Date of Award

4-2026

Degree Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Esmeralda Azahar López

Second Advisor

Holly Grieves, OTD, OTRL

Abstract

It is within the occupational therapy (OT) scope of practice to not only address client needs related to mind, body, and spirit, but also those of caregivers as a means of fostering overall improved quality of life. Additionally, when OTs address spirituality and implement spiritual/spirituality-informed interventions, correlations of improved psychosocial factors such as well-being, motivation, and reduced stress have been shown, as well as improved hope and reduced burden for caregivers. There remains, however, a gap in the research and implementation of spiritually informed care and resources specifically as it pertains to caregivers of those with disabilities. To address this gap, this capstone project focused on partnering with an existing program that currently emphasizes holistic care, as a means of establishing and growing resources dedicated to caregiver well-being through the development and implementation of spiritual resources. Objectives included the completion of on-site training, revisiting relevant site needs and participant recruitment, the creation of both a staff and caregiver website, and administering pre/post curriculum assessments of psychosocial factors and participant knowledge of spiritually informed topics. Per comparison of pre/post curriculum assessments, staff participants demonstrated improved knowledge, implementation, and empowerment related to supporting spiritual care amongst caregivers, and caregivers demonstrated improvements in psychosocial factors and frequency of spiritual experiences. Occupational therapists would benefit from this work as a means of enabling caregivers to tend to their spiritual and holistic well-being to promote greater outcomes as they carry out occupations of caregiving.

Download

Share

COinS