Abstracts

Identifying Meaningful Occupational Therapy Goals of Adolescent Patients with Epilepsy

Abstract number : 943
Submission category : 4. Clinical Epilepsy / 4C. Clinical Treatments
Year : 2020
Submission ID : 2423276
Source : www.aesnet.org
Presentation date : 12/7/2020 1:26:24 PM
Published date : Nov 21, 2020, 02:24 AM

Authors :
Jason Lerner, University of California Los Angeles; Shannon Westerberg - University of California Los Angeles Health; Christopher Sheridan - University of California Los Angeles Health; Madison Harris - University of California Los Angeles Health;


Rationale:
Occupational therapists (OT) are skilled professionals who help patients across the lifespan engage in activities that they want and need to do on a daily basis. OT’s use a holistic lifestyle-informed lens to provide interventions promoting small changes in a patient’s daily activities. This approach focuses on each individual’s unique daily routine and meaningful activities. Treatment is client-centered with all goals identified by the patient to create lasting healthy habits and routines that are sustainable long-term.     With adolescents, OT’s can specifically address functional engagement in occupations (activities) such as school participation, part-time jobs, exercise or sports participation, social activities, and preparing for college transition. The aim of this abstract is to describe the self-directed, occupation-based goals set by adolescents with epilepsy who participated in an OT program. The second aim is to determine the most commonly reoccurring goals within this population. 
Method:
Data were obtained retrospectively from medical records of patients who presented to a multidisciplinary adolescent epilepsy clinic at a single academic institution between December 2018 and March 2020. A single researcher, with knowledge of both OT and epilepsy, collected and analyzed all data. Therapeutic goals were identified at OT evaluation using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), a standardized OT measure that guides patients to set goals in 3  categories: self-care (personal care, functional mobility, and community management), productivity (paid/unpaid work, household management, and play/school), and leisure (quiet recreation, active recreation, and socialization). A goal for play/school might be “to attend 4/5 days of school per week” while an active recreation goal may be “to exercise 3/7 days per week”. Participants can set unlimited goals in each category or “skip” if they have no goals pertaining to a particular focus area. Patients aged 12-23 with complete records were included in this study.    
Results:
Nineteen (9 female; 17±3 years) of 21 reviewed records met inclusion criteria. The average number of completed OT sessions was 4[IQR = 2.5-5.5]. The average number of main goals set per patient was 5[IQR=4-5] with a breakdown of the 3 categories as follows: self-care 1[IQR=0-1]; productivity 2[IQR=1-3]; leisure 1[IQR=1-2]. Patients were most likely to identify goals in the category of play/school [16 of 19 patients], followed by active recreation [12 of 19 patients] and paid/unpaid work [10 of 19 patients]. No patients set goals in functional mobility (physically navigating one’s environment). 
Conclusion:
Adolescents with epilepsy show a preference for setting individualized therapeutic goals surrounding productivity, with a majority of patients setting goals in the category of play/school. Patients who present with difficulties functionally participating in school, play, work, or active recreation may benefit from OT evaluation and intervention. Clinicians should consider referring their adolescent patients with epilepsy to lifestyle-informed OT services if they identify impairments in these domains.
Funding:
:No funding was received in support of this abstract.
Clinical Epilepsy