The principal aim of this study was to analyze the effects of differences in hip abduction and external rotation angles on sit-to-stand (STS) movements. Hip abduction and external rotation angles of 0 deg (closed legs parallel to each other) and 45 deg (open legs) of 27 healthy participants were compared. Analysis parameters were the center of pressure, the ground reaction force, and the activities of fourteen muscles using surface electromyography. The center of pressure parameter revealed that standing with open legs requires less anterior-posterior displacement during STS movement. The open leg movement showed that ground reaction force differed slightly for right and left sides. Muscle activity of the erector spinae and tibialis anterior decreased with the STS movement with open legs. In contrast, muscle activity of the adductor longus and the biceps femoris increased.

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Occupational therapy (OT) provided by psychiatric institutions across South Korea is typically conducted by mental health professionals rather than occupational therapists (OTR). There are few psychiatric OTRs in Korea, and none have studied OT through an official program. To identify possible remedies for this situation, we analyzed questionnaire surveys and interviews from 14 OTRs and compared our data to the current literature. We found that OT in Korean psychiatry departments was fraught with legal, educational, and clinical problems. There were no established minimum standards for OT education, OT was typically conducted by other mental health professionals, OTRs found it difficult to gain confidence, and students had not been given the necessary psychiatric fieldwork experience. Examining these results, we found a need for the revision of existing laws and enactment of better laws regarding OT, rationalization of treatment costs, verification of clinical effects, and reform of psychiatric OT training programs.

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To clarify how patients with advanced dementia in a care facility spend time during the day through sequential observation of activities. Methods: Activities of 12 patients with dementia were observed using an original form for monitoring their behavior and applying electroencephalograms (EEGs) with electrooculograms (EOGs) to identify awake and sleep states. Results: The amount of time in an awake state was significantly longer than in the other states, although the awake/sleep rhythm fluctuated in all participants. The subjects were mainly occupied with “unpurposed period”, in which they were inactive, although fully awake. Conclusion: Through reporting daily activities and awake/sleep states during the daytime in patients with dementia in a care facility, serial monitoring of behavior and the recording of biological activity revealed precise knowledge of the actual daily situation of patients with advanced dementia.

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