Exploring Occupational Therapy with Athletes Using Principles of Lifestyle Redesign® to Support Academic Success and Life Balance. s
Abstract
Occupational therapists have a range of skills that can benefit a variety of populations. Despite these skills, occupational therapy has limited exploration within the field of athletics. The capstone project gave insight into the services occupational therapy can provide to the student-athlete population. Through the lens of Lifestyle Redesign®, the Student-Athlete Wellness Program was created to support student-athlete academic success and life balance. Following a needs assessment, an online program was developed. The program was provided to students and athletes at a University in the Midwest U.S. The program attracted 21 student-athletes and five students. Limited participation in surveys provided difficulties when evaluating program effectiveness. Those who participated reported benefits from completing the program. Occupational therapy students who participated displayed an increased ability to facilitate a healthy life balance following completion of the modules. To facilitate the development of leadership skills a teaching experience was included in the capstone project.