Occupational Therapy International

Introduction. The South African government introduced a reengineered primary healthcare approach to promote universal health coverage. The approach was to ensure equitable, efficient, and quality health services for consumers in private and public healthcare sectors. The transition toward a more comprehensive primary healthcare approach to intervention requires occupational therapists who predominantly worked in private and hospital settings to extend their services to clients who previously would have had little access to such services. This study was conducted to identify the key competencies required by occupational therapists to deliver appropriate primary healthcare services to communities from previously disadvantaged periurban and rural areas. Methods. An exploratory, qualitative study design was used. Through the use of policy documents and data from key informants (), established therapists (), and novice occupational therapy graduates (), the study identified and mapped the stakeholders’ perspectives of the competencies required by graduates to practice in periurban and rural settings in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Data was collected using semistructured interviews, a focus group discussion, a document review of the university’s curriculum, and the local and global regulatory documents. A framework based on the seven roles of the university’s competency framework informed the data analysis process. The seven roles are health practitioner, communicator, collaborator, health advocate, leader and management, scholar, and professional. Findings. Participants highlighted the need for graduates to have adequate knowledge and understanding of the impact of the Department of Health policies and social determinants of health on occupation and the client’s health. They also needed to be suitably skilled in culturally sensitive communication, negotiating shared goals with the stakeholders, and managing a department. Graduates needed to be socially accountable and develop services to advocate for their clients. Conclusion. The study offered insights into the essential graduate competencies identified by the stakeholders and recommended measures to prepare rehabilitation graduates for service delivery in primary healthcare contexts.

The purpose of the study is to consider the factors influencing the development of the culture of interpersonal relationships and the effectiveness of the influence of cognitive therapy on improving social adaptation skills. The method of cognitive therapy included several types of activities. The first type of activities included group sessions, during which the weaknesses of the interaction and their correction were identified. The second type was conducted in the format of teaching standard models of interaction between people. The third type of activity aimed to teach children to build a dialogue with each other and express their desires and emotions. Classes were held 3 times a week throughout the year. The study was attended by pupils of 5-7 grades of Zhanuya boarding school and special correctional boarding school No. 7 for children with intellectual disabilities. The results of a randomized study demonstrated an increase in the indicators of teamwork skills, self-control, emotional stability, and independent decision-making. The indicators of cheerfulness, openness, sociability, and logical thinking also improved. But the factor of antisocial behavior decreased. All of these indicators directly affect socialization. This strategy can be applied in practice in various specialized boarding schools and schools for children with intellectual disabilities.

Vocal psychology belongs to the branch of music psychology, which is the cross-study of vocal art and psychology, and is also a new discipline with both theory and application. Vocal singing uses a thinking, conscious person as an instrument that is necessarily governed by the psyche over the physiology, relying on the brain to direct the movement of the singing muscles and the coordination of the vocal organs. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the application of vocal psychology in vocal singing and teaching, to explain the generation and development of various psychological phenomena in singing activities, to reveal the role and significance of various psychological factors, to provide singers with a theoretical basis for psychological aspects, and to correctly understand the scientific laws of the inner psychology of vocal singing. The effectiveness of classroom teaching is reflected in effective and efficient aspects. The effectiveness of a vocal lesson can be measured by the criteria of whether the teaching is oriented, scientific, artistic, and efficient. Effective teaching design is the basis of teaching effectiveness, elaborate teaching organization is the guarantee of teaching effectiveness, and flexible teaching methods are the root of teaching effectiveness; all three need to be closely combined and organically unified. Effective teaching design is a holistic thinking before the implementation of teaching; all factors related to teaching, practice, and evaluation should be fully considered in the teaching design; teachers should take the learning effect of students and the cultivation of employability as the starting point for effective teaching design; and the classroom teaching of “vocal music” is a “process” and teachers should teach in accordance with the teaching design. They should focus on guiding students to experience and cultivate their abilities in a series of “processes” such as the emotion of vocal music, the teaching situation, the effect of listening, the creation of expression, and the aesthetic value. In addition, teachers should combine the teaching methods of transmission and inspiration, classroom teaching, and after-school training and combine relatively fixed teaching methods with flexible teaching methods to maximize the effectiveness of teaching.

In order to explore and analyze the effect of music therapy interventions on college students with excessive anxiety, this paper selected 240 year 2017- to year 2020-enrolled undergraduates from a comprehensive university in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, in Central China as research objects. These college students had been diagnosed as excessive anxiety and were randomly divided into two groups—intervention group and control group—with 120 students in each group. The control group received conventional mental health treatment for college students, while the intervention group received music therapy interventions on this basis with 3 times a week for 24 times. The instruments used in the music therapy include piano, percussion instruments, melodic instruments, and diffuse instruments; the specific implementation of each therapy is divided into five parts: warm-up, rhythm percussion, song singing, instrumental ensemble, and music appreciation. The study results show that before treatment, the excessive anxiety score of college student in the control group was 63-76 with an average score of ; after treatment, that was 45-64 with an average score of ; before treatment, the excessive anxiety score of college student in the intervention group was 62-78 with an average score of ; after treatment, that was 26-44 with an average score of . Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the excessive anxiety scores between the two groups of college students (); after treatment, the excessive anxiety scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the reduction degrees in the intervention group were bigger than those in the control group, with statistically significant difference (). Therefore, music therapy interventions can significantly reduce the excessive anxiety of college students; the analysis also shows that factors such as gender, grade, major, origin, repertoire type, therapy type, and anxiety type could affect the effect of music therapy interventions to some certain extent. For example, the effect of music therapy interventions on college students in psychology or related majors is better than that of students in other majors; the effect of receptive music therapy is better than that of creative and improvised music therapy; the effect of music therapy interventions on college students’ life event, romantic relationship, and social anxiety is better than that on college students’ test and job-hunting anxiety.

Introduction. Sleeping difficulties are common in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A sleep intervention with weighted blankets was designed to increase current understanding of using weighted blankets to target children’s individual needs in connection with sleep and daytime functioning. Aim. To explore how children with ADHD and sleeping difficulties experience the use of weighted blankets. Methods. An explorative qualitative design in which 26 children with ADHD and sleeping difficulties, 6–15 years old, were interviewed about a sleep intervention with weighted blankets. Four categories emerged from qualitative content analysis. Results. Children’s experiences revealed that the use of weighted blankets 1) requires a commitment, by adjusting according to needs and preferences and adapting to the environment; 2) improves emotional regulation by feeling calm and feeling safe; 3) changes sleeping patterns by creating new routines for sleep and improving sleep quality; and 4) promotes everyday participation by promoting daily function and balancing activity and sleep. Conclusions. Using weighted blankets promoted children’s management of daily life with ADHD and sleeping difficulties. Occupational therapists can improve the assessment and delivery of weighted blankets tailored to individual needs based on increased knowledge from the children themselves.

Introduction. Male breast cancer is rare and frequently diagnosed at later stages of disease with low survival rates. There is a lack of knowledge of how breast cancer impacts men’s occupations. Objectives. This study is aimed at understanding the lived experiences of men with breast cancer and their changes in occupation. Methodology. Twenty-four men with breast cancer participated in semistructured phone interviews. Data was open-coded and analyzed for themes. Findings. The six major themes are as follows: (1) death as a reality, (2) unique personal insights, (3) social environment, (4) interactions with the healthcare system, (5) decreased engagement in occupations, and (6) finding meaning in new occupations. Conclusion. The healthcare team can improve the patient experience by discussing and responding to the client’s experience throughout the diagnosis, intervention, and survival continuum. The scope of occupational therapy is well suited to address the needs of men with breast cancer to maintain optimal levels of functioning.