Üsküdar Üniversitesi Institute of Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Master’s Program and the Music Therapy Application and Research Center (MÜTEM) organized the scientific program “2nd Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices.” In the program, led by Prof. Dr. Sevda Asaqarova, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department, expert occupational therapists in the field emphasized the concept of ‘evidence-based practice.’
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Pekçetin, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Ankara Gülhane Faculty of Health Sciences, along with Erg. Berna Ocaktan, Erg. Zeynep Ender, Erg. Burcugül Onurlucan, Erg. Zeynep Gün, Erg. Mahmut Esen, Erg. Halime Dursun, Erg. Alin Zekiye Tüz, and Erg. Buse Aydın participated in the online program.
Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova: “The essential thing is to bring together clinical evidence obtained from scientific research…”
Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, delivered the opening speech for the event. Emphasizing the importance of all disciplines within the team coming together in evidence-based practices, Prof. Dr. Asqarova pointed out that the aim here is to demonstrate the importance between research results and practice. Asqarova stated: “In this direction, to provide the best service to individuals, proven resources, patient preferences, and expert opinions on clinical practice are very important. The essential thing is to bring together clinical evidence obtained from scientific research.
For this, a comprehensive and coordinated effort with evidence-based practices as an interdisciplinary intervention model is needed.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Pekçetin: “Üsküdar once again demonstrates its commitment to developing evidence-based practices”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Pekçetin, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Ankara Gülhane Faculty of Health Sciences, also made remarks in his opening speech. Pekçetin stated: “It is a great pleasure to be a part of Üsküdar Üniversitesi. I first met my esteemed colleague Sevda in 2019 at the first student congress. With its outstanding academic staff, talented personnel, and visionary management, Üsküdar Üniversitesi once again demonstrates its commitment to developing evidence-based practices in the field of health. I would also like to extend my thanks once again to Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova, who led the successful organization of this meeting. Her valuable contributions and leadership have been a major factor in the event achieving its goal. I am very hopeful that we will take the opportunity to learn from each other and further advance our profession by coming together at this wonderful event.”
Erg. Zeynep Ender: “Occupational therapy is a profession that offers evidence-based interventions”
Erg. Zeynep Ender, who shared her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Practices in Occupational Development during Childhood’ with the participants, stated: “Occupational therapists are concerned with how people develop occupations throughout their lives. Children, without needing any guidance, find opportunities in their environment and develop their occupational participation along with their performance skills. Occupational therapy is a profession that offers evidence-based interventions to support children's occupational participation. For evidence-based practices, the expert's clinical knowledge and experience, the client's expectations, demands, and values, as well as evidence presented in research, are of great importance.”
Erg. Berna Ocaktan: “A neurodevelopmental disorder observed in early childhood”
Erg. Berna Ocaktan, who gave her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Interventions in Developmental Coordination Problems’ at the event, stated that Developmental Coordination Disorder problems are a neurodevelopmental disorder observed in early childhood. Ocaktan said: “Occupational therapists apply proven interventions in this area. Sensory Integration, CO-OP, NTT, and virtual reality applications are examples of these interventions.”
Erg. Burcugül Onurlucan: “The occupational therapist must consider the child’s motor skills”
Erg. Burcugül Onurlucan, who delivered her presentation titled ‘DIR Floortime in Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices’, stated that the occupational therapist’s goal is to draw the child into the shared world by entering their world while following the child’s lead. Onurlucan explained: “Floortime is a comprehensive program developed for children experiencing many developmental challenges, including autism, and their parents. The program is individualized. Following the child’s lead, the occupational therapist must consider the child’s personal characteristics, habits, emotional development, emotional, and motor skills. In this program, the occupational therapist’s aim is to draw the child into the shared world by entering their world while following the child’s lead.”
Erg. Zeynep Gün: “Occupational therapy interventions aim to increase individuals’ quality of life”
Erg. Zeynep Gün shared her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Practices in Oncological Rehabilitation’ with the participants. Gün stated: “Cancer is a disease that has psychosocial aspects in addition to being medical. Looking at the literature, it has been observed that individuals with life-threatening illnesses desire to be independent in self-care, leisure, work, and productive activities. In oncological rehabilitation, occupational therapy interventions aim to increase individuals’ participation in daily life activities and their quality of life.”
Erg. Mahmut Esen: “The most frequently cited method for sleep problems in the literature is sleep education”
Erg. Mahmut Esen, who delivered his presentation titled ‘An Occupational Therapist’s Evidence-Based Perspective on Sleep Problems in Children’, stated: “The most frequently cited method for sleep problems in the literature is sleep education. It has been reported that although complaints are reduced after sleep education, the problem does not completely disappear. The biggest reason for this is sensory integration problems accompanying sleep problems. Therefore, interventions in occupational therapy that balance the modulation level will be beneficial.”
Erg. Halime Dursun: “Occupational therapists can apply child-specific, environment-focused, evidence-based occupational therapy interventions”
Erg. Halime Dursun, who delivered her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Interventions in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’, stated: “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect behavioral, emotional, academic, social, and cognitive functions, and is not consistent with the child’s age. Individuals diagnosed with ADHD experience difficulties in executive functions requiring high-level cognitive skills such as self-control, self-regulation, sequencing tasks, and planning. Therefore, occupational therapists can apply child-specific, environment-focused, evidence-based occupational therapy interventions aimed at increasing the child’s performance.”
Erg. Alin Zekiye Tüz: “This is a multidimensional process…”
Erg. Alin Zekiye Tüz, who delivered her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices in Typically Developing Children in Early Childhood’, stated: “Nutrition is a multidimensional process involving the coordination of the central and peripheral nervous systems, oropharyngeal mechanism, cardiopulmonary system, gastrointestinal system, craniofacial structures, and musculoskeletal system, and disruptions experienced in this complex process cause feeding problems. Feeding problems are common in the pediatric population. An approach developed for the early diagnosis of children with feeding problems, especially those between 6 months and 5 years old, and for the assessment and therapy of feeding and growth issues in children is called feeding therapy. Occupational therapists focus on the dual process between caregivers and children to create a safe mealtime and environment by examining many of the child’s performance skills.”
Erg. Buse Aydın: “The main goal is to enable them to perform daily living skills independently”
Erg. Buse Aydın, who shared her presentation titled ‘Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices in Pervasive Developmental Disorders’ with the participants, stated: “These are a group of psychiatric disorders in early childhood characterized by a lack of appropriate development or loss of development in the areas of social skills, language development, and behavior. Generally, these disorders affect many areas of development and lead to permanent functional impairments. For clients with pervasive developmental disorders, the primary goal of occupational therapists is to enable them to perform daily living skills independently. Sensory integration, Floortime, behavioral education programs for autistic children, Pivotal Response Training, and Tomatis auditory stimulation methods are among the evidence-based practice methods.”