Purpose: To explore and describe therapeutic approaches for the prevention of upper limb (UL) repetitive strain injuries (RSI) amongst computer users in the twenty-first century.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the method described by Arksey and O'Malley, further enhanced by Levac et al. to ensure rigor, validity and reliability during analysis.
Introduction: Acquired brain injuries (ABIs) form part of the caseload of occupational therapists treating adult clients with neurological conditions. One adjunct to treatment of the upper limb condition following ABI is splinting. Little is known about the occupational therapy splinting practices in this field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) that has been translated and cross-culturally adapted to at least 50 languages. Since the measure was developed in 1996, many researchers have reported on the construct validity (including structural and cross-cultural validity) of this instrument following translation and cross-cultural adaptation. The aim of this scoping review was to identify the methods used for the psychometric evaluation of structural and cross-cultural validity of the DASH questionnaire.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccup Ther Health Care
January 2025
The study aimed to explore six public service users' perspectives on the impact their upper limb injury or condition has on their everyday lives while receiving occupational therapy intervention at a public hospital in the context of the Northern Cape of South Africa. An interpretivist phenomenological approach was employed. Data was collected using reflexive photography and semi-structured interviews.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Using meaningful activities as a treatment modality is characteristic of occupation-based intervention (OBI). The benefits of OBI have been described, but not the effectiveness thereof. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of OBI in relation to the type, commencement, duration and outcomes as reported in literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuality of life is enhanced by engagement in meaningful activities and participation using our hands. In African countries, people rely predominantly on the use of their hands to engage in economic productive activities, including agricultural, fishing, mining and construction, that are largely performed by machines in high-income contexts. Anecdotal evidence suggests a high incidence of flexor tendon injuries that are managed using protocols that were adopted from high-income countries and implemented without considering contextual differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen patient-reported measures are translated and cross-culturally adapted into any language, the process should conclude with cognitive interviewing during pretesting. This article reports on translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire into Afrikaans (for the Western Cape). This qualitative component of a clinical measurement, longitudinal study was aimed at the pretesting and cognitive interviewing of the prefinal Afrikaans (for the Western Cape) DASH questionnaire highlighting the iterative nature thereof.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Translation and cross cultural adaptation of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) involves a step referred to as harmonisation, following forward and backward translation of the measure. This article proposes the introduction of methods not previously included in the process of harmonisation. The aim of the study was to introduce shared decision making (SDM) and the practice of community translation (CT) during the harmonisation of the Afrikaans for the Western Cape version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, a PROM that measures symptoms and activity and participation in persons with upper limb conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Occup Rehabil
March 2019
Purpose The objective of this systematic review was to identify, collate and analyse the current available evidence on the effectiveness of workplace-based rehabilitative interventions in workers with upper limb conditions on work performance, pain, absenteeism, productivity and other outcomes. Methods We searched Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information, CINAHL, OTSeeker and PEDro with search terms in four broad areas: upper limb, intervention, workplace and clinical trial (no date limits). Studies including neck pain only or musculoskeletal pain in other areas were not included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Systematic review.
Introduction: The Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire has multiple language versions from many countries around the world. In addition there is extensive research evidence of its psychometric properties.