More Than Good Intentions: Advancing Adherence to Therapy Recommendations

Is Occupational Therapy Adequately Meeting the Needs of People With Chronic Pain?

Occupational Therapy Is a Vital Member of the Interprofessional Team-Based Approach for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Applying the 2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Exercise, Rehabilitation, Diet, and Additional Integrative Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

History, Current Practice, and the Future of Wound Care for Occupational and Physical Therapists.

Special Issue on Productive Aging: Evidence and Opportunities for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Research is limited regarding parent-caregiver perspectives of occupational therapy (OT) intervention for children with challenges in sensory processing and integration and whether changes immediately following OT intervention are sustained over time. To evaluate whether changes in identified goals are maintained following OT intervention and to determine what aspects of OT intervention parents-caregivers perceive to be most valuable. A mixed-methods research design. A large midwestern pediatric hospital, with follow-up telephone interviews with parents-caregivers. Sixteen children with sensory challenges and their parents-caregivers. Children participated in 1-hr OT intervention sessions, 3 days per wk, for 6 to 7 wk. Parents-caregivers of children who completed OT intervention were interviewed via the telephone 6 to 12 mo after the intervention. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) were used to determine whether changes were made and sustained over time. Qualitative data on caregiver perceptions of OT intervention were collected via open-ended questions during phone interviews. COPM and GAS scores before intervention were statistically significant compared with scores immediately following intervention and at 6- to 12-mo follow-up. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data. Children with sensory challenges made significant changes related to occupational performance following OT intervention, and goal achievement was sustained over time. Parents-caregivers valued many aspects of the OT program, including the increased frequency of therapy services, the occupational therapist's advanced knowledge and skills, and the education and information provided during the program. Plain-Language Summary: This study supports the results of previous studies on OT intervention for children with challenges in sensory processing and integration. The study also adds to the body of knowledge that shows that changes and progress toward goals that result from skilled OT intervention can be sustained over time. The study showed that children participating in OT intervention made statistically significant changes while receiving OT services and maintained progress after intervention ended; however, the children did not continue to make significant progress toward goals once skilled OT services ended. Parents and caregivers of children with sensory challenges reported that they found OT intervention to be beneficial. Other important factors influencing the effectiveness of OT intervention that were identified by parents-caregivers included the education provided by the occupational therapist, the increased frequency of therapy services, and the increased knowledge and skills of the occupational therapists who provided the intervention.

Sleep problems, prevalent among older adults, are associated with poor outcomes and high health care costs. In 2008, rest and sleep became its own area of occupation in the American Occupational Therapy Association's Occupational Therapy Practice Framework. The current scoping review examined a broad context of sleep research to highlight efficacious interventions for older adults that fall within the occupational therapy scope of practice and present an agenda for research and practice. Four sleep intervention areas clearly aligned with the practice framework, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, physical activity, multicomponent interventions, and other interventions. Occupational therapy is primed to address sleep problems by targeting the context and environment, performance patterns, and limited engagement in evening activities that may contribute to poor sleep. Occupational therapy researchers and clinicians need to work collaboratively to establish the evidence base for occupation-centered sleep interventions to improve the health and quality of life of older adults.

Article| Online January 01 2010 Continuing Education Author & Article Information Online Issn: 1943-7676 Print Issn: 0272-9490 Copyright © 2010 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.2010 The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2010, Vol. 64(1), 204. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.64.1.204 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Continuing Education. Am J Occup Ther January/February 2010, Vol. 64(1), 204. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.64.1.204 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentThe American Journal of Occupational Therapy Search Advanced Search AOTA Taxonomy: Education Keywords: brain injuries, case managers, child, children's depression rating scale, clients, clinical dementia rating scale, driver rehabilitation specialist, evidence-based practice, nurses, occupational therapists NEW! Occupational Therapy in Action: Using the Lens of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 2nd Edition. Susanne Smith Roley, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Janet DeLany, DEd, OTR/L, FAOTA. Teaches the knowledge and evidence relevant to occupation and occupational therapy as presented in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 2nd Edition. Divided into four sections—Core Concepts, Evaluation, Intervention, and Outcomes—each of which includes specific learning activities. Also provides nearly 100 supplemental links to relevant articles. The Framework, 2nd Edition can be downloaded as part of the course content. Earn .6 AOTA CEU (6 NBCOT PDUs/6 contact hours). Order #OL32, $180 AOTA Members, $255 Nonmembers. Understanding the Assistive Technology Process to Promote School-Based Occupation. Beth Goodrich, MS, MEd, OTR, ATP; Lynn Gitlow, PhD, OTR/L, ATP; and Judith Schooner, MEd, OTR/L, ATP. Provides occupational therapy... Copyright © 2010 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.2010 You do not currently have access to this content.

Online Publication and the Impact Factor

People with neurological conditions experience many challenges in their daily lives, ranging from basic activities of daily living through to more complex occupations such as driving a car, maintaining paid employment, or going on vacation with family or friends. Challenges evolve over time for many reasons – progression of the condition (in some cases), normal aging, new responsibilities at home or work, residential moves, or shifts in social or financial circumstances, just to name a few. The potential for occupational therapists to make a positive impact on the lives of people with neurological conditions is high, given our focus on enabling occupation. But what does the evidence say? A quick search of the Cochrane Library using the term ‘occupational therapy’ uncovered a total of 49 reviews, five of which explicitly addressed the effectiveness of occupational therapy for people with neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease). Only one review, which focused on people with stroke (Legg et al., 2006), offered a positive conclusion about occupational therapy interventions. The authors found that ‘for every 11 (95%, CI 7 to 30) patients receiving an occupational therapy intervention to facilitate personal activities of daily living, one patient was spared a poor outcome’ (Legg et al., 2006: 2). The four remaining Cochrane reviews all concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support occupational therapy interventions for the specific population targeted (that is, people with multiple sclerosis, people with stroke in care homes, people with cognitive impairment from stroke, people with Parkinson’s disease). Each group of authors noted the lack of high-quality randomized trials for inclusion in the review process. There may be many reasons that occupational therapy researchers are not conducting these trials, but it is clear that the time has come to address them. One option is to model the research priority setting meetings hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the United States (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2015), which are used to set a path forward for researchers and funders around a specific area of concern. Of note is that these meetings include people with the condition, researchers, funders, and other key stakeholders from around the world. Two other quick searches were conducted to identify sources of synthesized evidence about occupational therapy for people with neurological conditions – one in the Campbell Collaboration Library (www.campbellcollaboration.org) and one in OTseeker (www.otseeker.com). What was interesting about the findings from both of these sources was that the relevant reviews were about specific interventions occupational therapists might employ (for example, electronic assistive technology) rather than about occupational therapy per se. Several reviews concluded that the intervention was effective. The conclusions focused on the intervention rather than the delivering discipline. The findings from these three simple searches point to the need for more focused efforts to set research priorities about occupational therapy for people with neurological conditions. In addition, the differences across the three searches raise some interesting questions about the ways in which evidence is summarized and communicated, and what the implications might be for different stakeholders. Should we be examining the effectiveness of the discipline (which presumably uses a range of interventions) or the effectiveness of a specific intervention (which might be employed by several different disciplines treating people with neurological conditions)? To what extent should we be comparing the outcomes of specific interventions delivered by occupational therapists with the outcomes of other disciplines using the same intervention – if the evidence is

PROTOCOL: Education Support Services for Improving School Engagement and Academic Performance of Children and Adolescents with a Chronic Health Condition: A Systematic Review

For the last several years, unbeknownst to many occupational therapists and some occupational scientists, a wave of change has been approaching the international health care horizon that may greatly impact our profession, in terms of daily practices and its standing among the community of healthcare practitioners. That change is the development of the ICIDH-2: International ClassiŽ cation of Functioning, Disability and Health [2], a revision of the original ICIDH, or International ClassiŽ cation of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps [3]. Akin to much of our occupational therapy literature, this document, or classiŽ cation system, recognizes the relevance of everyday activities to health and that ‘‘participation in everyday life by persons with disabilities results from the interaction between person and environment’’ ([4] p.223). Occupational therapy leaders are encouraging the profession to join this wave of change, to begin to study the ICIDH-2 for its usefulness and application in occupational therapy, and to participate in the international discussions related to its development [4, 5]. Use of the document and terminology within occupational therapy is being encouraged by both the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF). For these reasons, AOTF sponsored a consensus conference, held in July of 1999, to relate occupational therapy terminology to the language of the ICIDH-2 and ‘‘promote the consistent use of the ICIDH-2 across the profession of occupational therapy’’ ([4] p.223). In the spirit of that directive, this article will attempt to detail the structure and contents of the most recent version of the ICIDH-2, and discuss its concepts in relation to occupational therapy and occupational science. This article is intended to familiarize occupational therapists and occupational scientists with the ICIDH-2 document and the revision process, and echo its relevance to both disciplines. While sections of this article might actually become obsolete during its publication and:or shortly thereafter, it seems timely nevertheless to provide an analysis of the ICIDH-2 from an occupational science perspective for those who are either unfamiliar with it, or have not thought about its relationship to the emerging science. The document is currently undergoing Ž nal revisions and will, no doubt, become the international standard for describing various health states in terms of activity. In this paper, I will present a thorough overview of the ICIDH-2 including the background and history of the ICIDH-2, a general description of the document and its overall aims, and a detailed outline of the most recent draft version of the ICIDH-2, including the classiŽ cation constructs and their interaction. I will also highlight aspects of the ICIDH-2 revision process, in order to clarify the evolution of the document, as well as identify issues addressed in the revision that most closely pertain to questions of occupation. Finally, I will analyze the classiŽ cation system in relation to occupational therapy and occupational science concepts and concerns. My goal is twofold. First, I aim to provide sufŽ cient detail in this overview to enable occupational therapists and occupational scientists to begin to think about the potential use of the ICIDH-2 for research and clinical purposes, and to join the international discussions related to these concepts so familiar to both disciplines. Second, through my analysis of the document in relation to occupational therapy and occupational science, I hope to inspire future projects related to ICIDH-2 concepts that are well suited for occupational therapy clinicians and occupational science researchers.

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) new focus on rehabilitation offers great opportunities for occupational therapy. Recognizing that the problems in daily function created by the aging of the world's population and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions require rehabilitation to be a vital part of health systems, the World Health Organization brought a variety of stakeholders together in 2017 and 2019 to help them develop the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative. Occupational therapy was represented by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, editorial board members of several occupational therapy journals, and other occupational therapy researchers. A major challenge to meeting the goal of sufficient rehabilitation services to meet global need is the worldwide shortage of occupational therapists. This shortage can be attributed to a paucity of knowledge about occupational therapy as a health care profession, lack of understanding of the occupational therapy scope of practice, the cost of education required to become an occupational therapist, and the need for occupational therapy salaries to offset educational costs. Nonetheless, ongoing success in research and clinical outcomes will increase knowledge of the value of occupational therapy and increase the size of the profession. WHO's focus on function is to be lauded. Yet, occupational therapists must not be content with an emphasis on function. They also need to advocate for contextual changes that eliminate barriers to participation and engagement experienced by people with disability.

The response to COVID-19: Occupational resilience and the resilience of daily occupations in action.

Mentoring affords personalised learning for professional growth. Research across disciplines has shown mentoring to positively affect behaviour, attitude, motivation, job performance, organisational commitment, and career productivity and success. This study was conducted to provide an overview of research focussed on mentoring practices and related outcomes specific to the occupational therapy profession. This study follows Arksey and O'Malley's five main scoping review stages. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ERIC, Social Services Abstract, ScienceDirect and ProQuest databases were searched for mentoring practices in the occupational therapy profession. Inclusion criteria were: empirical studies of mentoring provided to occupational therapy students, practitioners, faculty and researchers, published in English between January 2002 and December 2018. Studies of mentoring provided to occupational therapy clients were excluded. Data were extracted for quantitative information about study characteristics and qualitative information about mentoring processes and outcomes. Of 1313 retrieved resources, 20 empirical studies were selected for analysis. In these studies, occupational therapy entry-level students, post-professional students, educators, researchers and clinicians were mentored in education, research and clinical areas of practice. Mentoring definitions, rationale, approaches and measurement methods were varied. Mentoring processes and relationships were facilitated by mechanisms of creating a plan, using mentoring strategies and providing support. Common defining terms, mechanisms and outcomes of mentoring were extracted and categorised into: support, learning, process and relationship. Mentoring outcomes were related to knowledge acquisition and translation, professional behaviours, increased productivity and professional networking. This scoping review presented commonalities of mentoring definitions, mechanisms and outcomes in empirically studied mentoring experiences and programmes in the occupational therapy profession. Methodological gaps in this research emphasise the need for occupational therapy practitioners and researchers to continue researching mentoring experiences by integrating theoretical frameworks, uniform definitions, rigorous design and standardised measures to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring.

The 30th Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference and Exhibition 2023: An opportunity to acknowledge, celebrate and <i>ignite</i> our occupational achievements