Psychouli, Pavlina

Sexuality issues are rarely discussed in Malaysia and are considered taboo and culturally inappropriate. Sexuality is divided into three components; sexual behaviour, biological influences, and making sense of sexuality. Sexual behaviour is classed into non-coital sexual behaviour (e.g., fantasy, masturbation) and sexual intercourse (e.g., partners, sexual coercion). Note that sexual behaviour is individuals’ experiences of sexual feeling or expression, while any sexual activity that raises the possibility of getting pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) is referred to as risky sexual behaviour (RSB). This scoping review is conducted to determine sexual behaviours among adolescents with special needs, to investigate factors of their sexual behaviours, and to determine the need for sexuality education and the potential roles of occupational therapists (OTs) in managing their behaviours. The author independently searched through databases, for instance, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, as well as PubMed, and 17 studies, met the criteria and were reviewed. Masturbation, inappropriate gestures and exhibitionism were common sexual behaviours among adolescents with special needs. Such behaviours were caused by a lack of sexual understanding, sexual knowledge and awareness, and pornography addiction. This review contributes to developing interventions that solve challenging sexual behaviour, rule OT roles in sexuality and guide parents with obligatory educational support in delivering sexual knowledge to their children.

The objective of this study was to develop an occupation-centered and client-centered assessment tool for refugees and asylum seekers. A preliminary tool outline was produced based on a literature review, while considering previous published tools’ strengths and limitations. A qualitative study was undertaken via focus groups to improve on the tool’s design and adequacy for its purpose, resulting in the creation of a pilot version of the tool. Convenience sampling included 8 Greek and Cypriot professional and student occupational therapists with experience in the field, 8 international expert occupational therapists, 4 laypeople, 4 humanitarian professionals, and 5 refugees and asylum seekers. Basic qualitative content and thematic analysis led to topics regarding tool modifications that concerned categorization, formation/structure, wording, administration, and assessment scale. Corresponding tool revisions ensued. This study led to the development of the pilot version of the Refugees and Asylum Seekers Occupational Satisfaction (RASOS), which can also be used to identify underlying personal and environmental factors that contribute to self-perceived low satisfaction. A future quantitative study is required to establish the psychometric properties of the tool.

Importance: Designing, implementing, and measuring the effectiveness of sustainable Internationalization at Home programs will support the development of cultural competence among occupational therapy students. Objective: To explore potential sustainable, effective methods for enhancing cultural competence in occupational therapy students through cross-cultural online collaborations. Design: Pretest-posttest, parallel mixed-methods design. Setting: An online collaboration using video conferencing technology and classrooms at the European University Cyprus and the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. Participants: Bachelor of science and master of occupational therapy students at the European University Cyprus and the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, respectively. Intervention: Online video conferencing collaboration between occupational therapy students in which students discussed their perspectives and experiences regarding social injustice and occupational therapy's role in working with vulnerable populations. Outcomes and Measures: Each campus participated in focus groups, and students completed individual reflections. Themes were derived from the qualitative information gathered. Quantitative data were collected using the Cultural Awareness Scale for Occupational Therapy Students (CASOTS). Results: CASOTS did not reflect changes in cultural awareness. The qualitative measures identified students' desire to participate in more frequent and culturally diverse experiences. Challenges included length of preparation and actual communication time. Inclusion of prior asynchronous sessions and methods to overcome the language barrier was suggested for future implementation. Conclusion: Synchronous cross-cultural collaborations may enhance occupational therapy student's cultural awareness and may be more attractive than traditional in-class teaching. Further development is necessary to overcome challenges. What This Article Adds: Documenting the benefits and barriers of implementing Internationalization at Home experiences will allow academic institutions to create sustainable methods for enhancing occupational therapy students' cultural competence. Recommendations to further enhance Internationalization at Home experiences provide opportunities for increased cultural collaboration.

Background: Occupational therapy is a physically, psychologically and cognitively demanding job. This study aims to explore the epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries, mental issues, and burnout in occupational therapy practitioners in Greece and Cyprus. Method: A survey was conducted, including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Results: Out of 247 respondents, 70% reported severe lower back pain, 9.7% of Greek occupational therapists were in the moderate and high PHQ-9 scale, while disengagement and exhaustion were found 2.026 (±0.54) and 2.592 (±0.533) respectively. Conclusion: High rates of burnout, correlated with psychological and musculoskeletal disorders were identified in both countries. Work-related stress and musculoskeletal disorders may be more evident in countries hit by recession.

Background: Occupational therapy is a physically, psychologically and cognitively demanding job. This study aims to explore the epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries, mental issues, and burnout in occupational therapy practitioners in Greece and Cyprus. Method: A survey was conducted, including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Results: Out of 247 respondents, 70% reported severe lower back pain, 9.7% of Greek occupational therapists were in the moderate and high PHQ-9 scale, while disengagement and exhaustion were found 2.026 (±0.54) and 2.592 (±0.533) respectively. Conclusion: High rates of burnout, correlated with psychological and musculoskeletal disorders were identified in both countries. Work-related stress and musculoskeletal disorders may be more evident in countries hit by recession. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

ΟBJECTIVE To develop the Greek version of the Motor Activity Log (MAL) and to test its reliability and internal consistency. METHOD This was a multicentre study, conducted at four rehabilitation clinics in Cyprus and Greece between 2018–2021. Translation of the MAL followed established international guidelines. The Greek MAL was completed by occupational therapists for 46 patients with hemiplegia following stroke on three occasions; days 1 and 4 by interviewing the patient and additionally, within this interval by interviewing the primary caregiver, in order to establish the degree of agreement between patient and caregiver. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (α) and reliability was assessed with the use of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS There were no major issues that arose during the forward-backward translation of the MAL into Greek, neither cultural adaptation conflicts. The internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α=0.95), while the test-retest reliability was 0.993 for both MAL Amount of Use (AOU) and Quality of Use (QOU) Scale. ICC between caregivers and patients was 0.987 for MAL AOU and 0.980 for MAL QOL. CONCLUSIONS The Greek version of MAL is a reliable assessment tool for adult patients with hemiplegia following stroke. It may be considered a useful tool for the out-of-clinic measurement of upper limb involvement in everyday activities for Greek-speaking clinicians. © Athens Medical Society.

Purpose. To examine the effectiveness of different modified Constraint-Inuced Therapy (mCIMT) protocol intensities on upper extremity motor function in adults with hemiplegia. Methods. A search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library for articles published between April 2010 and December 2021. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Studies were excluded if they used a sample of less than five, mCIMT in combination with other therapy, and/or if they were not written in English. Methodologic quality was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration risk of bias tool-2. Results. Thirty-six RCTs with a total of 721 participants were included. Most researchers followed a moderate to low protocol intensity in terms of total treatment time and moderate to high intensity with regard to restriction time. Almost all of the upper limb motor function measures showed statistically significant improvements (p[removed]

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience sensory processing issues, affecting their daily behaviour and functional performance. Occupational engagement is viewed as activities a person participates in which involve occupational performance and environmental factors. This study aims to identify impaired sensory processing and occupational engagement, the relationship with demographic profile, and the relationship between impaired sensory processing and occupational engagement among children with ASD. A total of 169 children with ASD from a centre in Sentul were recruited. School Companion Sensory Profile and the Short Child Occupational Profile (SCOPE) were used as the outcome measurements in this study. The research finding yields those children with ASD appear to experience some degree of processing issues in “avoiding” sensory patterns and appear to have significant challenges in “communication and interaction skills” in their occupational engagement. Sensory processing issues and activity engagement are also found to be a minimal to moderate relationship with the demographic profiles of the children. The study also concludes that sensory processing and occupational engagement among children with ASD are interrelated. The correlation coefficients range from r =-0.20 to r =-0.36 indicating a fair to moderate correlation between sensory processing and occupational engagement. These sensory processing issues significantly impact children’s life, which can be seen through their level of engagement in daily life activities. Information on sensory processing issues and occupational engagement allows one to identify successful intervention strategies.

Modern Wearable Medical Devices (WMDs), implement capabilities that have contributed significantly to patient outcomes, as well as quality of life. Using such devices can be beneficial for many patients, especially during the time of the pandemic where everyone had to isolate at home. This paper presents a proof of concept of a new low-cost technology-based approach to support home-based rehabilitation for people with hemiplegia aiming to assess the effectiveness of their home-based exercises thus making telerehabilitation sessions more effective.