Award Date

May 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Department

Brain Health

First Committee Member

Donnamarie Krause

Second Committee Member

Sharon Jalene

Number of Pages

65

Abstract

Objective: Sensory impairments involving vision and hearing among the adult population are predicted to double by 2030 (Gutherie et al., 2018). Individuals with experiences of sensory impairments like low vision are at risk of decreased functional participation in their homes and communities, which often leads to mental health concerns due to social withdrawal, experiences with environmental barriers, and limited occupational engagement (Bezyak et al., 2017; Gerami et al., 2015; Pfeiffer et al., 2020; Vreeken et al., 2020). This doctoral capstone focused on program evaluation to support adults with low vision and blindness in transferring learned skills from a simulated environment to the preferred real-world environment. Methods: Through purposive sampling, there were a total of seven participants and five of their caregivers within the two training groups offered. Two needs assessments were completed to support the program evaluation on transferability and quality through semi-structured interviews and observations. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Caregiver Burden Scale assessments were completed during week one and week five of the program. Lastly, the COPM was being completed for a third time during week seven. Findings: Data was collected and analyzed based on the results from the COPM and Caregiver Burden Scale at the end of this project. Upon the program’s conclusion, a change was noted in the participants' perceived levels of performance and satisfaction by the end of week seven compared to week one, indicating an increase in skills learned from the group training, contributing to increased independence in natural environments. The experience of caregiver burden slightly decreased after participants completed the program. Conclusion: With the benefit of participating in blind life skills training, there was an increase in self-efficacy and functional independence amongst individuals with sensory impairments. Occupational therapy can further promote the well-being and participation in daily life skills for individuals. It is recommended to consider and research the benefits of group training to further support occupational engagement, particularly sensory impairments target population.

Keywords

caregivers; functional independence; self-efficacy; sensory impairment

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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