Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Oral Presentation/Poster
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Department
Health Science
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Allison Naber
Keywords
preferred meaningful occupations, play, medically complex conditions, pediatric, occupational therapy
Subject Categories
Occupational Therapy
Abstract
Children with medically complex conditions experience limitations in their ability to engage in preferred meaningful occupations. Additionally, when these children are in the hospital setting, the environment poses another barrier to accessing preferred meaningful occupation opportunities. This capstone project aimed to explore how preferred meaningful occupations could be utilized with children with medically complex conditions in the pediatric inpatient setting. The literature and needs assessment indicated the need for preferred meaningful occupations to be used as a motivator and a way to target specific skills a patient wanted to regain. With the focus of occupational therapy on return to occupation and the primary occupation of children being play, it is essential that occupational therapists utilize play as a primary intervention. Guided by occupational therapy theoretical models of the Model of Human Occupation and the Model of Children’s Play, patient sessions were completed using preferred meaningful occupations as motivation, and educational materials were created for others to learn from. The Pediatric Interest Profiles were used to determine the preferred meaningful occupations of the patients. Those occupations were included in occupational therapy sessions with the 13 patients seen throughout this capstone experience as much as possible, functionally and therapeutically. Educational handouts and a presentation were created to teach others about preferred meaningful occupations and children with medically complex conditions. A pre and post-presentation survey was distributed to participating students, with findings indicating that the participant’s knowledge of the topic increased following the presentation. This project concludes that using preferred meaningful occupations for children with medically complex conditions is valuable for their recovery process.
Recommended Citation
Schmit, Kaylee S., "The Importance of Preferred Meaningful Occupations for Children with Medically Complex Conditions" (2024). Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations. 121.
https://red.library.usd.edu/ot-capstone/121