Research question and hypothesis

What exercise programs are most beneficial in Occupational Therapy for stroke patients?
Purpose
To examine and compare the results of two exercise programs used in Occupational Therapy for
first time stroke patients, and see which exercise program is most beneficial (in time and
performance) in the recovery of the patients.
Methodology
The methodology should be something that you could accomplish reasonably with the resources
that are available from multiple Occupational Therapists, as well as the resources we could find
in the hospital we test at. The methodology should all be written in future tense. i.e. 10 subjects
will participate...., the subjects will complete an exercise program....
Two control groups, one group goes through the first exercise program in Occupational Therapy,
while the second group goes through the other exercise program in Occupational Therapy. The
performance will be tested on the first day of the program and last day of the programs. The
mean will be calculated and compared to the other program.
We will be measuring Recovery rate and overall feeling after the program. We will test overall
feeling before the program, using the Omni Scale, then we will complete the program, record the
progress and time we took to complete or feel good again, and complete another Omni scale
survey afterwards to see the effects of the program on the overall feeling of the patients. This is
how we will get our results.
Subjects and demographics of the subjects:
First time Stroke Patients moving onto Occupational Therapy
Age: 55-65
Exclusion criteria: Patients who have had strokes in the past
Inclusion Criteria: First time stroke patients who have not gone through Occupational Therapy
for stroke
Type of study (Case control, randomized control trial, case study, etc.)
- Experimental
Variables:
Independent: Two exercise programs performed in Occupational Therapy for first time stroke
patients
Dependent: Performance of the exercises from the patients
 Specific methods
For about three months three days a week the patients in the exercise programs will perform the
listed exercises in the program they are assigned
Example Exercises:
Stress ball grasp: Having the patient use both arms to squeeze a stress ball as hard as they can,
working on arm muscle and hand mechanics
Balance: Have the patient balance on each leg for 20 seconds, then both legs and balance on a
stunt stand device to help with equilibrium
Leg raises: Sitting on the side of a bed or on a chair, have the patient do 5 leg lifts with each leg,
then 5 of both legs, working on leg and hip strength mechanics
Shoulder rotators: Have the patient make 5 full circles with each arm for shoulder strength,
then 5 using both arms at the same time, working on shoulder mechanics
Confounding variables
- Any activity done outside of the training program. (tell them not to do anything outside of
the program, if they do anything, self report the activity)
Proposed statistical analysis
- Record post and pre tests to determine the change/progress of the exercises in the
programs individually, and the programs as a whole
Strengths and weaknesses of your proposal
- Strengths:
- Focusing on only first time stroke patients will narrow the study down for
Occupational Therapists research for beneficial programs
- Having multiple exercises in the programs will also show which exercises are
most beneficial
- Weaknesses:
- Unable to control what the patients do outside of the programs
- Can not control how much the stroke patient was affected by the stroke (more
severely impacted patients vs. less severely impacted patients)