Health Promotion and Literacy

I had never heard of the Triple Aim before our lecture yesterday. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has this initiative to support and promote a better healthcare system. It includes improving the patient experience and quality of care, improving the health of populations and reducing the per capita cost of health care. These are the main focuses of the initiative and I think it is a good way to shed light on an area that desperately needs improvement.

Watching the video yesterday where patients discussed with their medical professionals that they couldn't read and didn't know how to take the medicine and didn't know what they were taking really hit home with me, and in more than one way. I was a member of Pi Beta Phi throughout undergrad and our focus was literacy and promoting it in areas that were filling behind in it. I got to see first hand in our community where children and adults could not read at a high level. Also, I am from a rural town. A lot of the people in my town are just like the patients who were interviewed throughout that video; many of them read on an elementary level and do not understand the medical terms they are told day in and day out. The lady who said she didn't realize that she was signing papers to get a histerectomy broke my heart. I really do not understand how medical professionals didn't speak with her and talk to her about this before the surgery. It is just an eye opening video that shows how we as medical professionals have to be very adamant about making our clients feel comfortable with us that they can let us know when they do not understand anything or are confused. We have to prevent things like that from happening.

Biomechanics #3

Scapulohumeral rhythm is important in regards to clinical practice because it is the ratio of movements between the scapula and the humerus. It gives the practitioner knowledge of if the humerus is moving so many degrees, then you can deduce how much the scapula is moving. Generally, for every 3 degrees of shoulder movement, then there is 1 degree at the ST joint and 2 degrees at the GH joint. It is the movement of the shoulder complex, which includes all structures and muscles, all together at once. This is important because if there is damage or trauma to one part, or one muscle, it will directly effect the ability of the other muscles to work properly. It can effect the range of motion in the shoulder because there won't be a full range of motion in the shoulder in specific movements when certain muscles have been effected. In order to obtain full range of motion in the shoulder, which is roughly 180 degrees, the humeral head must rotate laterally. When it rotates and reaches full ROM, the ST joint has moved 60 degrees and the GH joint has moved 120 degrees. This demonstrates the ratios of movements and scapulohumeral rhythm.

Universal Design

    TED talk was really interesting to me. He started off joking because of the female interpreter and really set a light tone to discuss something that is really serious and something that impacts everyone every day, especially as OT practitioners. I really liked how he said that everyone has a disability at some point in their life; whether it be temporary or long term, everyone experiences this at some point. Universal design is a concept that is important for everyone to be included and everyone be able to easily access and experience things. He talked about the automatic door being a universal design. To be completely honest, I had never thought about an automatic door being implemented as something to make it more accessible for everyone. I know I should have recognized this, but I have grown up seeing them everywhere and it never occurred to me that this was designed to be more inclusive.
    I listened to the podcast about home health with occupational therapy. It was interesting to me because she was talking about how she was bored in her SNF setting and home health allowed her to use more of her own creativity. She mentioned how she loved being able to actually see the set up of where they are and where they needed help, like with showering. I actually did observation hours in a home health setting, and I was able to go to different client's homes and watch the OT work within the home. I was not a big fan of this setting myself, but it was interesting to listen to her talk about how you could put a bar of soap in a pantyhose leg and tie it to a safety bar so if they drop the soap, they don't have to bend down all the way to get it. It was interesting to see another person's view on this setting and have a positive outlook on it compared to my outlook which was not a very positive one.

Biomechanics Blog #2

It is important in to use appropriate bony landmarks and proper positioning for ROM in order to get the most accurate reading for range of motion. It ensures joint stability and is more reliable and valid to measure using the bony landmarks. It is important to use the correct placement for accurate measurements so your documentation can be read and used for other practitioners that may see the client after you or while you are treating them. Using appropriate landmarks also makes it "universal" when taking measurements. This way across the board, the same ROM can be taken no matter who is administering it.

The purpose of the test position in MMT is that we went to measure in mid-range of movement because that is where the most cross bridges are being formed and you get the most accurate reading of strength. This mid range position is the position for optimal muscle contraction, and that is what we want to measure. The gravity eliminated position is important for clients who cannot even resist gravity, so in order to get a reading for MMT, they need to be in a position where gravity is not a resistance for them. This means placing them where the joint is parallel to the ground, therefor eliminating gravity from the muscle contraction.

Biomechanics Blog #1

An action that is part of my daily life is squatting to sit in a chair. When you start, you are standing upright. The end position is a supported squat sitting in a chair. The hips plane of motion is saggital and the axis of rotation is frontal.  The knees follow suit and the plane of motion is saggital and the axis of rotation is frontal. In osteokinematic terms, the knees are producing flexion when squatting. Arthrokinematic movement at the knee joint is the roll and slide. The prime movers for this action of sitting in a chair are the gluteal muscles. They move eccentrically when squatting down and when returning to the standing position they are concentric.