Date of Award
5-2021
Document Type
Oral Presentation/Poster
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Department
Health Science
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Moses Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Keywords
occupational therapy, mental health, virtual reality, recovery
Subject Categories
Occupational Therapy
Abstract
The purpose of this capstone project was to administer occupation-based and therapeutic interventions based on virtual reality and evaluate their impact on participation in meaningful occupations by individuals with mental health diagnoses. I completed this 14-week capstone experience at the Professional Rehabilitation Consultants, an outpatient occupational therapy mental health clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota. The interventions that I tested were administered using strategies from principles of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and the Recovery Model. I created intervention modules based on published instructions on the use of VR equipment and information gathered from research on the VR applications. I administered interventions twice per week. Each session was followed by a 5-minute interview with the client. For outcome measurement, I administered the Occupational Self-Assessment – Daily Living Scales (OSA-DLS) to assess occupational performance, and the Personal Recovery Outcome Measure (PROM) to assess quality of life once per week. I graphed data for each client to determine trends as an indication of intervention outcomes. I conducted content analysis for the five minute interview transcripts to determine themes about occupational performance, motivation, and quality of life so that I could compare them with trends identified in the graphed data. Both sets of data generally indicated positive trends favoring improved participation in meaningful occupations by individuals with mental health diagnoses who received my interventions. More research with robust designs is needed to provide further evidence for the clinical effectiveness of occupation-based interventions based on virtual reality.
Recommended Citation
Benson, Alison S., "Virtual Reality and Its Impact as an Intervention on Meaningful Occupations for Individuals with Mental Health Diagnoses" (2021). Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations. 59.
https://red.library.usd.edu/ot-capstone/59