Compliance with wearing wrist working splints has been studied in people with rheumatoid arthritis to determine activity use.
AbstractTwo consecutive studies on patient compliance with wearing wrist splints were done to identify factors contributing to compliance. For the first study, questionnaires regarding splint-wearing habits were completed by 265 arthritic patients who had received any type of wrist splint made by occupational therapists. Perceived benefits of splinting and discomfort in wearing splints were identified as the major determining factors in compliance, which wasfound to beabout75%. Appearance ofsplints was a minor factor. The second study, involving 130 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, used a new, more comfortable splint design and focused on educating patients and therapists about the benefits of splinting. One year later, all patientswho hadreceived the new workingsplint completed questionnaires on compliance and splint-wearing habits. Compliance remained the same,
An objective test of hand function, standardized for adults in the USA, has been adapted and standardized for the normal adult population of the Brisbane metropolitan area. Test items have been chosen to correspond as accurately as possible with the original test items, and all are readily available. The Australian version is quick to administer, and comprises eight test items, chosen to provide a broad sampling of hand function. Percentile norms are provided for dominant and non-dominant hands for men and women in various age-groups, ranging from 16 to 90 years.
The incidence of two complex and serious eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, has increased markedly during the last decade. Despite much research, there is still no consensus on the aetiology or treatment of eating disorders. It has been recognised that multiple factors of causation are Involved and a multidisciplinary team of various health workers, including occupational therapists, is needed for optimal treatment. The aim of this pilot study was to determine treatment approaches currently used by occupational therapists in some major centres in Australia. It was found that, while respondents believed that psychological issues, cognitive distortions, dysfunctional families and societal pressures were major causes of eating disorders, the preferred treatment approaches appeared to be based on cognitive-behavioural and occupational dysfunction models. Implications for occupational therapy, limitations of the study and future recommendations are discussed.
Two instruments for measuring grip strength, the Jamar dynamometer and an adapted sphygmomanometer have been compared in 88 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. Correlations have been found between instrument measurements of .83 for the right hand and .84 for the left hand. Because these correlations were found to be high and linear, regression tables for predicting grip strength from one instrument to the other have been provided. As norms for the Jamar dynamometer already exist, clinicians and researchers now have a standard for comparing patients and subjects and the normal population for grip strength.
The functional effectiveness of a myo-electric prosthesis with sensory feedback compared with that of a split-hook is described. Thirty independent observations were made on a single subject with a right below-elbow amputation wearing the myo-electric prosthesis and the split-hook prosthesis. Using a first order autoregressive model for making inferences about the two sets of data, the split-hook was found to be functionally better (p<0-001) than the myo-electric prosthesis. Functional effectiveness was defined operationally as scores on the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation Placing Test and the Smith Test of Hand Function. No predictions are made regarding the use of either prosthesis for other amputees. However clinical evidence suggested suitability of the myoelectric prosthesis with sensory feedback for some other functional tasks. It is difficult to add new ideas or to be critical concerning the projects proposed by McCoIIough in the April, 1981 issue of Prosthetics and Orthotics International, and therefore, for the most part, this presentation is restricted to amplification of the ideas set forth in that article.
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