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 123 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Autism-related language preferences of English-speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMost autistic adults prefer identity-first language like 'autistic person' over 'person with autism'. They reject functioning labels and 'Asperger's' as harmful. Clinicians should ask each patient their preference rather than assuming a standard term.
• OTOther2023Assessing time processing ability and daily time management in persons with dementia: Psychometric properties of three instruments.Australian occupational therapy journalAfter revision, the dementia time-management assessments mostly captured a single area. The self-rating form still needs clearer answer options. The objective test needs harder items for people whose problems are very mild.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Cardiovascular disease risk factors in autistic adults: The impact of sleep quality and antipsychotic medication use.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchPoorer sleep quality was associated with more cardiovascular risk factors and higher BMI in autistic adults, while antipsychotic use was linked to diabetes but not other risks. Perceived stress showed no association. These are cross-sectional correlations, not proof that treating sleep or stopping medication reduces cardiovascular disease.
• OTSurvey2022Sensory approaches in psychiatric units: Patterns and influences of use in one Australian health region.Australian occupational therapy journalMost clinicians used sensory approaches with only a small share of patients. Training and occupational therapy roles were the strongest links to frequent use. Seclusion reduction was rarely a stated goal.
• OTCohort2022Assessment of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthIn cognitively normal older adults, a performance-based IADL test did not separate those with and without preclinical AD. It showed wider score spread than a proxy questionnaire, and poorer checkbook and medication tasks were associated with brain volume and network connection measures.
• OTQualitative2023Autistic Adult Perspectives on Occupational Therapy for Autistic Children and Youth.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthAutistic adults advise therapists to stop trying to make children appear neurotypical. They want support for self-advocacy, bodily autonomy, and changing environments or tasks to fit the child, rather than using behavioral strategies to force compliance.
• PTOTSurvey2023The sensitivity and specificity of using the McGill pain subscale for diagnosing neuropathic and non-neuropathic chronic pain in the total joint arthroplasty population.Archives of physiotherapyThe McGill Pain Questionnaire Neuropathic Subscale (NP-MPQ SF-2) showed good accuracy in identifying neuropathic pain in patients with chronic pain after joint replacement. A score of 0.91 or higher was the optimal cutoff, with 89.5% sensitivity and 75.0% specificity.
• OTQualitative2023Occupational therapy practice with terminally ill Chinese older adults in Singapore: A qualitative exploratory study.Australian occupational therapy journalIn Singapore palliative care, occupational therapists described Chinese older adults often preferring family care over independence, deferring choices to family, valuing contribution and rest, and seeing presence as more meaningful than active doing.
• OTSystematic Review2023Educational Technologies for Teaching Social Skills to Individuals With Schizophrenia: Scoping Review.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthEducational technologies like VR and apps show promise for social skills in schizophrenia, but evidence is mostly from small pilots. They work best as add-ons to standard therapy, especially when goals are personalized, rather than as standalone cures.
• PTOTOther2023Characteristics of corticomuscular coupling during wheelchair Tai Chi in patients with spinal cord injury.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWheelchair Tai Chi produced stronger brain-to-muscle coupling in several pathways than aerobic exercise, but no difference in overall cortical activity. Patients showed higher muscle activation than healthy controls, suggesting they compensate for reduced connectivity by working harder.
• PTOTCohort2023Patients With and Without COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit: Physical Status Outcome Comparisons 3 Months After Discharge.Physical therapyThree months after leaving the intensive care unit, patients with and without COVID-19 had similar handgrip strength, physical functioning, and health status. Both groups scored below healthy people. Men with COVID-19 reported better physical function than women.
• OTOther2023Evaluation of an inpatient occupation-based group program using a process evaluation framework.Australian occupational therapy journalParticipants in a home-like inpatient rehabilitation group practised their own daily tasks. They valued choice, confidence, connection to home and shared experience; outcomes improved at discharge and 90-day follow-up.
• PTOTOther2023Calibration of hip accelerometers for measuring physical activity and sedentary behaviours in adults with Down syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRResearchers derived new accelerometer settings for adults with Down syndrome. Using standard settings from the general population likely underestimates their activity levels. These new cut-points classify sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous activity with high accuracy, though they differ slightly depending on which hip the device is worn.
• OTQualitative2022Different in so many ways: Exploring consumer, health service staff, and academic partnerships in a research advisory group through rapid ethnography.Australian occupational therapy journalTwelve experienced consumer and staff partners described a four-month research advisory group as unusually equal, with their advice acted on rather than ignored. They credited clear timelines, skilled facilitation, and check-in agendas for this. It reports their experiences, not proof the model works.
• OTSLPOther2023Introducing the READY Study: DHH Young people's Well-Being and Self-Determination.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationIn DHH young people, self-determination scores predicted well-being scores far better than background factors like sex, sexuality, or deafness severity. The cohort reported low well-being overall, with only 3% in the high range.
• OTSLPQualitative2023"I think it impacts all areas of his life": Perspectives on hearing from mothers of individuals with Down syndrome.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDMothers reported background noise and fluctuating hearing loss as the primary barriers to communication for their children with Down syndrome. Strategies included reducing auditory and visual distractions, ensuring amplification use, and maintaining direct eye contact.
• OTQualitative2023Exploring professionals' practices and perspectives on supporting parents with intellectual disabilities: a qualitative study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesProfessionals struggle to balance child safety with parental rights, often feeling their holistic support exceeds their mandate. Parents frequently mistrust services, fearing child removal. Trust builds through transparency, long-term relationships, and adapting communication, such as using visual aids, rather than relying on assessments alone.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Factors Influencing Hearing Help-Seeking and Hearing Aid Uptake in Adults: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade.Trends in hearingSeverity of hearing loss and self-reported disability strongly predict hearing aid uptake, but age and sex do not. Financial support and positive attitudes toward aids also drive adoption. Social pressure helps people seek help, but demographic factors are poor guides for screening.
• OTQualitative2023Autistic and non-autistic young people's and caregivers' perspectives on COVID-19-related schooling changes and their impact on emotional well-being: An opportunity for change?Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic young people reported reduced anxiety and better focus during lockdown due to removed social and sensory demands. Non-autistic peers reported benefits less frequently. Both groups valued flexible pacing and reduced sensory load, suggesting schools should retain these adjustments post-pandemic.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Physical Therapist Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Physical Therapy Association.Physical therapyFor patients after shoulder replacement, starting motion exercises immediately versus waiting four weeks made no difference in long-term function or pain. A neutral-position sling reduced night pain early on, but the choice of specific exercises remains based on clinical judgment due to limited evidence.
• PTOTCase-Control2023Children With Cerebral Palsy Show Higher Static-But Not Higher Dynamic-Motor Fatigability in Grip and Pinch Tasks Than Children With Typical Development Do.Physical therapyChildren with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy lost more strength while holding a grip or pinch as hard as possible, especially in the nonpreferred hand. They did not show more fatigue during repeated squeeze tasks than typical children.
• OTSLPSurvey2023Assessing functioning for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: Current clinical practice in Australia.Australian occupational therapy journalClinicians assessing neurodevelopmental conditions in Australia reported frequent but inconsistent functioning assessments, often using observations, interviews and standardised tools. Time, unclear guidelines, tool access and cost were major barriers.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Mental health services and resources for children with developmental disabilities and their families: scan of local practices, gaps, and opportunities created.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA scan of Montreal-area mental health services for children with developmental disabilities found they are hard to access. Most require referrals, have waitlists, or restrict age and location, and few offer follow-up care. Services often target the child but ignore the family unit.
• OTCohort2022Learning from lived experience: Outcomes associated with students' involvement in co-designed and co-delivered recovery-oriented practice workshops.Australian occupational therapy journalOccupational therapy students showed significant gains in recovery knowledge and capabilities after workshops co-delivered by three lived experience educators. However, without a control group, it is impossible to know if these changes were caused by the educators or simply by the semester's teaching.
• OTOther2022Rethinking Driving Against Medical Advice: The Situated Nature of Driving After Stroke.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie
• OTSystematic Review2022Psychotherapy Within Occupational Therapy Literature: A Scoping Review.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieMost occupational therapy literature on psychotherapy is commentary, not research. Few studies test interventions, and those that do rarely measure occupational outcomes. Clinicians should verify local regulations before calling their activity-based or talk-based approaches psychotherapy.
• OTOther2022The impact of face-to-face mental health consumer-led teaching on occupational therapy student empathy levels: Two group comparison design.Australian occupational therapy journalSecond-year occupational therapy students who received tutorials led by mental health consumers showed no greater empathy than those taught by standard tutors. Both groups had high baseline scores and marginal, non-significant changes, suggesting this single tutorial did not impact empathy levels.
• OTSLPOther2022Brainstem white matter microstructure is associated with hyporesponsiveness and overall sensory features in autistic children.Molecular autismIn autistic children, higher sensory features linked to lower brainstem water diffusion, while non-autistic children showed the opposite. This suggests brainstem differences in autism are distinct from typical development. These findings do not yet change clinical interventions.
• PTOTCohort2023Relationship between toe grip strength and dynamic balance in older adult patients with femoral neck fracture.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 15 older adults recovering from hip fracture, stronger toe grip was linked to better balance scores and a larger forward-backward sway range. There was no difference in toe strength between the operated and non-operated legs.
• OTCohort2023Gendered play behaviours in autistic and non-autistic children: A population-based cohort study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic boys were reported as less masculine in play than non-autistic boys from 42 months. Autistic girls did not show a clear difference. Non-autistic boys became more gendered over time, while autistic boys did not.
• OTOther2023The Mediatory Role of Executive Functioning on the Association Between Sleep and Both Everyday Memory and ADHD Symptoms in Children and Youth With Down Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesIn children with Down syndrome, sleep problems did not directly harm memory or attention. Instead, poor sleep worsened executive functioning, which then caused everyday memory and ADHD symptoms. Addressing executive function is key.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Multidimensional motor performance in children with autism mostly remains stable with age and predicts social communication delay, language delay, functional delay, and repetitive behavior severity after accounting for intellectual disability or cognitive delay: A SPARK dataset analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMotor difficulties in children with autism remain stable from age 5 to 15. Poor motor performance predicts social, language, and functional delays even after accounting for intellectual disability. Therapists should screen for motor issues beyond early childhood and not assume delays resolve with age.
• OTOther2023Clinical Tests Predicting On-Road Performance in Older Drivers with Cognitive Impairment.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieClinical tests predicted on-road pass/fail only moderately in older drivers with cognitive impairment. No test was clearly better, and the Trails B misclassified many drivers. Neither should decide fitness alone.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of US community-dwelling older adults with communication disabilities, using the national health and aging trends survey.Journal of communication disordersAbout one in four community-dwelling US adults over 65 has a communication disability. These individuals are more likely to be male, Black or Hispanic, have lower education and income, and have very small social networks compared to peers without disabilities.
• PTOTOther2023Outcomes of Implementing a Webinar-Based Strategy to Improve Spinal Cord Injury Knowledge and Community Building: Convergent Mixed Methods Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesMost attendees were people with SCI or health care providers in urban areas. They reported knowledge gains and changed disability views, but webinars strengthened existing peer ties rather than building a broad community.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Research activities contributing to evidence-based practice implementation in Japanese rehabilitation professionals.Journal of physical therapy scienceDoing case studies and cross-sectional research linked to better evidence-based practice habits in Japanese therapists, but not to their beliefs. Most participants reported poor access to training and workplace support for this work.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Agreement between children with long-term health conditions and their primary caregivers on reports of perceived participation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesChildren with long-term health conditions reported attending fewer activities than their caregivers thought, yet rated their involvement higher in some tasks. Caregivers and children agreed on which activities mattered most, but disagreed on how much the child actually participated.
• PTOTPilot2023Association between upper limb movements during drumming and cognition in older adults with cognitive impairment and dementia at a nursing home: a pilot study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn 16 older adults with dementia, the height their arm reached while drumming correlated with both handgrip strength and MMSE scores. This suggests arm elevation during drumming may help assess motor function and cognitive status when standard tests are difficult.
• PTOTSLPPilot2023Influences of trunk stability on exercise performance of closed kinetic chain of upper and lower limbs.Journal of physical therapy sciencePerforming rhythmic stabilization on the trunk immediately before testing improved upper and lower limb performance in healthy male students. Push-up and step-up times shortened significantly. This suggests trunk stability influences limb motor tasks, but the study did not test long-term training effects.
• OTSystematic Review2023Profile of occupational therapy services in non-urban settings: A global scoping review.Australian occupational therapy journalMost non-urban occupational therapy services are delivered by urban-based therapists via outreach or telehealth, focusing on individual rehabilitation for specific diagnoses. Community-level interventions are rare, particularly in wealthy nations, despite the high burden of disease in these regions.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2023Factors that influence the adoption of rehabilitation technologies: a multi-disciplinary qualitative exploration.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationClinicians and stakeholders identified six factors influencing rehabilitation technology adoption: total costs beyond purchase, biopsychosocial benefits, earned trust, ease of use, access, and co-design. They stressed that technology must fit clinical workflows and address user needs to avoid abandonment.
• PTOTCohort2023Relationship between weight bearing ratio in sitting and physical function assessment in healthy adults.Journal of physical therapy sciencePressing one foot on a scale while sitting correlated with stronger knee muscles, better lateral reach, and easier one-leg standing in 32 healthy adults. The correlations were moderate. This suggests a cheap, single-foot weight-bearing test might reflect lower limb function even in people with high function.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2023The treatment and rationale for the correction of a cervical kyphosis spinal deformity in a cervical asymptomatic young female: a Chiropractic BioPhysics® case report with follow-up.Journal of physical therapy scienceA single asymptomatic patient received chiropractic traction and exercises for 59 weeks. Imaging showed a 40-degree correction of cervical kyphosis, but the curve partially relapsed after 3.5 years of minimal follow-up care. This describes one person's radiographic change, not proof that treatment prevents future symptoms.
• OTQualitative2022'What's she doing here?' Overcoming barriers to the implementation of Expert by Experience positions in academia.Australian occupational therapy journalAcademics supporting 'Expert by Experience' roles in health education faced stigma and funding hurdles. They used informal advocacy and creative budgeting to overcome resistance. Colleagues' attitudes often softened over time as they became familiar with the roles. Institutional barriers remained significant.
• PTOTSurvey2023Perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among people with spinal cord injury: A descriptive study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMost people with spinal cord injury reported the pandemic negatively affected their community participation. Over half of those needing personal care attendants relied more on family, and a quarter delayed medical treatments due to fear of infection, though difficulties obtaining basic supplies were less common.
• PTOTSLPOther2023The Oxford Cognitive Screen for use with Australian people after stroke (OCS-AU): The adaptation process and determining cut scores for cognitive impairment using a cross-sectional normative study.Australian occupational therapy journalThe Oxford Cognitive Screen was adapted for Australian English. Normative data showed that Australian scores matched the original UK cut scores for almost all items, meaning clinicians can use the existing thresholds to identify specific cognitive deficits after stroke.
• OTQualitative2023The experience and role of mentorship for paediatric occupational therapists.Australian occupational therapy journalNovice paediatric OTs sought mentors to navigate complex caseloads and reduce isolation. They valued safe, non-judgemental relationships, often external to their workplace. Mentors helped translate theory to practice and scaffold clinical reasoning, building mentee resilience and confidence.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023FMR1 CGG Repeats and Stress Influence Self-Reported Cognitive Functioning in Mothers.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesMothers of children with disabilities and those facing recent life events reported more executive function and memory difficulties. These stress effects were independent of FMR1 CGG repeat length. Clinicians should address maternal cognitive load regardless of genetic status.
• PTOTQualitative2023The experience of meaningful rehabilitation as perceived by people with chronic pain: A phenomenological study.Work (Reading, Mass.)People with chronic pain found rehabilitation meaningful when therapists acted as credible guiding partners who shared power. They valued genuine human connection over strict professional boundaries, and wanted goals defined by their own identity rather than just pain reduction.
• OTQualitative2023Valuing home modifications: The street-level policy work of occupational therapists in Australian home modification practice.Australian occupational therapy journalTherapists described their core work as negotiating between what clients want and what funders pay for. They relied on cost-saving metrics like reduced paid care to justify modifications, but noted these often fail to capture the true value of maintaining function or preventing decline.