How the occupational balance of healthcare professionals changed in the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed design study.

BACKGROUND: Although it has been possible for many people to make a gradual transition to normal life or routine activities, the same seems far off for healthcare professionals. The current study examines in depth how the occupational balance of healthcare professionals has changed in the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The current study has a mixed design, which involves collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. In the first stage of the study, which is the quantitative one, Turkish Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11-T) was used to collect data, whereas the second stage of the study, which is the qualitative one, was designed to explore occupational balance and the related issues via using semi-structured interviews. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare parameters between the groups (working in active-passive contact with COVID patients). On the other hand, qualitative data were evaluated via consensual qualitative data analysis. RESULTS: The level of occupational balance of healthcare professionals included in the study group was found to be significantly lower than the level of occupational balance of healthcare professionals included in the control group (P = .005). Although there was no clear problem in self-care activities of healthcare professionals, the balance between productivity and leisure time activities was disrupted. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational balance and leisure time use of healthcare professionals, especially those who have active contact with COVID patients, have been affected. A further investigation can be carried out according to gender, age, and other demographic qualities.

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Turkish Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Cognitive Functioning Scale (PedsQLTM-CFS) in children with cancer.

The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Cognitive Functioning Scale (PedsQLTM-CFS) was developed as a brief, general, symptom-specific tool to measure cognitive function. The 6-item PedsQL™ Cognitive Functioning Scale and PedsQL 3.0 Cancer Module answered 369 parents and 330 children with 5-18 years. Parents also completed Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The PedsQL™ Cognitive Functioning Scale evidenced excellent reliability (parent proxy-report α = 0.980/Fleiss Kappa: 0.794; children self-report α = 0.963/Fleiss Kappa: 0.790). Both child self-report and parent proxy-report PedsQL™ Cognitive Functioning Scale scores exhibited significant correlations with all parent-report BRIEF summary and subscale scores (p < .05). Both child self-report and parent proxy-report PedsQL™ Cognitive Functioning Scale scores exhibited significant correlations with PedsQL 3.0 Cancer Module total score and subscale scores (p < .05). The PedsQLTM-CFS can be used in high-risk populations with substantial to perfect reliability, both in regards to total/subcategory scores as well as in children with cancer.

A new tool to measure occupational balance: Adolescent Occupational Balance Scale (A-OBS).

BACKGROUND: The concept of occupational balance in adolescents is not clear enough. AIM: The current study aims at developing a valid and reliable scale to measure occupational balance in adolescents. METHOD: We conducted online interviews with the participant adolescents via semi-structured interview forms. We applied the Davis technique twice to 10 expert panellists and the test form to 600 individuals. Two weeks later, we re-tested 153 of the participants. We then carried out item analysis to evaluate the internal consistency of the scale. We also conducted explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the construct validity of the scale. FINDINGS: The content validity index of the scale was found to be 0.986. EFA showed that the scale consisting of 27 items had a six-factor structure explaining 56.7% of the total variance. Model fit indices about the structure created by factor combination technique in CFA were CMIN/df = 2.135; RMSEA = 0.06; GFI = 0.866; NFI = 0.81, CFI = 0.887, TLI = 0.868; IFI = 0.89. The analysis to test the reliability of the scale resulted in ICC: 0.993 and Cronbach's alpha: 0.997. Pre-test and post-test analyses showed very strong correlational coefficients (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: A-OBS is a valid and reliable scale consisting of 27 items and 4 sub-dimensions. It can be used in studies that will focus on occupational balance in healthy adolescents. It is the first occupational balance scale developed for adolescents in the occupational therapy literature. We recommend further studies to validate the scale and adapt it to different languages and cultures.

Occupational self-perception level effects on the development of kinesiophobia in individuals with total knee arthroplasty.

Introduction: The development of kinesiophobia after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) has been one of the important issues. However, the early results and the presence of kinesiophobia before surgery have not been adequately investigated. In addition, the effects of factors such as pain perception, postoperative pain level, and demographic characteristics were mentioned. However, occupational factors such as occupational expectations and occupational self-perception level have not been adequately investigated. Methods: Each assessment tool was administered three times: once on the first day of the preoperative period and then again at the third and sixth weeks after the surgery. The assessment tools employed were the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, Occupational Self Assessment, and Timed Up and Go test. To analyze the differences in Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia scores, a one-way ANOVA was conducted. Subsequently, the patients were categorized into two groups based on their level of kinesiophobia: high and low. Independent sample t-tests were employed to compare continuous and normally distributed data between the two groups, while the Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normally distributed data. The Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the relationship between continuous data, whereas the Spearman rank-order correlation was employed for non-normally distributed data. Results: High levels of kinesiophobia were identified in individuals both prior to and following surgery. Significant differences were observed between the high and low kinesiophobia groups in terms of the mean OSA Competency (p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in relation to the other evaluation scores during the follow-up periods. Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between TSK score and OSA Competence results (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Occupational self-perception levels effect the level of kinesiophobia in individuals with TKA and high rates of kinesiophobia observed before the surgery intensified after the surgery, especially in the early period. It may be necessary to focus more on factors such as individual factors, individuals' values, habits, and beliefs.