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 124 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPCohort2023Adherence to Guidelines for Acute Rehabilitation in the Norwegian Trauma Plan.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdherence to Norwegian trauma rehabilitation guidelines was poor. Only 18% of ICU patients stayed 3+ days received a specialist assessment within 72 hours. Just 22% of all patients transferred directly to specialized rehabilitation, leaving many with severe injuries without timely acute care.
• OTCohort2023Challenging behaviour and its risk factors in children and young people in a special school setting: A four wave longitudinal study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAcross four time points, challenging behaviour did not show a clear trend: 58.2% met criteria at the first point, and 64% at the last. Lower adaptive skills and autism were linked to more behaviour, while profound intellectual disability was linked to less overall behaviour.
• PTOTOther2023Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire (WORQ) into Danish.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesThe Danish Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire (WORQ) is a reliable tool for assessing work ability. It was easy for patients to understand and use. Therapists can use it to map social, mental, and physical functioning in vocational rehabilitation.
• OTQualitative2022Occupational therapists' application of the Do-Live-Well framework: A Canadian health promotion approach.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieOccupational therapists found the Do-Live-Well framework useful for client-centred care but struggled to apply it due to time, space, and lack of step-by-step guidance. Many assumed they needed to use the entire framework, which felt overwhelming, rather than selecting specific concepts.
• OTOther2022The development and psychometric properties of a measure to assess the written submission of an admissions application.The British journal of occupational therapyA 25-item written-submission score for occupational therapy admissions was consistent as a total score and took about 12 minutes to rate. Individual subscales were less consistent, and total scores did not show a clear link to pre-admission grade point average.
• OTSystematic Review2022A scoping review of online international student collaboration in occupational therapy education.The British journal of occupational therapyTen low-quality studies of online international collaboration in occupational therapy education reported positive student outcomes, but the evidence was too uneven to show the approach reliably improves cultural competence or practice understanding.
• OTQualitative2022Patients views on which return-to-work outcomes should be prioritised: A nominal group technique focus group.The British journal of occupational therapySix trauma patients prioritised 'sense of purpose' and 'understanding the impact of injury' above simple return-to-work status. They valued process outcomes like assessing readiness and educating employers, suggesting vocational rehabilitation should measure these alongside traditional employment metrics.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Fine motor skill and expressive language in minimally verbal and verbal school-aged autistic children.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn autistic children aged 4 to 7, better fine motor skills linked to clearer speech only in minimally verbal children. For all children, fine motor skills and adaptive behavior predicted longer utterances. Conversational turns depended on adaptive behavior alone, not motor skill.
• OTOther2023Confirmatory factor analysis of the BRIEF2 in a sample of youth with Down syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRParent reports of daily executive skills in children with Down syndrome grouped into linked behaviour, emotion and cognitive regulation areas. The behaviour and emotion areas were very closely related, so they may be hard to tell apart in practice.
• PTOTOther2023Long-term forecasting of a motor outcome following rehabilitation in chronic stroke via a hierarchical bayesian dynamic model.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA computer model predicted upper-limb recovery in chronic stroke patients by combining their initial scores with repeated progress checks. Accuracy improved significantly as more data arrived. The model worked best after the second week of therapy, offering reliable forecasts for six months ahead.
• PTOTCohort2023Association of clinical symptoms and metabolic syndrome-related factors in patients undergoing high tibial osteotomy.Journal of physical therapy sciencePatients with obesity, diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidemia had poorer knee scores and worse walking after high tibial osteotomy. These metabolic factors, not just alignment or strength, predict a tougher recovery. Screen for them before surgery.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023U.S. Population Data on Self-Reported Trouble Hearing and Hearing-Aid Use in Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2007-2018.Trends in hearingSelf-reported trouble hearing is common, affecting 18.5% of men and 13.1% of women, yet only about 20% to 25% of these adults have ever used hearing aids. This leaves roughly 80% of those with perceived hearing loss with unmet needs.
• OTSurvey2023Exploring the patient experience of telehealth hand therapy services during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsHand therapy patients who had video telehealth appointments mostly said the model was convenient and worth continuing. They valued fitting therapy around commitments and avoiding travel, but some missed hands-on care.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Models of Telehealth Service Delivery in Adults With Spinal Cord Injuries: Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesTelehealth and telerehabilitation services for adults with spinal cord injury showed inconsistent effectiveness. While some studies reported improved physical activity, pain, and wound care outcomes, others showed no benefit for psychosocial health or quality of life.
• PTOTCohort2023Objective quantification of responses to the clinical pull-test in people with Parkinson's disease.Gait & postureAn instrumented pull-test measured on a gait mat showed people with Parkinson's took shorter and slower backward steps than controls. These measurements correlated with motor severity scores, offering a way to track subtle balance changes before clinical scores shift.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2023Indicators of health in Down syndrome: A virtual focus group study with patients and their parents.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDParents and teens with Down syndrome defined health through movement, happiness, and social connection. Parents uniquely highlighted behavior and language as signs of health, noting that communication struggles often manifest as emotional outbursts or withdrawal rather than verbal complaints.
• OTSLPOther2022Personal victimization experiences of autistic and non-autistic children.Molecular autismAutistic children were 7.77 times more likely to report bullying than non-autistic peers. Counterintuitively, autistic children with fewer social difficulties reported more bullying. Boys and girls experienced similar rates, but girls cited trouble with flexibility and emotions as causes, while boys cited social interaction challenges.
• OTSurvey2022Current Status and Challenges of Support Environments for New Graduate Occupational Therapists in Japanese Hospitals: A Mixed Method Study.Occupational therapy internationalMany Japanese hospitals lack clear educational policies or completion criteria for new graduate occupational therapists. Supervisors often have less experience than required for student mentoring. Respondents identified a need for standardised guidelines, supervisor training, and hospital systems that support education without compromising clinical revenue.
• OTSLPCase-Control2022Autism spectrum disorder symptom expression in individuals with 3q29 deletion syndrome.Molecular autismPeople with 3q29 deletion and autism had similar overall social and repetitive behavior scores to non-syndromic autism, but people without autism had more social disability than typical controls. Social disability can be present without an autism diagnosis in this syndrome.
• OTCohort2023Predicting academic success of autistic students in higher education.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAdministrative data like age, secondary school grades, and application timing can predict which autistic students are at risk of dropping out. The models were more accurate for autistic students than for their peers, but overall predictive power remained low.
• OTOther2023Exercise repetition rate measured with simple sensors at home can be used to estimate Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer score after stroke.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn 41 people after stroke, how fast they reached to a target estimated arm motor scores. At home, a model using final reaching performance estimated about 70% of score differences, but unsupervised performance was less consistent.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Assessment by proxy of the SF-36 and WHO-DAS 2.0. A systematic review.Journal of rehabilitation medicineProxy reports on the SF-36 and WHO-DAS 2.0 match patient reports well for physical function but poorly for social and emotional domains. Use proxy data for physical status, but do not rely on it to judge a patient's mental health or social participation.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Comparing autism phenotypes in children born extremely preterm and born at term.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren born extremely preterm with autism showed similar core symptoms to term-born children when observed directly. However, parents of preterm children reported fewer repetitive behaviors and stereotyped speech, a difference likely driven by lower rates of prior autism diagnosis in the preterm group.
• OTSLPCohort2023Psychosocial Factors Associated with Prolonged Length of Stay in Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePatients living in communal settings before admission were 14 times more likely to stay beyond their target discharge date. Not having a driver's licence also predicted longer stays. These social factors blocked discharge logistics rather than reflecting poor rehabilitation progress.
• PTOTCase Report2023Powered knee and ankle prosthesis use with a K2 level ambulator: a case report.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA K2-level amputator learned to climb stairs reciprocally with a powered prosthesis. He reported greater confidence and safety on inclines, though he preferred his passive device for sit-to-stand transfers due to its lighter weight and better cosmesis.
• PTOTOther2023Different muscle strategy during head/knee level of functional reaching-transporting task to decrease falling probability in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.Archives of physiotherapyPostmenopausal women with osteoporosis used more muscle activity to reach and transport objects, especially at knee level. They also had weaker leg muscles and higher fear of falling. The study did not test if this strategy prevents falls.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Measurement Properties of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale in Rehabilitation for Patients With Stroke: A Prospective Observational Study.Physical therapyThe Patient-Specific Functional Scale works well for tracking patient goals during inpatient stroke rehabilitation, even when patients have cognitive or language impairments. A change of at least 2 points indicates real improvement beyond measurement error. However, the scale becomes less useful after discharge as patients hit a ceiling.
• OTQualitative2022Exploring potential for occupational therapy practice models within areas of social deprivation: A qualitative inquiry within a community-centred food cooperative.The British journal of occupational therapyMembers and volunteers described the cooperative as different from a foodbank. They valued choice, contribution and avoiding shame. They also described regular use alongside belonging, confidence, budgeting and social contact.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2022What are the common areas of risk and their characteristics found in intermediate care from an occupational therapy perspective? A scoping review.The British journal of occupational therapyFalls, discharge planning, and practice errors were the most common risk areas for occupational therapists in intermediate care. The review found no evidence on how therapists explicitly assess the severity or likelihood of these risks.
• OTCohort2023Social participation and health-related quality of life before and during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in individuals with traumatic brain injury: A follow-up exploratory correlational study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineDuring the second pandemic wave, 18 adults with brain injury had unchanged social participation but lower quality of life, especially emotionally. More trouble accessing basic resources was linked to worse daily life, emotions, and physical problems.
• PTOTRCT2023Effectiveness and therapeutic compliance of digital therapy in shoulder rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDigital shoulder therapy was no more effective than standard care for pain or strength. However, patients using the digital ball showed a link between enjoying the exercises and wanting to continue training at home, which did not appear in the standard group.
• PTOTCase Report2023Visual rehabilitation indicating neuroplasticity in an esotropic adult patient with diplopia after sudden visual acuity loss in the non-amblyopic eye: A case report.NeuroRehabilitationA 71-year-old woman with long-standing left-eye amblyopia developed double vision after sudden vision loss in her right eye. Three months of visual training, combined with prism glasses and patching, reduced her eye turn and improved vision in the amblyopic eye.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023U.S. Population Data on Hearing Loss, Trouble Hearing, and Hearing-Device Use in Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-12, 2015-16, and 2017-20.Trends in hearingAbout 85% of US adults with hearing difficulties have unmet needs. Self-reported trouble hearing predicts device use far better than audiograms. Older adults under-report hearing loss compared to their actual audiometric impairment, while younger adults over-report it.
• OTCohort2023Behavioural adjustment of children with intellectual disability and their sibling is associated with their sibling relationship quality.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRBoth siblings' behaviour links to relationship quality, not just the child with disability. Prosocial behaviour from the child with intellectual disability strongly predicted intimacy and companionship. Being younger than the sibling with disability predicted more closeness and more conflict. Parents' views matter more than the child's diagnosis.
• OTSLPSurvey2023Development of stigma-related support for autistic adults: Insights from the autism community.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost autistic adults and caregivers who responded supported stigma help, but many warned it must not blame autistic people. They wanted flexible, positive support focused on self-acceptance, disclosure choices, and practical strategies.
• PTOTCohort2023Relative Aerobic Load of Daily Activities After Stroke.Physical therapyStroke survivors expend a much higher percentage of their limited aerobic capacity on daily tasks like walking and sweeping than healthy peers, even when moving slower. This suggests slow pace is a protective strategy against fatigue, not just a motor deficit.
• OTOther2023Extension, austerity, and emergence: Themes identified from a global scoping review of non-urban occupational therapy services.Australian occupational therapy journalNon-urban occupational therapy services often copied urban models and blamed rural geography for limited access. Some Global South and First Nations work instead built services around local context and community knowledge.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Everyday life during the childhood cancer trajectory-childhood cancer survivors' descriptions of the role of caring support.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesChildhood cancer survivors rated emotional presence as the most significant aspect of care. Older survivors valued this more. Men and those treated with radiation reported lower confidence in their ability to cope. This highlights the need for tailored long-term psychosocial support.
• OTSystematic Review2023Intersectional perspectives on the employment rate in Supported Employment for people with psychiatric, neuropsychiatric, or intellectual disabilities: A scoping review.Work (Reading, Mass.)Supported Employment appears to help people with psychiatric, neuropsychiatric, or intellectual disabilities get jobs regardless of their sex, race, age, or education level. However, most studies were too small to detect real differences, so this finding is uncertain.
• OTOther2022Partnering with people living with dementia and care partners in technology research and design: Reflections and recommendations.Australian occupational therapy journalA small research team reflected on partnering with people living with dementia to design technology. They recommend agreeing on the value of lived experience, engaging partners from the start, asking rather than assuming how to work, and challenging rigid research and design cultures.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Racial/Ethnic Differences in Psychiatric and Medical Diagnoses Among Autistic Adults.Autism in adulthoodAutistic adults had more psychiatric and medical diagnoses than non-autistic adults, but Black, Hispanic, and Asian autistic adults received fewer psychiatric diagnoses than White autistic adults. These gaps likely reflect under-detection and access barriers rather than lower actual need.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Cross-Cultural Validation of Health and Quality of Life Measures for Children in Hong Kong.Occupational therapy internationalChildren with special educational needs reported lower quality of life than peers, particularly in physical and social functioning. Parents generally agreed with their children's views, except for school performance, where parents rated it lower.
• PTOTRCT2023Efficacy of interactive manual dexterity training after stroke: a pilot single-blinded randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDextrain training did not improve gross hand dexterity more than conventional therapy immediately after treatment. However, Dextrain showed greater gains in specific finger control tasks and a non-significant trend for better dexterity at 3-month follow-up.
• PTOTOther2023Community-based postural control assessment in autistic individuals indicates a similar but delayed trajectory compared to neurotypical individuals.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic children and adolescents showed similar but delayed postural control development compared to neurotypical peers. They had greater sway variability and used less efficient movement strategies. This indicates persistent motor differences that do not resolve with age.
• PTOTCohort2023Relationships between physical, cognitive, and social frailty and locomotive and non-locomotive physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity.Journal of physical therapy scienceOnly physical frailty linked to low steps and walking intensity. Cognitive and social frailty showed no such link. Use walking data for physical risk, but look elsewhere for mental or social decline.
• OTOther2023Supporting Collaboration in Rehabilitation Trajectories With Information and Communication Technologies: Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesOnly 3 studies matched ICT criteria for shared decisions. A COPD and heart failure phone plus platform trial did not improve its main outcome; a brain injury video plus in-person pilot showed gains, and an iPad plus in-person app felt useful.
• PTOTQualitative2023Systems modelling as an approach for eliciting the mechanisms for hip fracture recovery among older adults in a participatory stakeholder engagement setting.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesStakeholders identified fragmented information and overprotective caregivers as key barriers to hip fracture recovery. They proposed coordinated communication, patient education on subsidies, and group therapy to build resilience and improve rehabilitation uptake.
• PTOTPilot2023Fully immersive virtual reality exergames with dual-task components for patients with Parkinson's disease: a feasibility study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTwelve patients with Parkinson's disease completed a seated virtual reality boxing and stepping program without dropouts or serious side effects. Balance and executive function scores improved significantly, but walking speed and dual-task interference did not reach statistical significance.
• OTCohort2023The comparison of expressed emotion of parents of individuals with fragile X syndrome to other intellectual disabilities.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDExpressed emotion did not differ between parents of children with fragile X, Down syndrome, or other intellectual disabilities. About 44% of caregivers showed high levels, driven by worry and self-sacrifice rather than criticism. Mothers reported significantly higher levels than fathers.
• PTOTCohort2023Venous thromboembolism and anticoagulation in spinal cord lesion rehabilitation inpatients: A 10-year retrospective study.NeuroRehabilitationStandard low-dose enoxaparin prophylaxis reduced VTE rates compared to historical data but failed to prevent them in 3% of patients during rehabilitation. Late VTEs occurred after discontinuation, and side effects were rare, suggesting the current regimen is insufficient and requires risk-adapted dosing and duration.