Shining a light on sleep - developing Occupational Therapy interventions for clients with rheumatological diagnoses

Background: To satisfy the need of clients with rheumatological diagnosis, the league against Rheumatism Zurich (RLZ) developed a new Occupational Therapy (OT) consulting service focusing on ergonomic positioning in bed and on... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
To satisfy the need of clients with rheumatological diagnosis, the league against Rheumatism Zurich (RLZ) developed a new Occupational Therapy (OT) consulting service focusing on ergonomic positioning in bed and on sleep. Bridging the gap between theory and practice for sleep in OT has been discussed by Fung, C. et al. (2013) and encourages OTs to take a more active role regarding this important topic.
Theoretical underpinning:
The American Occupational Therapy Association recognized the importance of sleep as an occupation (Mercer Picard, 2012) and included it in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (AOTA, 2008).
Assessment / Intervention/ Technique:
The consultation and interventions took place in the client’s homes. In the first phase educational methods were used informing clients about sleep physiology and impact on daily life. The second phase consisted of assessing and adapting the sleep surrounding. Furthermore habits and routines were addressed to support the main intervention according to each clients need.
Evaluation of outcome:
Since 2011 more than a hundred clients have been consulted. Right from the start a surprisingly quick reduction of pain, enhancement in quality of sleep and through that a more satisfying participation in the clients’ life emerged.
Application to practice:
It is promising that the empirical findings could be reproduced by OTs who received little training in the intervention method and transcend different OT fields. Inclusion into education as well as more research on the subject is needed and a study lead by the University of Applied Science Zurich is underway.