Grounded in Wellness: A Holistic Approach to Managing Fear of Falling in Alzheimer\u27s and Dementia

Date: 04/23/2025 Student Name: Kimberly Perry Capstone Project Title: Grounded in Wellness: A Holistic Approach to Managing Fear of Falling in Alzheimer\u27s and Dementia Capstone Faculty Advisor: Thierry Lienou, OTD, OTR/L, CAPS, ATP Abstract: The fear of falling is a significant concern for individuals with Alzheimer\u27s disease and other related dementia. This fear often leads to reduced mobility, a lack of consistent social engagement, and lower quality of life (Soysal et al., 2021). This project seeks to establish a multidisciplinary intervention program that integrates occupational therapy, yoga therapy, and sound therapy to reduce the fear of falling in older adults with dementia. In addition, this program is collaborative effort that engages healthcare professionals, caregivers, community base program leaders striving to enhance the lives of individuals affected by dementia. The program aims to strengthen physical balance and reduce anxiety, while improving cognitive and functional independence. Activities alleviate anxiety and enhance emotional regulation, both essential for lessening the risk of falls (Green et al., 2019; Madhivanan et al., 2021). Sound therapy relieves stress and promotes relaxation. While occupational therapy improves independence and safety in activities of daily living. (Ito et al, 2022). Literature shows the potential of these methods having a positive effect in a contributing factor of reducing the fear following among individuals living with dementia. Additional research is needed to determine long term methods and results and effectiveness of these interventions

Water supply, sanitation and health risks in Yaounde, Cameroon

Population growth and rapid urbanization in Cameroon have led to major demographic changes in the urban centres, potentially resulting in serious environmental problems in the most populated cities such as Yaounde. In order to better understand the impacts on the hygiene conditions in certain quarters of this political capital, we carried out in March 2007, an investigation on the difficulties of water supply, sanitation and health problems. The investigation involved 1397 households distributed among 7 quarters with informal settlements. 17% of households only had a private connection to national company of drinking water distribution (CAMWATER) because of the lack of infrastructure and the high cost of the connection. The households which are unable to afford the cost of getting connected to CAMWATER network, exploit water from CAMWATER public paying fountain (56% of households), wells (17% of households), springs (4% of households), bore-holes (0.07% of household) and rivers (0.001% of household) to satisfy their needs. The majority of these water points (wells, springs and rivers) could be polluted, because of the informal nature of settlements which leads to proximity of habitats to latrines and to points of discharge of waste (solid and liquids). The health problems issuing probably from these potential polluted water points which at times occur as stagnant ponds around the dwellings is shown by the population of the zone of study in particular cases of malaria (100% of households), diarrhoea (24% of household), dysentery (24% of household), typhoid (0.07% of household), skin disease (0.07% of households). These results highlight the problems to which the authorities in charge of the environment and health must first bring a solution in a context to fight against poverty in Cameroon.Key words: Environment, cleansing, drinking water, peri-urban zone, Yaounde

Development of a Mindfulness and Visual Arts Program to Support Emotional Self-Regulation in Children with ADHD in Community-Based Settings

Date: 04/23/2025 Student Name: Jeanine S. Robinson Capstone Project Title: Development of a Mindfulness and Visual Arts Program to Support Emotional Self-Regulation in Children with ADHD in Community-Based Settings Capstone Faculty Advisor: Dr.Thierry Lienou, OTD, OTR/L,CAPS,ATP Abstract: Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) frequently experience challenges with emotional self-regulation that can significantly impact their participation in educational, social, and recreational activities. Although mindfulness and visual arts interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in promoting emotional regulation, limited resources exist that integrate these strategies into community-based environments. This doctoral capstone project addresses this gap through the development of a mindfulness and visual arts program specifically designed to support emotional self-regulation in children with ADHD within a children’s museum setting. Using a mixed methods approach, this project incorporated a comprehensive literature review, analysis of both museum demographic data and local demographic data from Gulfport, Mississippi, a predictive analysis using secondary data sources, and alignment with the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center (LMDC)’s 2021–2026 Strategic Plan. The resulting program includes structured lesson plans, staff training materials, and caregiver resources designed to be accessible, adaptable, and grounded in evidence-based occupational therapy frameworks. Program evaluation—focused on feasibility, stakeholder alignment, and sustainability—revealed a strong institutional fit, high potential for long-term integration, and an estimated annual reach of over 9,100 children with ADHD based on predictive analysis of museum visitation trends. These findings support the need for accessible, non-clinical interventions in community settings and highlight the potential of children’s museums to serve as effective, inclusive environments for promoting emotional self-regulation among neurodiverse children. By embedding mindfulness and visual arts activities into museum programming, the program provides a scalable, non-clinical model for supporting emotional self-regulation development among children with ADHD in informal learning environments

The Development of a Social-Emotional Learning Toolkit on Emotional Intelligence in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorde

Date: 04/23/2025 Student Name: Lauryn Gaston Capstone Project Title: The Development of a Social-Emotional Learning Toolkit on Emotional Intelligence in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Capstone Faculty Advisor: Thierry Lienou, OTD, OTR/L, CAPS, ATP Abstract: Purpose: This project aims to develop and evaluate a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) toolkit designed to enhance emotional intelligence in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), supporting their emotional and social development. Background and Significance: Since the 1960s, SEL has gained recognition for promoting academic and personal growth. Children with ASD often struggle with emotional recognition, regulation, and social reciprocity—core components of SEL. Addressing these challenges through targeted interventions is critical for supporting their mental health, learning, and peer relationships. Statement of the Problem: Children with ASD face persistent difficulties in processing and expressing emotions, impacting their ability to engage socially and succeed academically. Current SEL approaches may not fully meet their unique needs, underscoring the need for a tailored intervention. Research Design: The project uses a design grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Equitable Teaching and Learning Framework. It incorporates CASEL’s core SEL competencies to guide implementation within MCPS elementary classrooms. Methods: Development of the SEL toolkit is informed by a needs assessment, secondary data analysis and expert review. The toolkit includes evidence-based strategies for enhancing self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship skills. Results: Initial results include the presentation of the toolkit to MCPS educators, therapists, and administrators. Stakeholders will evaluate its relevance, accessibility, and effectiveness in meeting the emotional and educational needs of students with ASD. Discussion: Feedback from stakeholders will shape refinements to the toolkit, ensuring it aligns with classroom demands and ASD-specific challenges. The focus remains on creating an adaptable, inclusive tool that supports diverse learners. Conclusion: The SEL toolkit holds promise for enhancing emotional intelligence in children with ASD, equipping them with foundational skills for lifelong social and academic success

Title: Primary Dysmenorrhea: Associated Symptoms, Impact and Management among Females in the Menoua Division of the West Region of Cameroon. Cross-sectional Study Running Title: Primary Dysmenorrhea in the Menoua Division

Primary dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation in the absence of pelvic pathology is a common and often debilitating gynecological condition that affects between 45% and 95% of women at reproductive age. The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and associated menstrual symptoms and their self-management techniques among females. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Menoua Division, which has six subdivisions namely: Fokoue, Dschang, NKongni, Penka Michel, Santchou and Fongo tongo .For this purpose, 668 women aged from 12 to 38 years were considered. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The main results revealed that dysmenorrhea was reported on almost two-thirds of the women (66.17%). In the 442 girls who reported dysmenorrhea Severe pain was reported by 20.71 % of respondents. More than one-third of the respondents (39.75%) reported using pain relief medications with 23.38 % of herbal medicine and 76.54 % of synthetic medicines. The gastrointestinal problems (diarrhoea and vomiting were the most common symptoms experienced. Less than 19.41% of respondents reported having consulted a doctor for their dysmenorrhea, while most of them consulted friends and family.Dysmenorrhea is a very common problem among university students. A number of symptoms were related to dysmenorrhea. Even though it is common, and may not have a pathological cause, few women seek medical advice. Increasing the awareness might help in relieving the burden of this common health problem

Influence of Altitudes on Sporangia Size and Aggressiveness of Phytophthoracolocasiae Isolates in Cameroon

A study was carried out in four altitudes in Cameroon to assess the size of the sporangia and the aggressiveness of Phytophthoracolocasiae isolates on taro cultivars. The study was conducted in the West and Littoral regions, which include high, medium and low altitude. Sporangia sizes were measured with the microscope on 50 sporangia collected from each isolate and the cross infectivity of the isolates was assessed on leaf fragments of four cultivars; namely Green Purplish Petiole (GPP), Pink Petiole (PP)

Evaluation de la qualité de vie dans le Syndrome de Gougerot-Sjögren primitif

Le syndrome de Gougerot-Sjögren (SGS) est une épithélite auto-immune caractérisée par une infiltration lymphocytaire TCD4+ prédominante, intéressant essentiellement les glandes salivaires et lacrymales exprmant la xérostomie et la xérophtalmie. Le score ESSPRI (Sjögren’s syndrome patient reported index) dédié aux malades permet d’évaluer l’activité de ces symptômes C’est ainsi que, nous nous sommes fixés comme objectif d’évaluer la qualité de vie dans le SGS primitif avec le questionnaire SF-36.  Patients et méthode: Il s’agissait d’une étude cas-témoins, randomisée selon le sexe et l’âge, réalisée dans le service de Rhumatologie du CHU Aristide Le Dantec de Dakar entre Avril 2022 et juin 2024.Nous avons inclus des patients atteints de SGS primitif (bras 1) et des sujets sains (bras 2) ayant tous renseignés le questionnaire SF-36. Le diagnostic de la maladie de Sjögren reposait sur la confrontation d’arguments épidémiologiques, cliniques, paracliniques en accord avec les critères de classification de l’ACR-EULAR de 2016. Résultats: Cent cas de SGS primitifs ont été appariés avec 100 témoins sains, dont dans chaque bras, 86 femmes et 14 hommes. L’âge médian était respectivement de 53 ans (extrêmes : 20-85) chez les patients et 52,5 ans (extrêmes : 20-84) chez les témoins. Le syndrome sec oculaire et / ou buccal était constant, Il était associé à une atteinte articulaire (forme arthro-glandulaire) dans 80% des cas. La biopsie des glandes salivaires accessoires retrouvait un grade 3 ou 4 de Chisholm et Mason dans 88% des cas. L’ESSPRI concluait à des symptômes non supportables dans 86,76% cas. Les auto-anticorps anti-SSA étaient positifs dans 17/78 cas (21,80%). Conclusion : Notre étude montre une altération significative de la qualité de vie des patients dans toutes les dimensions du SF-36 par rapport aux témoins sains. Cette altération de la qualité était plus marquée dans les domaines RP, BP et GH avec des scores inférieurs à 50 sur 100.   Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome (SGS) is an autoimmune epithelitis characterized by a predominant TCD4+ lymphocytic infiltration, mainly involving the salivary and lacrimal glands expressing xerostomia and xerophthalmia. The ESSPRI score (Sjögren's syndrome patient-reported index) dedicated to patients makes it possible to evaluate the activity of these symptoms. This is why we set ourselves the objective of evaluating the quality of life in primary SS with the SF questionnaire. -36. Patients and method: This was a case-control study, randomized according to sex and age, carried out in the Rheumatology department of the Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital in Dakar between April 2022 and June 2024. We included patients with primary SS (arm 1) and healthy subjects (arm 2) who all completed the SF-36 questionnaire. The diagnosis of Sjögren's disease was based on the comparison of epidemiological, clinical and paraclinical arguments in accordance with the 2016 ACR-EULAR classification criteria. Results: One hundred cases of primary SS were matched with 100 healthy controls, including 86 women and 14 men in each arm. The median age was 53 years (range: 20-85) in patients and 52.5 years (range: 20-84) in controls, respectively. Dry eye and/or mouth syndrome was constant. It was associated with joint damage (arthroglandular form) in 80% of cases. Biopsy of accessory salivary glands found Chisholm and Mason grade 3 or 4 in 88% of cases. The ESSPRI concluded that symptoms were unbearable in 86.76% of cases. Anti-SSA autoantibodies were positive in 17/78 cases (21.80%).  Conclusion: Our study shows a significant impairment in patients' quality of life in all dimensions of the SF-36 compared to healthy controls. This alteration in quality was more marked in the RP, BP and GH domains with scores below 50 out of 100

Caractérisation des relation eaux de surface - eaux souterrain en milieu tropical sec : exemple du bassin de la Nema (sine Saloum, Sénégal).

Les nappes d'eau phréatiques, facilement accessibles, sont les réserves les plus sollicitées dans les régions tropicales sèches. Une étude de leurs interactions avec les eaux de surface a été entreprise conjointement par le département des eaux continentales de l'ORSTOM - Dakar et le laboratoire d'hydrogéologie de l'université Cheikh Anta Diop. Cet article présente les principaux résultats obtenus dans le Sine - Saloum(Sénégal). La nappe phréatique est contenue dans les formations argilo sableuses du continental terminal. Sa profondeur augmente considérablement du bas-fond marécageux vers les zones de plateau. La surface piézométrique épouse les formes de la vallée. Les lignes de courant indiquent un écoulement radial convergeant vers la rivière. Pendant la saison de pluie (juillet à octobre), la nappe emmagasine importante quantité d'eau avec une vitesse d'infiltration- d'environ 5 m/j. Au cours de la longue saison sèche (novembre à juin), la réserve souterraine régulatrice s'amenuise progressivement pour s'annuler à la fin de la saison. Le bilan de l'hydrosystème montre deux sources de vidange de la nappe superficielle : - la résurgence sur les berges commence au milieu de là saison de pluie et se poursuit pendant la saison sèche. Elle draine annuellement 4 à212 % de la réserve. - la reprise évaporatoire, épisode: clique pendant la saison de pluie et continue en saison sèche, est le principal facteur d'épuisement de la réserve en eau du bassin. Elle reprend annuellement environ 90 % de la masse d'eau emmagasinée. Aussi les mouvements d'eau sont dominés par des transferts verticaux entre la nappe et l'atmosphère, conditionnés par le degré hygrométrique de l'air

Évaluation de la qualité de vie dans le Syndrome de Gougerot-Sjögren primitif

Introduction: Le syndrome de Gougerot-Sjögren (SGS) est une épithélite auto-immune caractérisée par une infiltration lymphocytaire TCD4+ prédominante, intéressant essentiellement les glandes salivaires et lacrymales exprimant la xérostomie et la xérophtalmie. Le score ESSPRI (European League Against Rheumatism) dédié aux malades permet d’évaluer l’activité de ces symptômes C’est ainsi que, nous nous sommes fixés comme objectif d’évaluer la qualité de vie dans le SGS primitif avec le questionnaire SF-36. Patients et méthode: Il s’agissait d’une étude cas-témoins, réalisée dans le service de Rhumatologie du CHU Aristide Le Dantec de Dakar entre Avril 2022 et juin 2024. Nous avons inclus des patients atteints de SGS primitif (bras 1) et des sujets sains (bras 2) ayant tous renseigné le questionnaire SF-36. Le diagnostic de la maladie de Sjögren reposait sur la confrontation d’arguments épidémiologiques, cliniques, paracliniques en accord avec les critères de classification de l’ACR-EULAR de 2016. Résultats: Cent cas de SGS primitifs ont été appariés avec 100 témoins sains, dont dans chaque bras, 86 femmes et 14 hommes. L’âge médian était respectivement de 53 ans (extrêmes : 20-85) chez les patients et 52,5 ans (extrêmes : 20-84) chez les témoins. Le syndrome sec oculaire et / ou buccal était constant, Il était associé à une atteinte articulaire (forme arthro-glandulaire) dans 80% des cas. La biopsie des glandes salivaires accessoires retrouvait un grade 3 ou 4 de Chisholm et Mason dans 88% des cas. L'ESPRI (European League Against Rheumatism) conclut à des symptômes non supportables dans 86,76% chez les cas index. Les auto-anticorps anti-SSA étaient positifs dans 17/78 cas (21,80%). Conclusion : Notre étude montre une altération significative de la qualité de vie des patients dans toutes les dimensions du SF-36 par rapport aux témoins sains. Cette altération de la qualité de vie était plus marquée dans les domaines RP (rôle physique) santé perçue limitation due à l’état physique; BP(body pain) douleur physique et GH(général health avec des scores inférieurs à 50 sur 100.  Introduction: Sjögren's syndrome (SGS) is an autoimmune epithelitis characterized by a predominant TCD4+ lymphocyte infiltration, mainly involving the salivary and lacrimal glands expressing xerostomia and xerophthalmia. The ESSPRI (European League Against Rheumatism) score dedicated to patients makes it possible to evaluate the activity of these symptoms. Thus, we have set ourselves the objective of evaluating the quality of life in primary SGS with the SF-36 questionnaire. Patients and method: One hundred cases of primary SGS were matched with 100 healthy controls, including 86 women and 14 men in each arm. The median age was 53 years (range: 20-85) in patients and 52.5 years (range: 20-84) in controls, respectively. The dry ocular and/or oral syndrome was constant, it was associated with joint involvement (arthro-glandular form) in 80% of cases. Biopsy of the accessory salivary glands found a grade 3 or 4 Chisholm and Mason grade in 88% of cases. The ESPRIT (European League Against Rheumatism) concludes that symptoms are unbearable in 86.76% of index cases. Anti-SSA autoantibodies were positive in 17/78 cases (21.80%). Results: One hundred cases of primary SGS were matched with 100 healthy controls, including 86 women and 14 men in each arm. The median age was 53 years (range: 20-85) in patients and 52.5 years (range: 20-84) in controls, respectively. The dry ocular and/or oral syndrome was constant, it was associated with joint involvement (arthro-glandular form) in 80% of cases. Biopsy of the accessory salivary glands found a grade 3 or 4 Chisholm and Mason grade in 88% of cases. The ESPRIT (European League Against Rheumatism) concludes that symptoms are unbearable in 86.76% of index cases. Anti-SSA autoantibodies were positive in 17/78 cases (21.80%). Conclusion: Our study shows a significant impairment in patients' quality of life in all dimensions of SF-36 compared to healthy controls. This alteration in the quality of life was more pronounced in the domains of PR (physical role), perceived health, limitation due to physical condition; BP (body pain) physical pain and GH (general health with scores below 50 out of 100