Weighted Blankets as a Sleep Intervention: A Scoping Review.

IMPORTANCE: Sleep disorders are associated with a range of health conditions, with poor sleep often further exacerbating individuals' health, well-being, and ability to participate in daily occupations. Weighted blankets offer a potentially simple nonpharmacological sleep intervention option. OBJECTIVE: To summarize available literature on instrumentation and outcomes associated with overnight use of weighted blankets for therapeutic purpose. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A scoping review following the PRISMA review guidelines was conducted. Sources included MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, Embase, and Google. Included studies reported on overnight use of weighted blankets. Critical appraisal of studies was conducted with standardized tools. FINDINGS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Positive outcomes were reported for adults, including improved sleep, reduction in medication use, and improved mood. Sleep outcomes were mixed for children and adolescents but included improved occupational performance. Methodological quality of included studies regarding effectiveness was variable. Ten studies included details of the intervention, whereas only one study reported on implementation. No specific guidelines for use were included. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Weighted blankets are used as a sleep intervention for individuals across the life span experiencing a range of health conditions. Currently, there is more evidence of effectiveness with adults, although parents are favorable regarding weighted blanket use for children. Implementation and recommendation of weighted blankets are typically led by occupational therapists, with knowledge of the intervention facilitating use. This review provides information to inform occupational therapists' clinical decision-making and continued implementation of weighted blankets for individuals with sleep problems. Plain-Language Summary: This scoping review summarizes what is known about the use of weighted blankets as a sleep intervention for people of all ages. There is more evidence for overnight use of weighted blankets for adults, with improvements reported in sleep, mood, medication use, and pain. Although there is little evidence of improvement in sleep for children, some children show improvement in everyday functioning, and parents report positive outcomes from overnight use of weighted blankets. These findings suggest that occupational therapists should consider offering or recommending weighted blankets as a sleep intervention option for people of all ages, alongside consideration of individuals' preferences. Development of practice guidelines that incorporate current research findings is urgently needed to support occupational therapists' use of weighted blankets.

Decision-making processes for non-emergency diabetes-related lower extremity amputations: A scoping review.

Living with a diabetes-related foot ulcer has significant lifestyle impacts. Whilst often considered a last resort, amputation can overcome the burden of ulcer management, for an improved quality of life. However, limited research has been conducted to understand how the decision to amputate is made for people with a chronic ulcer when amputation is not required as a medical emergency. Therefore, the aim was to identify and map key concepts in the literature which describe the decision-making for diabetes-related amputations. This review followed Arksey and O'Malley's PRISMA scoping review framework. Five electronic databases and grey literature were searched for papers which described clinical reasoning and/or decision-making processes for diabetes-related amputation. Data were extracted and mapped to corresponding domains of the World Health Organisation's International Classification of functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. Ninety-four papers were included. Personal factors including emotional wellbeing, quality of life, and treatment goals are key considerations for an elective amputation. It is important to consider an individual's lifestyle and personal circumstances, as well as the pathology when deciding between amputation or conservative management. This highlights the importance of a holistic and shared decision-making process for amputation which includes assessment of a person's lifestyle and function.

Facilitating manual wheelchair skills following lower limb amputation using a group process: A nested mixed methods pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: The manual wheelchair skills training programme is used to structure teaching manual wheelchair use for people following injury or disability. This pilot study aimed to explore the outcomes of introducing a group wheelchair skills training programme on skill performance, confidence and frequency of wheelchair use for people with lower limb amputation in a rehabilitation setting from the perspective of participants and group facilitators. METHOD: This pilot study used a two-phase mixed methods nested design. Eleven people with lower limb amputations received a minimum of two 45-min wheelchair skills sessions, using the Wheelchair Skills Training Program, delivered in a mix of group and one-to-one sessions. In phase one, wheelchair skill performance, confidence and frequency were measured using the Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire-Version 5.0, goal achievement was measured through the Functional Independence Measure and Goal Attainment Scale. These measures were repeated in phase two. Nested within phase two was qualitative data collection. Interviews were conducted with eight participants and a focus group held with three programme facilitators, to gather their perceptions of the training process. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse and report quantitative data and thematic analysis was used to combine qualitative data from the two participant groups. RESULTS: Post intervention, the mean Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire score increased in performance (42.3 ± 13.4), confidence (33.9 ± 20.7) and frequency (33.9 ± 27.3). Goal Attainment was achieved or exceeded by 91% of all participants. Four themes were developed from qualitative data including, "motivators driving learning," "delivery methods, structure and profile of the Wheelchair Skills Training Program," "managing risk and safety" and "confidence in wheelchair use." CONCLUSIONS: The pilot study found that The Wheelchair Skills Training Program can improve wheelchair performance, confidence and frequency to support enhanced safety, independence and quality of life for people with lower limb amputations.

Getting help quickly: older people and community worker perspectives of contingency planning for falls management.

PURPOSE: Older people living in the community need to plan for getting help quickly if they have a fall. In this paper planning for falls is referred to as contingency planning and is not a falls prevention strategy but rather a falls management strategy. This research explored the perspectives of older people and community workers (CWs) about contingency planning for a fall. METHOD: Using a qualitative descriptive approach, participants were recruited through a community agency that supports older people. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven older people (67-89 years of age) and a focus group was held with seven workers of mixed disciplines from the same agency. Older people who hadn't fallen were included but were assumed to be at risk of falls because they were in receipt of services. Thematic analysis and concept mapping combined the data from the two participant groups. RESULTS: Four themes including preconceptions about planning ahead for falling, a fall changes perception, giving, and receiving advice about contingency plans and what to do about falling. CONCLUSION: Both CWs and older people agree contingency planning requires understanding of individual identity and circumstances. CWs have limited knowledge about contingency planning and may be directive, informative, or conservative. Implications for Rehabilitation Falls can result in serious consequences for older people. There is an evidence-practice gap as availability of and access to contingency planning does not necessarily mean older people will use it in a falls emergency. Older people prefer community workers to be directive or informative about contingency planning options but they do want choice and control. Increased community workers knowledge of, and collaborative decision-making about, contingency planning may promote patient-centered services and assist in closing the evidence-practice gap.

Perspectives of older people about contingency planning for falls in the community: A qualitative meta-synthesis.

OBJECTIVE: Despite consistent evidence for the positive impact of contingency planning for falls in older people, implementation of plans often fail. This is likely due to lack of recognition and knowledge about perspectives of older people about contingency planning. The objective of this research was to explore the perspectives of older people living in the community about use of contingency planning for getting help quickly after a fall. METHOD: A systematic literature search seeking qualitative research was conducted in April 2014, with no limit placed on date of publication. Medline, EMBASE, Ageline, CINAHL, HealthSource- Nursing/Academic Edition, AMED and Psych INFO databases were searched. Three main concepts were explored and linked using Boolean operators; older people, falls and contingency planning. The search was updated until February 2016 with no new articles found. After removal of duplicates, 562 articles were assessed against inclusion and exclusion criteria resulting in six studies for the meta-synthesis. These studies were critically appraised using the McMaster critical appraisal tool. Bespoke data extraction sheets were developed and a meta-synthesis approach was adopted to extract and synthesise findings. FINDINGS: Three themes of 'a mix of attitudes', 'careful deliberations' and 'a source of anxiety' were established. Perspectives of older people were on a continuum between regarding contingency plans as necessary and not necessary. Levels of engagement with the contingency planning process seemed associated with acceptance of their risk of falling and their familiarity with available contingency planning strategies. CONCLUSION: Avoiding a long lie on the floor following a fall is imperative for older people in the community but there is a lack of knowledge about contingency planning for falls. This meta-synthesis provides new insights into this area of health service delivery and highlights that implementation of plans needs to be directed by the older people rather than the health professionals.