• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.11-21
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• 2015

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to provide the material about the treatment effect of hand function training and writing training being performed as a part of treatment to improve the function of the non-dominant hand of the patients whose dominant hand is damaged and thus need to improve their non-dominant hand's function. Method : During one month of November, 2013, this study randomly chose five study subjects for hand function training, five for writing training, and ten of control group from 20 normal male and female adults going to K Univ. in Busan. All study subjects fully understood all of the training course, agreed to take the test in this study, and volunteered to participate in the test. Each training was performed five times for two weeks, 30 minutes each time. For measurement, Purdue pegboard was used to look into the change of hand dexterity. To investigate an improvement in hand function through hand function training and writing training, this study conducted early evaluation before training, interim evaluation, and final evaluation. Result : First, according to the comparison of dominant hand dexterity by group and by method during a training period, the groups of hand function training and of writing training improved dominant hand dexterity more than the control group. Secondly, according to the comparison of non-dominant hand dexterity by group during a training period, the groups of hand function training and of writing training improved dexterity more than the control group. According to the comparison of non-dominant hand dexterity by method during a training period, there was no big difference in dexterity between the groups of hand function training and of writing training and the control group. But, the group of hand function training showed a further improvement. Thirdly, according to the comparison of both-hand dexterity by group and by method during a training period, the groups of hand function training and of writing training improved both-hand dexterity more than the control group. Fourthly, according to the comparison of both-hand handling ability by group and by method during a training period, the groups of hand function training and of writing training improved both-hand handling ability more than the control group. Conclusion : Given the study result, it is considered that hand function training and writing training help brain damaged patients improve their hand function for their daily activity. And it will be meaningful to research brain damaged patients' motor skills after their brain damage, and the patients who have low abilities of visual perception and cognition. In the future, it will be necessary to secure more study subjects and perform systematic training during a sufficient test period.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Therapy
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.13-26
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• 2018

Objective : The aim of the study was to investigate the application of nonpharmacological cognitive interventions in patients with dementia. Methods : We searched published studies in KISS, PubMed, and Sciencedirect databases from January 2013 to December 2017. The main keywords used were "Dementia" AND "Cognitive stimulation OR Cognitive rehabilitation OR Cognitive training" and a total of ten studies were selected for analysis from 753 searched articles. Results : Seven of the ten selected studies showed significant improvements in cognitive function after intervention, whereas three studies showed no improvement in cognitive function; however, activation of brain waves, improvement in the relationship between care givers and patients, improvement in the quality of life of care givers, and improvements in visual motor skills were shown. Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE) was used as the assessment tool for identifying the effects of the cognitive function improvement, and in four studies the quality of life of dementia patients was measured as an intervention effect. The main subject of the cognitive intervention is patients with mild to moderate dementia. Conclusion : The results of this study can be used as a basis for the selection of intervention methods, as well as their duration and assessment, according to the characteristics of dementia patients.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.34-46
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• 2023

Objective : The purpose of this study was to systematically analyze the methods by which virtual reality (VR)-based occupational therapy interventions are applied to disabled children and adolescents and to assess their effectiveness. Methods : The RISS, DBpia, KCI, Science Direct, and CINAHL MEDLINE databases were searched for relevant literature from January 2012 to August 2022. The main search terms used were "virtual reality," "work therapy," "youth," "virtual reality," "occupational therapy," "child," and "adolescent." A total of 16 documents were selected for analysis by the 4th stage of the PRISMA flowchart. Results : In the 16 selected studies, VR-based occupational therapy when used with children and adolescents with disabilities and was shown to have meaningful effects. Among the types of cerebral palsy covered in the studies, the most common was hemiplegia, and the evaluation tools used for measurement of the VR effect were daily activities, cognition, exercise technology, social-interaction technology, and visual-perception evaluation. Nintendo wii and Microsoft Kinect produced the VR tools most commonly used to improve motor skills and daily life. Conclusion : The results of this study indicate that VR interventions can be used effectively in clinical practice. In the future, they may assist in the diagnosis of disabled children and adolescents, in helping to select VR tools that are suitable for the purposes of intervention, and in the presentation of specific methods.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2024

Objective : The purpose of this study was to confirm the characteristics and quality of a single-subject research that conducted interventions to improve activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. Methods : 'Stroke,' 'activities of daily living,' and 'single-subject studies' were searched as keywords among papers published in the last 15 years between 2009 and 2023 among Research Information Sharing Service, DBpia, and e-articles. A total of nine papers were examined for the characteristics and quality before analysis. Results : The independent variables applied to improve ADL included constraint-induced therapy, mental practice for performing functional activities, virtual reality-based task training, subjective postural vertical training without visual feedback, bilateral upper limb movement, core stability training program, traditional occupational therapy and neurocognitive rehabilitation, smooth pursuit eye movement, neck muscle vibration, and occupation-based community rehabilitation. Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was the most common evaluation tool for measuring dependent variables, with four articles, and Modified Barthel Index and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure were two articles each. As a result of confirming the qualitative level of the analyzed papers, out of a total of nine studies, seven studies were at a high level, two at a moderate level, and none were at a low level. Conclusion : Various types of rehabilitation treatments have been actively applied as intervention methods to improve the daily life activities of stroke patients; the quality level of single-subject studies applying ADL interventions was reliable.