The effect of occupational therapy on body image in paraplegic patients

This research was conducted experimentally to identify the effect of occupational therapy (leisure activities) on body image in paraplegic patients. The universe of the research is comprised of paraplegic inpatients who are treated in Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Rehabilitation Center between May-Agust 2008, and the sample of the research is comprised of patients who match the inclusion criteria of the research. The experimental group consisted of patients who participates in leisure activities and the control group consisted of who do not participate in those activities. The data was conducted by Personel Information Form, Illness Information Form, Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and The Multidimentional Body Self Relations Questionary (MBSRQ).MBSRQ was reused after intervention. Data was analyzed by Fisher?s chi square test and the test for variance analysis with repeated measurements using the SPSS programme. According to research results a significant increase is found between pre test and post tests of MBSRQ.But the difference between experimental and control group is not istatistically significant. Significant increase is found between experimental and control groups in terms of MBSRQ Body Areas Satisfaction and Appearance Evaluation subscales. According to the gathered data it was suggested that, serving in rehabilitation areas like hospitals should use leisure activities for patients to develop positive body image.Key Words: Nursing, Body İmage, Spinal Cord Injury, Occupational Therapy, Leisure Activities.