Orthopaedic / Hand Case Study (Katriona Buhler)

Originally from http://handtherapycanbefun.weebly.com/the-kawa-model.html – read full article there.

Extract:

Occupational Therapy Actions Using the KAWA Model

Rocks

• Assess body mechanics as Jim performs tasks that generally cause him pain. Provide tips on how to alter body mechanics and educate about when to rest. Provide night splints and additional assistive stabilizing wrist equipment for use during certain tasks.
• Brain storm additional ideas concerning activities that Jim can do with his friends while he is healing.
  Speak with Jim about recruiting others to help with difficulties he might be having around the house and at school.
• Give Jim ideas of how to approach roommates with requests for help and role-play so Jim feels comfortable doing so. Can someone take notes for him in class? Can someone transcribe notes while he reads them out loud?

River Walls & Bottom

• Explore relationships with roommates and friends. Determine how he feels that his professors and other medical health professionals view him and his current condition. Find ways to help him understand his condition and not feel that it is a personal weakness.
• Examine ways and means to keep Jim involved with his friends, job, and hobbies. Assistive technology provisions might come in handy here. Additional temporary mobility might be useful if he feels that driving is too painful – bus routes, etc.
• Discussion of main environments of school, home, and work to discuss barriers to his participation.
  Jim has good health insurance from his school and so far his injury is not impeding with any medical school policies and regulations.

Driftwood

• Provide information regarding his particular medical injury and see how much of it he already understands. Be aware that he is a medical student and probably understands much of this condition already but highlight this injury in relation to HIM.
• Discuss going to the school counselor if his feelings of shame and weakness begin to feel like a burden to him.
  Provide information on different ways he might carry out tasks so he can still perform certain acts independently.

Water

• Make sure to let Jim use his current abilities to help him when he is performing tasks. Try not to provide too much in the way of support but not too little so that he continues to feel frustrated with his injury.
  Encourage Jim and give him positive feedback in regards to carrying out tasks and the improvement of his condition over time.
• Try to involve members of his social support network (with client’s consent) whenever possible.

Please visit http://handtherapycanbefun.weebly.com/the-kawa-model.html for the full article.