significant healthcare setting and a key arena for self-management support and communication. This study evaluates how a new quasi-professional health workforce - volunteer tutors - engage, guid...

This descriptive study in the interior of São Paulo aimed to verify diabetes mellitus patients' knowledge about the disease, causes and complications, highlighting its importance in self care. Data were collected through interviews with 84 persons and analyzed through descriptive statistics. Average age was 53.3 +/- 13 years, time of disease 12.9 +/- 9 years and 58% of the participants did not ...

Current federal policy is directed toward encouraging reliance on the voluntary sector for the provision of personal care services to the frail elderly. "Of particular interest is the development of volunteer and peer group support. . . which will reduce dependence on social services" {Federal Register, 1982, p. 55114). One impetus behind this policy is the fear that the expansion of formal com...

BACKGROUND Existing literature on the design of interventions and health policy about self-management have tended to focus on individual-centred definitions of self-care and there is growing recognition of the need to extend consideration beyond individual factors, which determine self-care, to examine wider influences such as the health service, the family and the wider social context. AIMS ...