Older adults residing in community, as well as those who are residing in institutional or care home may experience various cognitive, health and physical impairments that may affect their independence. Continuous supports are needed to manage most of their personal care activities which are usually managed by their family members, often without proper training or guidance. To date, there is no personal care module that can be used as a guideline by family members and paid caretakers. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate a personal care module as a guideline in assisting older adults with more significant disabilities. This study was a three-phase study, involving (1) development of the personal care module, (2) focus group discussion with healthcare experts and (3) face and content validity by the expert reviewers. A total of 10 older adults participated in semi structured interview in phase one and 13 occupational therapists were involved as experts in evaluating the module in phase two and three, having between 5 to 25 years of working experiences. The finding reported a high content validity in the developed module ranging from 0.88 to 1.00 on six domains of personal hygiene, bathing, dressing, feeding, bed mobility and stairs climbing. This study provides a preliminary support for the developed personal care module as a valid instrument to be used as a guideline in managing personal care activities of older adults with more significant disabilities.
Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that has gained increasing attention in Malaysia. Much effort is
now being taken to include children with autism spectrum disorder in the school system, either in inclusive settings or
in special educational settings. However, this endeavor raises many challenges for the children with autism spectrum
disorder, their families and for service providers. The current study uses a qualitative approach to investigate parents’
perceptions of problems faced by their children with autism spectrum disorder in issues related to academic skills. A faceto-face
interview was performed with parents of children with autism spectrum disorders who were receiving occupational
therapy services for their difficulties in academic related skills. Findings indicate that most of the difficulties faced by these
children are related to skills needed to be accepted at school, such as ability to communicate and socialize and this often
limit their performance at school. These findings not only raise and discuss important implications for service providers
such as teachers, health care professionals and policy makers, but also lead to suggestions for future research.
Enhancement of physical function had been shown in older adults who actively participate in physical activities, particularly in the form of aerobic training with addition of progressive resistance training (PRT). However, it is quite challenging and risky for most older adults to exercise in standing position without any support. Chair Based Exercise (CBE) is an alternative mode of exercise for older adult to facilitate exercise participation and increase safety. Its effect when combined with resistance training is unknown to date. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of CBE with PRT on physical performances among older adults. A total of 18 older adults (13 females (72%)) and 5 males (28%)), aged 60 to 83 years with mean age (SD) 72.67 (6.17) years completed the study. All subjects performed CBE with PRT intervention twice weekly for 8 weeks, with individually-tailored exercise progressions. Pre and post measurements of physical performance were performed using Six MinutesWalk Test (6MWT), Five Times Sit to Stand (FTSTS) and Hand Grip Strength (HGS) test. Significant improvement in 6MWT (p < .001), HGS Right hand (p = .043), HGS Left hand (p < .001), FTSTS (p < .001) was shown after the eight-week intervention. Adding PRT into seated exercises results in further improvement in physical performance of older adults. CBE-PRT may be recommended as an exercise routine for older adults living in the community.
The development of writing ability is not only important in building a child’s self-esteem, but also essential for academic success in school. Handwriting is an important skill that could affect students’ performance in most academic areas. This study aimed to review the effect of occupational therapy intervention in improving handwriting skills among preschool children. Relevant studies were systematically searched by using standardized keywords across three databases. The initial search identified 1,386 references. Of these studies, there were five quantitative studies that met the inclusion criteria and were methodologically appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Form–Quantitative Studies. All studies reported that preschool children with or without disabilities showed significant improvements in handwriting skills after receiving occupational therapy intervention. One study involved collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists in implementing intervention program to preschool students. Collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists was able to provide teachers with tools and skills that they can use to help students, with or without direct presence of occupational therapists. Overall, findings of this review indicated that preschool children could gain improvement in handwriting skills regardless of their conditions after receiving occupational therapy intervention programs.
Kefungsian mobiliti dalam kalangan populasi warga emas merupakan elemen yang penting bagi kualiti hidup yang
lebih bermakna. Penilaian adalah penting untuk memastikan langkah-langkah sewajarnya boleh diambil demi
mengesan perubahan dalam kefungsian mobiliti. Terdapat pelbagai jenis penilaian mobiliti namun kebanyakan
kajian kebolehpercayaan ulang semula alat penilaian ini adalah berdasarkan kajian luar negara. Oleh itu, kajian
ini adalah untuk menentukan kebolehpercayaan tiga alat penilaian status kefungsian mobiliti terutama aktiviti fizikal
dalam kalangan warga emas. Seramai 60 orang warga emas dengan min umur 76.32 tahun dan sisihan piawai 8.66
terlibat dalam kajian kebolehpercayaan uji-ulang semula bagi tiga jenis alat penilaian; Ujian Berjalan Enam Minit
[Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT)], Ujian Bangun dan Berjalan [Timed Up and Go Test (TUG)], Ujian Duduk-Berdiri [Sitto-Stand
Test (STS)]. Bacaan di ambil sebanyak dua kali dengan selang masa seminggu antara penilaian pertama dan
kedua. Korelasi Intra-Kelas [Intraclass Correlation (ICC)], Had Keserasian [Limits of Agreement (LOA)] dan Ralat
Pengukuran Piawai [Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)] dan diikuti kombinasi ketiga-tiga kaedah telah digunakan
dalam analisa data. Hasil kajian menunjukkan ketiga-tiga alat penilaian menggunakan metodologi analisis statistik
ICC, LOA, SEM dan kombinasi ketiga-tiga metodologi tersebut menunjukkan nilai kebolehpercayaan yang tinggi. Nilai
ICC bagi kesemua alat penilaian aktiviti melebihi 0.90 (ICC=0.94-0.99). Graf LOA menunjukkan wujudnya suatu tahap
kebolehpercayaan bagi kesemua alat penilaian aktiviti manakala peratus SEM pula merekodkan nilai kurang dari
10% (SEM%=0.95%-9.95%). Kesimpulannya, ketiga-tiga alat penilaian mempunyai ketekalan yang tinggi dan sesuai
digunakan sebagai salah satu alat penilaian kefungsian mobiliti bagi warga emas di Malaysia.
Diabetes is often associated with dysfunction in activities of daily living (ADL), especially among older adults. Hospitalisation of older adults is often followed by decline in functional status affecting their quality of life and well-being after discharge. The objective of this study was to determine the functional independence in carrying out basic activities of daily living, its relationship with quality of life, and the factors influencing the quality of life in hospitalised older adults with diabetes. This cross sectional study was carried out on 104 diabetic patients (mean age: 67.5 ± 9.2 years) who were receiving in-patient treatment. Face-to-face interviews were carried out to determine functional independence using Modified Barthel Index (MBI) as well as quality of life using the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF). Results showed that only 37.5% (n = 39) respondents were catergorised as being fully-independent. Among the domains in MBI, using the stairs recorded the lowest score followed by mobility. The physical domain in quality of life also recorded the lowest score compared to other domains of quality of life. There were significant (p < 0.05), positive correlations between the overall MBI scores and all domains of quality of life; physical (rs = 0.70), psychology (rs = 0.50), social (rs = 0.33) and environmental (rs = 0.25). Hierachical multiple regression analysis showed MBI scores had significant influence on all domains of quality of life, with the largest influence on the physical domain i.e. 36% [F(1, 92) = 82.14, p < 0.01, R2 = .36]. As a conclusion, hospitalisation reduces the functional independence in carrying out basic activities of daily living as well as the physical aspect of quality life in older adults with diabetes. Therefore, it is important to provide rehabilitation in activities of daily living while the elderly diabetics while undergoing in-patient treatment in order to maintain quality of life after discharge.
Inappropriate responses towards sensory input received from the environment, also known as sensory processing difficulties (SPD) may affect daily living activities of the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sensory Processing Measure Home Form (SPM Home Form) as a parent report measure for SPD is available in English and other foreign languages. To enhance the applicability and meaningfulness of SPM Home Form for the Malay speaking population, a study that focuses on translating, adapting, and validating the SPM Home Form into the Malay language was conducted. The development of the Malay version of the SPM Home Form (SPM-MV Home Form) involved three steps: 1) Item evaluation, 2) Forward and backward translation, and 3) Expert review and content validity. The process of translation and adaptation of the form was performed according to standard guidelines. No item was excluded from the original SPM Home Form as all the items were considered by the expert panel as appropriate and relevance to evaluate the activity and social participation among children in Malaysia. Content validity as measured by 10 experts in occupational therapy is high. The mean of sub-scales I-CVI is between 0.96 and 1.00. The total S-CVI of the form is 0.95 with sub-scales S-CVI range between 0.82 and 1.00. Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency was reported at 0.80 and ICC for test-retest reliability ranged from 0.80 to 0.97. The SPM-MV Home Form has high potential to be used for assessing SPD among children ages 5-12 years in Malaysia.