OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Research for occupational therapy

Papers an occupational therapist can act on, across daily living, mental health, hand therapy, paediatrics and rehabilitation, each read in full rather than from its abstract.

10,853 PAPERS · PAGE 100 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTOther2022Development of the Student Practice Evaluation Form - Revised (Second Edition) (SPEF-R2): The second action research cycle.Australian occupational therapy journalPractice educators rated the updated student evaluation form as clearer and easier to use than the previous version. They found it better reflected modern skills like cultural safety and self-management, with no students changing pass or fail results.
• OTSurvey2022Psychometric Evaluation of the Parent Effort Scale.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesParents of children with autism reported needing more effort to help their child take part in home and community activities than parents of neurotypical children. The scale reports effort separately for dressing, hygiene, sleep, home social activities, community activities, and healthcare.
• PTOTCohort2022Time Course and Risk Profile of Work-Related Neck Disability: A Longitudinal Latent Class Growth Analysis.Physical therapyMost sonographers with neck pain improved slowly, but a third had fluctuating disability linked to low physical activity, poor psychosocial support, and central sensitization. Screen for these risks early to target interventions rather than adopting a wait-and-see approach for everyone.
• PTOTSLPPilot2022Exposure to a mild hyperbaric oxygen environment elevates blood pressure.Journal of physical therapy scienceA 45-minute session in a mild hyperbaric chamber raised blood pressure in healthy adults. Heart rate dropped and oxygen saturation rose. The authors suggest this could help low blood pressure, but warn people with high blood pressure should be cautious.
• OTPilot2022Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS): A feasibility test of an online class co-designed and co-taught with autistic people.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults reported improved flourishing and reduced rejection sensitivity after a six-session online class. They valued co-teaching by autistic peers and specific activities. However, loneliness and interpersonal competence did not change, and the lack of a control group means these gains cannot be attributed solely to the class.
• OTCohort2022Vulnerabilities in workplace features for essential workers with breast cancer: Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic.Work (Reading, Mass.)Essential workers with breast cancer in New York City had less employer-provided disability pay and health insurance than non-essential workers. Workplace-environment perceptions did not differ by essential status, but minority women reported less favorable environments.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2022Current and lifetime somatic symptom burden among transition-aged autistic young adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchTransition-aged autistic adults report high rates of fatigue, sleep problems, and pain, with females reporting significantly more symptoms than males. While these physical complaints strongly correlate with anxiety and depression, they do not independently predict lower quality of life once mental health is accounted for.
• OTQualitative2022Exploring Autism, Culture, and Immigrant Experiences: Lessons from Sri Lankan Tamil Mothers.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieFor Sri Lankan Tamil mothers, the biggest barriers to autism care were language, finances, and housing, not cultural clashes with therapists. Many withheld religious practices from providers, fearing misunderstanding. Trust was built through practical support and shared ethnicity, not just cultural competence.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Identifying critical behaviours for building engagement in telepractice early intervention: An international e-Delphi study.International journal of language & communication disordersExperts identified 64 specific behaviours for building engagement in telepractice early intervention. Key actions include taking the lead on rapport, using the family's home resources, adjusting for lighting and sound, and explicitly coaching parents to co-deliver therapy rather than just observing.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Assessment of Manual Abilities Using the Box and Block Test in Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy.Occupational therapy internationalIn children with bilateral cerebral palsy, Box and Block Test scores strongly predicted daily living performance. Scores of 28 to 40 blocks indicated a high probability of managing independent wiping. Low scores suggest looking for environmental barriers or cognitive factors rather than just motor limits.
• OTSurvey2022Transition to the forced telework - a challenge for trade unions identified by the study on working life with COVID-19 in Latvia.Work (Reading, Mass.)This paper is not relevant to physical, occupational, or speech therapy practice. It surveys Latvian workers about trade union support for telework and reports no clinical outcomes.
• PTOTQualitative2022Decision-making experiences of health professionals in withdrawing treatment for children and young people: A qualitative study.Child: care, health and developmentHealth professionals described withdrawal decisions as slow, consensus-based processes requiring early palliative care input and full MDT attendance. Nurses and non-clinical staff acted as bridges to families, while consultants focused on biomedical facts. Support for fathers and staff well-being were identified as critical gaps.
• OTProtocol2022Managing Fatigue in Parkinson's Disease: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieThis paper is a protocol for a planned pilot trial. It describes how researchers will test a six-week videoconference fatigue management program for people with Parkinson's disease. No patients have been enrolled or assessed yet, so there are no results to report.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2022Metacognitive Treatment in Acquired Brain Injury and Its Applicability to Aphasia: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMetacognitive therapy helped most people with acquired brain injury on at least one measure, but results varied widely. For those with aphasia, evidence is too thin to recommend it as a standalone treatment. Try breaking goals into steps and giving feedback, but do not expect consistent language gains.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2022Conceptualization of Participation: A Qualitative Synthesis of Brain Injury Stakeholder Perspectives.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPeople with brain injury define participation by choice, contribution, and feeling included, not just by completing tasks. Social relationships and leisure were cited far more often than work. These subjective elements often do not fit standard impairment-focused outcome measures.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2022Ankle dorsiflexion training with a newly developed Hybrid Assistive Limb for a patient with foot drop caused by common peroneal nerve palsy: a case report.Journal of physical therapy scienceOne man with foot drop from nerve damage showed stronger ankle movement and a normal gait after seven sessions with an ankle exoskeleton. However, he also received standard rehab, so the device's specific benefit cannot be separated from natural recovery or other therapy.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2022Delivering Trauma-Informed Care in a Hospital Ward for Older Adults With Dementia: An Illustrative Case Series.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn four cases of older adults with dementia, distress during personal care was linked to past trauma. Staff identified triggers like showering or male caregivers and adapted care. This reduced distress, but the cases show what happened, not that the approach works.
• PTOTCase Report2022Brain-Computer Interface Priming for Cervical Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation Therapy: An Exploratory Case Study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn one person with chronic cervical spinal cord injury, adding brain-computer interface priming before spinal cord stimulation did not clearly improve hand function more than stimulation alone. Gains occurred in both phases, but independence in daily activities did not change.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Embedding Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Home and Community Setting: A Rapid Review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesHome and community pulmonary rehabilitation improved exercise capacity and quality of life for people with COPD, though often less than hospital-based programs. Home-based care offered flexibility and reduced travel burdens, while community settings provided social support.
• OTPilot2022The impact of an occupational therapy group cognitive rehabilitation program for people with dementia.Australian occupational therapy journalPeople with dementia who completed a 5-week occupational therapy group cognitive rehabilitation program with individualised goals, home tasks, a handbook and caregiver support showed better everyday memory test scores and reported better quality of life, performance and satisfaction, with gains remaining at follow-up.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022A Sense of Being Needed: A Phenomenological Analysis of Hospital-Based Rehabilitation Professionals' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Physical therapyHospital rehabilitation staff felt moral distress from isolation rules that blocked human connection. They coped by deliberately showing their faces, using their voices, and addressing patients by name. Managers should prioritize ethical dialogue and professional autonomy to support staff through future crises.
• OTQualitative2022Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: Benefits and Limitations Highlighted Using the Delphi Method and Principal Component Analysis.Occupational therapy internationalFrench occupational therapists trained in the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure agreed it supports client-centered care and team decision-making. They identified barriers including patient cognitive difficulties, lack of institutional knowledge, and time constraints. This reflects expert opinion on usability, not evidence of clinical outcomes.
• OTOther2022Training Program to Modify Manual Wheelchairs to Simplified Power Wheelchairs for Community Dwelling Elderly People and Caregivers.Occupational therapy internationalCommunity-dwelling elderly people and caregivers, most with no wheelchair experience, successfully completed a 30-hour training to modify manual wheelchairs into simplified power ones. Ninety-one percent demonstrated the modification independently after theory sessions.
• OTCohort2022Effectiveness of sensory modulation for people with schizophrenia: A multisite quantitative prospective cohort study.Australian occupational therapy journalSensory modulation did not improve outcomes more than standard care in 41 people with schizophrenia. Both groups improved similarly, so SM is not proven superior to usual treatment, though it may offer short-term distress relief as a complementary option.
• OTSurvey2022The Moderating Effect of Social Support on Parental Stress and Depression in Mothers of Children with Disabilities.Occupational therapy internationalAmong 164 mothers of children with disabilities, higher parenting stress was linked to higher depression. Mothers who felt more social support showed less depression at the same stress level. This is an association, not proof that adding support reduces depression.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022Play-based groups for children with cerebral palsy and their parents: A qualitative interview study about the impact on mothers' well-being.Child: care, health and developmentMothers of children with cerebral palsy valued play-based groups for practical help with therapy and education plans, and for connecting with others in similar situations. Some struggled to open up due to language barriers or guilt, showing the need for sensitive facilitation.
• OTSLPOther2022The Family-Centred Practices Scale: Psychometric properties of the Spanish version for use with families with children with Down syndrome receiving early childhood intervention.Child: care, health and developmentFor Spanish families of children with Down syndrome, a shortened 10-item version of the Family-Centred Practices Scale fits better than the original 12-item version. However, mothers and fathers interpret the questions differently, so scores cannot be directly compared between parents.
• PTOTCohort2022Features of older community-dwelling adults with osteosarcopenia requiring support or care.Journal of physical therapy scienceAmong 141 older adults requiring support or care, 43.3% had osteosarcopenia. This group had significantly worse physical performance, lower nutrition scores, and higher care needs than those with only sarcopenia or only osteopenia. Screening for both bone and muscle loss may identify those at greatest risk.
• PTOTOther2022Enhancing motion tracking accuracy of a low-cost 3D video sensor using a biomechanical model, sensor fusion, and deep learning.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesFusing a Kinect camera with a goniometer made wrist position and elbow angle estimates closer to reference markers in eight healthy people. The tracker also improved these estimates, but patients were not tested.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Short Report: The influence of congregate setting on positive COVID-19 tests among a high-risk sample of adults with intellectual and developmental disability in Ontario.Research in developmental disabilitiesAdults with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in group homes had almost five times the odds of testing positive for COVID-19 compared to those in private settings. Older age, limited mobility, and aggression were also independent risk factors, with heightened risk appearing as early as age 45.
• OTOther2022Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Reliability of the Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (HOME FAST) in Assessing Fall-Risk Home Hazards for Stroke Using Technologies over a Conventional Home Visit.Occupational therapy internationalMalay, Mandarin and Tamil HOME FAST versions let therapists rate stroke home hazards from videos and photos. In 10 analysed homes, ratings agreed with an in-person visit, so they can screen fall risks when a visit is not possible.
• OTSLPOther2022Hearing handicap and frailty in community-dwelling older adults living.CoDASFrail and pre-frail older adults in this community reported more hearing handicap than non-frail adults. The relationship was weak, and the study cannot show hearing handicap causes frailty.
• PTOTSLPPilot2022Immediate effects of stretching on trunk functions using a stretch pole half-cut.Journal of physical therapy scienceLying on a half-cut stretch pole placed under the middle back for four minutes significantly improved inspiratory muscle strength and altered spinal alignment in healthy men. No control group was used, so the immediate effect cannot be separated from time or expectation.
• PTOTQualitative2022Adolescents with congenital limb reduction deficiency: Perceptions of treatment during childhood and its meaning for their current and future situation.Child: care, health and developmentTen adolescents with congenital limb reduction deficiency described early surgery, prostheses, devices, training and counselling as creating options, though some later stopped using devices. They felt both confident and uncertain about work and adult care.
• OTOther2022Devising a Missing Data Rule for a Quality of Life Questionnaire-A Simulation Study.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPFor the QI-Disability questionnaire, imputing missing items with the mean of completed items is accurate for Positive Emotions and Social Interaction if one item is missing. For other domains, scores should not be calculated if any item is missing. A total score is valid if no domain has more than one missing item.
• PTOTOther2022Relationship between the independence level of individual motor-related functional independence measure items and its total score in patients after hip fracture: an ordinal logistic modelling study.Journal of physical therapy scienceAfter hip fracture surgery, walking and stair climbing remain the hardest tasks to recover. If a patient still needs help eating or grooming, look for another cause, as these are rarely affected by the hip injury itself.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Sensory features in autism: Findings from a large population-based surveillance system.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchSensory features were documented in 74% of 25,627 autistic children. These features co-occurred with motor, attention, sleep, and eating challenges, but not with cognitive scores. Documentation was lower for girls, Black children, and Hispanic children, suggesting missed cases rather than true absence.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022Undertaking Rehabilitation Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emergent Strategies From a Trainee-Faculty Workshop.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesRehabilitation researchers identified three pandemic challenges: keeping data collection safe, maintaining participant access, and sharing findings. Proposed solutions included virtual toolkits for assessments, adjusting study designs for remote delivery, and contextualizing results to account for pandemic-related disruptions.
• OTSurvey2022Higher Rumination Tendency Is Associated with Reduced Positive Effects of Daily Activity Participation in People with Depressive Disorder.Occupational therapy internationalPeople with depression who reported more self-critical rumination spent more hours in meaningful daily activities but felt less involved, and their participation was more often driven by meeting others' expectations than by enjoying being with people.
• OTQualitative2022Understanding the occupational identity of care-givers for people with mental health problems.The British journal of occupational therapySix UK carers for adults with mental illness described losing jobs, hobbies and social ties due to stigma and poor service support. They regained some identity by carving out time for independent activities, though many felt trapped by obligation and lack of community care.
• PTOTQualitative2022Self-Management Embedded in Daily Activities: A Photoelicitation Focus Group Study among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury and Their Primary Caregivers in Bangladesh.Occupational therapy internationalPeople with spinal cord injury and caregivers in Bangladesh described managing daily life through routines, activity, emotional coping, roles, and tackling stigma. They moved to friendlier places, asserted rights, advocated access, and used income, faith, charity, and peers.
• PTOTSLPOther2022The Effects of Occupation-Based Community Rehabilitation for Improving Activities of Daily Living and Health-Related Quality of Life of People with Disabilities after Stroke Living at Home: A Single Subject Design.Occupational therapy internationalThree people with severe disabilities after stroke living at home improved daily life independence and quality of life after a community-based occupational therapy programme. The programme combined task training, home changes, education and resource linking, so the effect of any single part cannot be separated.
• OTOther2022Translation and Cultural Adaptation into Spanish of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey.Occupational therapy internationalThe Spanish version of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey is now ready for testing. Ten native speakers understood all 12 items without major changes, but the tool has not yet been validated for reliability or accuracy in clinical groups.
• PTOTPilot2022From Inception to Implementation: Strategies for Setting Up Pulmonary Telerehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA home-based video telerehabilitation kit cost 570€ per patient and was highly acceptable. COPD patients reported improved symptom burden and self-efficacy, but physical function outcomes were incomplete due to pandemic restrictions.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Reproductive and pregnancy health care for women with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A scoping review.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDWomen with intellectual disabilities receive less sexual education and later prenatal care than peers. Midwife and doula support shows promise for improving care, but providers often lack specific training. Current health systems frequently fail to adapt to these patients' needs.
• OTCase Series2022Exploring the Ability to Perform Activities of Daily Living and Cognitive Status after Hospitalization with COVID-19: A Multiple Case Study.Occupational therapy internationalEleven COVID-19 survivors had reduced ADL ability at discharge and three months later. Motor skills improved in 75% of those followed up, but process skills and cognition often stayed impaired. OT should assess ADL performance, not rely on cognitive screens alone.
• OTQualitative2022A pūrākau analysis of institutional barriers facing Māori occupational therapy students.Australian occupational therapy journalSeven Māori occupational therapy graduates described institutional barriers in their training, including curricula that felt culturally dissonant, unsafe clinical placements, and pastoral care that failed to support them. These experiences highlight systemic issues in how occupational therapy education engages with Māori students and whānau.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Association between atopic diseases and neurodevelopmental disabilities in a longitudinal birth cohort.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with ADHD or other neurodevelopmental disabilities were significantly more likely to have asthma, eczema, or allergic rhinitis. Autism showed no such link. Therapists should watch for these common allergies in patients with ADHD or developmental delays, as they may worsen symptoms.
• PTOTOther2022Optimization of machine learning method combined with brain-computer interface rehabilitation system.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 8 stroke patients, 4 weeks of brain-computer interface training with a robot improved upper limb scores and reduced spasticity. Brain imaging suggested neural reshaping, but the tiny sample and lack of a control group mean this is a technical proof of concept, not evidence of efficacy.
• PTOTSLPRCT2022Effects of exercise on sleep spindles in Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesExercise did not change sleep spindle density or amplitude across the whole night in people with Parkinson's disease. It did slow a decline in spindle density during the first half of the night, and this change correlated with better memory scores in the exercise group only.