Levels of Prevention and Health Literacy

Public health is not really my stronghold, probably because I don’t know much about it and all that it entails, but Dr. Flick explained and clarified some terms that are good to know especially because they are so pertinent to occupational therapy and the types of interventions that we determine to use for clients depending on their situations. First, she explained that prevention also means intervention in our field which makes sense. I just always used prevention as part of the definition in intervention instead of using the words interchangeably. So, Dr. Flick said there are three different levels of prevention/intervention which are primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary level of prevention is catching something before it happens whether it be a disease or a possible injury. For instance, she said that some companies have organizations in place because they know the environment is a little risky. Secondary prevention is when a disease or injury is being detected like a breast cancer screening or another big one is developmental screenings for young children. Finally, tertiary prevention is when something has already happened like a stroke or some kind of traumatic injury or impactful disease. At this point, we would just be there to improve their quality of life by preventing long term effects from whatever medical devastation that has happened to them like preventing falls, or contractures, etc. I feel like I somehow knew this information but did not know the terms that were linked with them, so I feel as though I know the information better now that I have listened to Dr. Flick’s lecture. Also, she explained health literacy is dependent on several things. Not only does it mean to have a good understanding of basic health information needed to make appropriate decisions, but it is dependent on the way we communicate, cultural relativity of our clients, and their situational contexts.   

What about outside intervention?!

 Any time I think of a therapy session, I automatically think, okay... I am about to sit in a room for an hour or so and do some activities that the therapist says to do and go about my day. But wait. What if someone made it a little more interesting and engaging… what about the idea of conducting the intervention outside in nature itself? I personally think this is a great idea and a great way for extra motivation during a therapy session. Of course, I was not the one to come up with this idea. I listened to a podcast by Amy Seymore (2017), and she explained not only the idea of “nature-based therapy”, but the importance of it and how it has such a positive impact on clients, especially in pediatrics.

For me, even as an adult, I would much rather be outside and enjoying nature, so I really love the kind of intervention that Amy Seymore practices. She explains that using the things that we use outside, promotes realistic results because it is not simulated in the same ways it would be inside the clinic. For kids, it also promotes motivation especially when asking the right questions during intervention and guiding them through appropriate and effective activities. Amy also said that this specific therapy benefits kids with sensory processing disorders and attention deficit disorders which I thought was interesting because it almost seems like a tailor-made intervention which is what OT’s always keep in mind. Using branches, streams, mud piles, sticks, rocks, and the plethora of objects that are in nature are great, tangible resources for building sensory skills. Using this kind of therapy still tests all the same things as it would inside the clinic but uses a different environmental stimulus and physical context. As a future OT practitioner, I am definitely going to keep this practice in mind.

Resource

Seymore, A. (Host). (2017, September 10). Nature-Based Therapy [Audio podcast episode]. In Glass Half Full. Sofo Studios. https://glasshalffullot.com/podcast/nature-based-therapy/

What Do You Meme?!

I honestly couldn't choose which meme to upload, So I did both! I hope you get a kick out of these!

Every Day Life and Relationships Built

Has there ever been a time where you have taken something for granted? Something so simple that you never even thought twice about because it was just apart of your daily routine instead of the specific plans you made for that day like brushing your teeth, eating, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, etc. I think these every day activities that are apart of your routine are considered to be apart of this "blissful ordinariness" term used in our textbook (O'Brien & Hussey, 2017). I imagine that if I lost the ability to perform these tasks, or could not perform them independently or just as well as I did before injury or illness, it would throw off my sense of normalcy in my daily routine. even though these things seem small, they are very big components to a person's quality of life, and independent self sufficient life.

This relates to the therapeutic relationship and holistic approach because we do not just focus on one thing. There is active listening involved to understand what the client is experiencing not only with their illness/injury, but how that is impacting their life socially, emotionally, mentally, and physically. it is not only the "what" but the "how". Also, empathy plays a role in this relationship on top of what was previously mentioned. We want to know what is wrong, HOW that is affecting them, and with active listening.. we can and want to connect through empathy and create an open line of communication which builds trust in the therapeutic relationship. Keeping in mind that there always has to be practicing professionalism intertwined in it all.

Reference

O’Brien, J. C. & Hussey, S. M. (2017). Introduction to occupational therapy(5thed.).St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc.