A cross-sectional survey of 95 U.S. occupational therapy practitioners examined their attitudes and beliefs about the back and back pain, as well as their confidence in supporting adult clients with back pain. Data were collected using the 34-item Back Pain Attitudes Questionnaire and two 5-point Likert scale items assessing confidence. Results indicate many participants held unhelpful beliefs about the back. However, even those participants with unhelpful beliefs endorsed several evidence-informed strategies, reflecting a mixture of accurate and less-supported perspectives. These findings highlight opportunities for practitioners to critically evaluate and update their beliefs to enhance evidence-informed care for adults with back pain.

Background and Rationale Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that requires increasing care over time. Care partners, often family members, play a critical role in supporting individuals with PD, yet their experiences are understudied. Existing literature focuses largely on care partner burden and quality of life, often neglecting the nuanced, evolving nature of caregiving and role adaptation. Occupational therapy plays a vital role in supporting care partners, yet further research is needed to understand their lived experiences through an evidence-based lens. Purpose of the Study This study explores how care partners of people with PD experience and develop resilience over time, with an emphasis on emotional, relational, and occupational adaptation. Methods Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, 12 care partners participated in semi-structured interviews. Descriptive standardized measures (Q-LES-Q and ZBI) were also collected to contextualize participant well-being and caregiving burden without shaping analysis. Data were analyzed using the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of phenomenological analysis, supported by researcher reflexivity and triangulation to ensure rigor. Key Themes or Findings Three primary themes emerged: (1) The Power of Adaptive Resilience, reflecting internal growth and mindset shifts; (2) The Quiet Struggle, highlighting grief, guilt, and emotional isolation; and (3) Through the Gray, capturing the ambiguity and evolving nature of caregiving. Participants described caregiving as a marathon marked by emotional negotiation and the pursuit of meaning. Conclusions and Implications Care partners demonstrated adaptive resilience not as passive endurance, but as an active process of transformation. Centering care partner voices can inform more holistic, family-centered care models.

Human trafficking (HT) is a violation of human rights causing injuries that often result in deep mental and physical scars on survivors with a lifelong deleterious impact on engagement in all occupations and overall health. A lack of attention to these needs results in chronic disorders that cause occupational injustice and imbalance, lifelong dependence on healthcare, and early mortality. In occupational therapy, adjunctive evidence-based interventions are needed to provide holistic care to support recovery for these individuals. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and the mindfulness approach of trauma-informed yoga (TIY) are two interventions used with this population to alleviate post-trauma symptoms; however, their underlying mechanism to aid with recovery and their overall outcomes vary. The objective is to examine the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions, TF-CBT and TIY, to holistically address the needs of HT survivors specifically for occupational therapy practice. Data sources are Ovid(Medline), CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases. The inclusion criteria were: (i) human participants, (ii) populations with trafficking trauma, (iii) interventions TF-CBT and/or TIY, (iv) published between 2009 and 2024, and (v) published in English. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used. The outcomes of these studies indicate that TF-CBT has moderate strength quantitative evidence and TIY evidence is considered weak. However, quality assessment of the Level 6 TIY studies indicates high qualitative value, with findings that were transparent, transferable, and generalizable to larger populations. TF-CBT and/or TIY are evidence-based interventions that can be used as adjunctive therapies, either administered by the occupational therapists or referred to specialists trained in these modalities, to mitigate trauma-related symptoms. When used together, they can be complementary and have a more holistic effect. However, higher level quantitative and mixed-methods studies using more rigorous methodologies are needed to strengthen the evidence.

This study investigated the relationships between perceived leisure benefits, occupational balance, and psychological well-being among women in rural Türkiye with low educational levels. A total of 120 women participated, completing the Occupational Balance Questionnaire, Leisure Benefits Scale, and WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Correlation analyses revealed positive associations between well-being and occupational balance, total leisure benefits, and leisure subdomains including physical, psychological, and social benefits. Regression analysis showed that only occupational balance was significantly associated with well-being. These findings emphasize the importance of structured daily routines and suggest that occupational therapists can develop community-based interventions to promote women’s health.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) may impact a person’s ability to drive, requiring adjustments to and possible eventual cessation of driving. However, addressing driving is often avoided by healthcare professionals. A Community of Practice approach involving various stakeholders was used to develop an interview guide to provide a structure to discuss driving and MS that may help overcome avoidance of addressing this important instrumental activity of daily living in routine clinical practice. The ‘MS and Driving Interview guide’ was developed, drafts were reviewed and amended by people with lived experience, subjected to external expert review prior to limited piloting in practice.

Family Quality of Life (FQoL) describes how individuals perceive their family well-being and family functioning within their community. For families of children with behavioral disabilities, FQoL is not only impacted by conventional aspects of family life including security, housing status, financial stability, and community involvement, but also facets of life associated with the child. The purpose of this phenomenology study was to understand the lived experience of couples and families with children aged 8–13 with chronic behavioral disorders. Eight mothers participated in semi-structured interviews regarding FQoL. Rigorous data analysis resulted in five themes: Family life disrupted!, Couples disconnected, Meaningfulness of the ordinary, School influence on family life, and Help! Need for support and services. Family quality of life is a complex phenomenon made more complicated when raising a child with a behavioral disorder. To provide effective interventions for these children, practitioners should consider this complexity and the resultant needs of the family.

The objective of this paper is to document the discussions and decisions that led the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to initially reject and then support licensure for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants as a historical documentation. The advantages and disadvantages of licensure are examined in relation to their influence on decision-making. The paper concludes with an update summarizing ongoing challenges in maintaining licensure and its current value to the profession.

This study describes changes in movement self-efficacy following full-weight bearing overground locomotor training (OLT) in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries (iSCI). Movement self-efficacy was measured as confidence when completing physical actions as measured by the Outpatient Physical Therapy Improvement in Movement Assessment Log (OPTIMAL). Fifteen individuals with motor iSCI completed the initial 12 wk of training, and 14 after another 12 wk of OLT. The total OPTIMAL showed small effects from baseline to 24 wk of OLT and from 12 wk to 24 wk, with larger effects found in sub-tasks of the OPTIMAL. Post-hoc analysis found significant improvements in movement self-efficacy for squatting and hopping. Findings suggest movement self-efficacy improved with 12 and 24 wk of OLT, and that these changes may be different for those with higher or lower-level SCI. Improvements in movement self-efficacy may have implications for future rehabilitative care, including reduced burden on caregivers for individuals with SCI.

The aim of this study was to evaluate if the Vision CoachTM interactive light board improves processing speed reaction time among autistic individuals and if it contributes to improvement in driving performance. Fifty-seven participants with autism received individual intervention one to two times a day over five days using the Vision Coach. Using a paired pre-posttest design, results showed that participants took statistically significant less time to complete each speed trial (p < .001, r = 0.28–0.32) and missed statistically significant fewer number of targets at post-test (p < .001, r = 0.35 and 0.46, respectively) than pretest. Lastly, there were significant, positive relationships between the changes in the number of targets missed and in the time taken to tap the correct targets for the trials in Speeds 2 and 3 (p < .001). Since decreased processing speed is commonly observed among individuals with autism, this study offers evidence to support Vision Coach as an occupational therapy intervention that improves functional performance. In addition, results from improved processing speed reaction time on driving performance is discussed.

This study examined the effectiveness of multidisciplinary dialectical behavior therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy informed training for caregivers of youth in a day program setting. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used to assess the impact of multidisciplinary caregiver psychoeducation on caregiver stress and family function. Data was collected from 22 caregivers, revealing statistically significant improvements in caregiver stress and family functioning, suggesting that the caregiver education delivered within a day program setting is an effective intervention among families with children experiencing mental health challenges.