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 125 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTSLPSystematic Review2023Brain correlates of declarative memory atypicalities in autism: a systematic review of functional neuroimaging findings.Molecular autismBrain scans show autistic people often use different neural routes for memory, relying more on posterior and left-hemisphere areas than frontal ones. This explains why they may struggle with complex visual or social memory tasks while preserving verbal memory, suggesting therapy should leverage verbal supports.
• PTOTCase Report2023Effects of continuous rehabilitation on intensive care unit-acquired weakness after open-heart surgery: a case report.Journal of physical therapy scienceA 78-year-old woman with ICU-acquired weakness after open-heart surgery received ADL training, Theraband resistance, and bicycle ergometer exercise in hospital and after discharge. In this single case, over 240 days her strength, walking distance, and ADL scores improved.
• OTPilot2023Community-guided measurement-based care for autistic youth and adults receiving psychotherapy: A conceptual overview and pilot implementation study of MBC-AUT.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic clients and caregivers rated a monthly survey system acceptable, and 14 of 18 completed it consistently. Interviews reported benefits, including easier self-report than interviews, and barriers, including survey fatigue and clinician time.
• PTOTSLPRCT2023Outcomes of an interdisciplinary return to work intervention including occupational therapy for mood and adjustment disorders: A single-arm clinical trial.Work (Reading, Mass.)Thirty people with mood or adjustment disorders completed a three-month interdisciplinary return-to-work program led by occupational therapists. Full-time return rates rose from 6.7% at three months to 82.6% at two years, alongside improved readiness and function.
• PTOTCohort2023Physical activity and sedentary behaviour changes during and after cardiac rehabilitation: Can patients be clustered?Journal of rehabilitation medicineMost cardiac rehab patients show steady physical activity levels, but distinct groups improve or deteriorate. High baseline activity predicts later decline, while smoking and obesity predict lack of improvement. Patients need assessment before and after rehab, as those needing help differ at each stage.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Abilities and Disabilities Among Children With Developmental Language Disorder.Language, speech, and hearing services in schoolsLanguage impairment severity did not predict disability. Children with DLD who accumulated multiple risks like low nonverbal IQ or poor health were more likely to be disabled, while those with one or no risks functioned well. Strengths in daily living and socialization persisted.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Problem solving and collaborative involvement among adolescents with spinal cord injury and their caregivers.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAdolescents with spinal cord injury who perceived their caregivers as collaborative partners in their daily care showed better positive and rational problem-solving skills. This association held even when accounting for the caregivers' own problem-solving abilities.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Association between clinical symptoms and lateral thrust 12 months after high tibial osteotomy.Journal of physical therapy sciencePatients with a lateral thrust of 3.1 degrees or more had worse knee function scores 12 months after surgery. To avoid this abnormal knee motion, the hip-knee-ankle angle should be corrected to at least 1.9 degrees of valgus.
• PTOTOther2023Dysfunctional neuro-muscular mechanisms explain gradual gait changes in prodromal spastic paraplegia.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationComputer simulations show that increased muscle reflex sensitivity, not muscle weakness, reproduces the subtle gait changes seen in early spastic paraplegia. This suggests early treatment should target hyperreflexia to prevent gait deterioration.
• OTCohort2022Linking Prioritized Occupational Performance in Patients Undergoing Spasticity-Correcting Upper Limb Surgery to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.Occupational therapy internationalPatients undergoing spasticity surgery prioritized self-care, domestic life, and mobility goals. Their perceived performance and satisfaction improved significantly at 12 months. However, these subjective gains did not correlate with objective improvements in grip strength or grasp ability.
• OTOther2022Factor Analysis and Mental Health Prevention of Employee Turnover under the Profit-Centered Development of Modern Service Industry.Occupational therapy internationalAfter 12 weeks of standard dance, employees had lower mental health symptom scores than controls on eight factors. Terror and paranoia did not.
• PTOTOther2022Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Version.Occupational therapy internationalThe Arabic Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire scored hand preference consistently when adults repeated it one week apart. It can help PTs and OTs document handedness in Arabic-speaking adults, but it was not tested in disabled or stroke patients.
• OTSLPOther2023Prevalence and treatment of mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders in children with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A population-based study.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with both autism and ADHD have much higher rates of anxiety, depression, and conduct problems than those with either condition alone. Despite this, they receive behavioral treatment at similar rates to children with autism only, while nearly three-quarters take psychotropic medication.
• PTOTCohort2023Factors associated with decreased physical activity levels among community-dwelling residents during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: a long-term observational study.Journal of physical therapy scienceWorking adults were twice as likely to lose daily steps during pandemic restrictions compared to those not working. Health literacy made no difference. Therapists should prioritize home exercise plans for employed patients, as their routine walking drops significantly when they shift to sedentary work.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2023The Burden of COVID-19 on Caregivers of Children with Suspected Genetic Conditions: A Therapeutic Odyssey.Physical & occupational therapy in pediatricsOnly two of 25 caregivers said the pandemic interrupted their child's diagnostic search. But every caregiver needing in-person physical, occupational, speech, behavioral, or psychotherapy had trouble accessing it, and virtual therapy often left parents to do therapy without enough training.
• PTOTPilot2023Suitability of visual cues for freezing of gait in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a case-control pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationLaser shoes reduced freezing episodes in Parkinson's patients with milder symptoms and specific brain scan findings, but were ineffective for those with severe freezing. This pilot suggests early intervention may work better, but the small sample size prevents firm conclusions.
• PTOTCohort2023Determinants of gait dystonia severity in cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyExperts identified gait dystonia in cerebral palsy by looking for variable leg adduction and its effect on walking. Two simple video measurements matched these expert ratings: how much the ankles varied in distance and the smallest foot angle. These could help track severity without a gait lab.
• PTOTRCT2023Effects of short-term whole-body vibration training on muscle strength, balance performance, and body composition.Journal of physical therapy scienceShort-term whole-body vibration training did not improve muscle strength, balance, or body composition in healthy young adults. The results were identical to floor-based training and no training, suggesting this brief intervention offers no advantage over conventional exercise.
• OTQualitative2023Social inclusion of persons with disability in employment: what would it take to socially support employed persons with disability in the labor market?Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesEmployers in Nairobi informal settlements described supporting workers with disabilities by listening to their concerns, identifying strengths, and gradually withdrawing help as confidence grew. They also noted that rigid, one-size-fits-all support and workplace conflicts often caused these efforts to fail.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2023Psychological strengths and well-being: Strengths use predicts quality of life, well-being and mental health in autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults reported using their personal strengths less often than non-autistic adults. However, using strengths was strongly linked to better quality of life, well-being, and mental health in both groups. Interventions should focus on general strengths use, not just autism-specific traits.
• OTCohort2023A retrospective study on return to living alone of stroke patients who were living alone before stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke patients who lived alone before onset were more likely to return home when functional score (FIM) at discharge was 91 or higher and social score was low. Social problems lowered return rates even when ADL scores were high.
• PTOTQualitative2023Perspectives of Rehabilitation Professionals on Implementing a Validated Home Telerehabilitation Intervention for Older Adults in Geriatric Rehabilitation: Multisite Focus Group Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesTherapists valued sensor monitoring for spotting activity drops after discharge but struggled to use it with patients who have cognitive impairment or live alone. They identified a lack of time to review data and insufficient training as key barriers to routine implementation.
• OTQualitative2022"I Could Really Use This": Occupational Therapy Students' Perceptions of Learning to Coach.Occupational therapy internationalStudents found coaching required shifting from being the expert to facilitating client-led goals. They valued the flexibility and deeper therapeutic relationships but noted the mindset change was difficult. Some clients struggled with the self-reflection and motivation coaching requires.
• OTQualitative2022Australian occupational therapists' perspectives of consumers authentically contributing to student learning during practice placements: 'It just makes sense!' but 'we need a process'.Australian occupational therapy journalExperienced Australian OT supervisors see consumer feedback as valuable but fear students lack the skill to process it safely. They want a structured, educator-controlled process to manage the time burden and the shift in power away from the supervisor.
• OTCohort2022Evaluation of an occupation-based sleep programme for people with Insomnia.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTAn occupation-based sleep programme combining group education and individual coaching outperformed standard sleep hygiene advice. Participants improved more on insomnia severity, sleep quality, and mood. Gains were largest between the end of the programme and the one-month follow-up.
• OTSLPCohort2023Sex differences in the course of autistic and co-occurring psychopathological symptoms in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn adolescents with autism, social communication difficulties were similar for males and females. However, autistic males showed more repetitive behaviors and resistance to change than females. Anxiety and depression increased in females but decreased in males, a pattern identical to those without autism.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Executive function improvement in response to meta-cognitive training in chronic mTBI / PTSD.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesVeterans with mild TBI and PTSD who received Goal Management Training plus a smartphone app for home practice showed significant improvements in executive function and life role participation. This uncontrolled pilot suggests the combined approach aids transfer of skills to daily life.
• OTSurvey2023Nurses' assessed self-efficacy levels to medical asepsis and their relation to structural empowerment, work engagement and work-related stress.Work (Reading, Mass.)Nurses reported high confidence in medical asepsis, but only small positive links to empowerment, engagement and lower stress. Confidence was not measured against observed asepsis behaviour, so this does not show that better working conditions improve infection control.
• PTOTCohort2023Establishing the Validity of Using the COPD Assessment Test to Screen for Fatigue in People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Referred to Pulmonary Rehabilitation.Physical therapyA CAT score of 10 or higher correctly identified 95% of people with COPD who had clinically relevant fatigue. However, it also flagged 69% of those without fatigue as having it. Use the CAT to screen for fatigue, but confirm the finding before treating.
• OTQualitative2023Barriers and enablers to the delivery and implementation of the tailored activity programme in Australia: Perspectives of occupational therapists and their managers.Australian occupational therapy journalOccupational therapists and managers in Queensland saw the tailored activity programme as core to their role but flagged three major hurdles: fitting 7-8 home visits into busy caseloads, securing funding within existing models, and gauging whether carers have the time and emotional capacity to commit to the intervention.
• OTCohort2023Impact of COVID-19 on employment: sociodemographic, medical, psychiatric and neuropsychological correlates.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPeople with long COVID who took extra time off work had more severe symptoms, fatigue, mood problems and lower cognitive test scores. Those who felt work performance suffered reported fatigue and executive difficulty despite similar cognitive test scores.
• PTOTSLPPilot2023An Intensive Exercise Program Using a Technology-Enriched Rehabilitation Gym for the Recovery of Function in People With Chronic Stroke: Usability Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPeople with chronic stroke found a tech-heavy gym program feasible, attending 82% of planned sessions. They valued equipment feedback but needed professional supervision for safety. While physical scores improved, the study did not test whether the intervention caused these changes.
• PTOTQualitative2023Struggling to Keep Up and Have a Good Life: A Qualitative Study of Living With Impaired Balance Control Due to Multiple Sclerosis.Physical therapyPeople with multiple sclerosis described balance as shifting from an automatic skill to one requiring constant attention. Fatigue, unpredictable daily capacity, and busy environments made walking unsafe and exhausting. They managed this by prioritizing energy and accepting limits to keep doing what mattered.
• OTQualitative2023Health in Down syndrome: creating a conceptual model.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRExperts, parents, and teens with Down syndrome described health as physical, social, and mental well-being. They added Down syndrome-specific topics such as sleep, hearing, vision, immunity, school inclusion, and family factors.
• OTQualitative2022"Moving on to an Open World": A Study of Participants' Experience in Meaningful Activities and Recovery (MA&R).Occupational therapy internationalParticipants described the program as a practical course, not therapy, and said small familiar activities became more meaningful. They valued one-on-one support from an occupational therapist and a peer-worker, but group differences reduced connectedness.
• PTOTOther2022The Dignity Project Framework: An extreme citizen science framework in occupational therapy and rehabilitation research.Australian occupational therapy journalA new framework guides dignified partnership with citizens with disability in research and practice. It replaces tokenistic consultation with shared power, requiring co-investigator roles, accessible methods, transparent governance, and iterative reflection to ensure lived experience drives outcomes.
• OTNarrative Review2022A Narrative Review of the Usage of Creative Solutions to Enhance Disabled Patients' Quality of Life and Wellbeing by Occupational Therapists.Occupational therapy internationalCreative activities help disabled patients express themselves, build self-esteem, and improve wellbeing. Therapists need to recognize creativity as a core treatment tool, not just an optional extra, to better support patients' quality of life.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2023Patient's assessment and prediction of recovery after stroke: a roadmap for clinicians.Archives of physiotherapyA stepwise guide to predicting stroke recovery using tools like PREP2 for arm function and TWIST for walking. These algorithms help set realistic goals but require clinical judgement, as long-term accuracy is only established for PREP2.
• PTOTOther2023Evaluating the usability of a co-designed power assisted exercise graphical user interface for people with stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors and therapists tested two versions of a power-assisted exercise interface. Version 2 fixed major navigation and feedback problems, but new features confused users and one safety change was judged too risky.
• PTOTOther2023Reliability and validity of quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using smartphones.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn ten healthy young adults, a smartphone app measured postural adjustments during one-leg stance with reliability and validity similar to a research-grade accelerometer. It offers a simple, low-cost screening tool for balance, but has not yet been tested in patients who fall.
• PTOTOther2023The reliability and validity of joint range of motion measurement using zoom and a smartphone application.Journal of physical therapy scienceMeasuring shoulder flexion range of motion via Zoom screenshots and a smartphone app matched 3D motion analysis closely in healthy adults. The method showed high reliability and validity, offering a potential tool for remote assessment.
• OTSurvey2023Food insecurity among New York City taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers.Work (Reading, Mass.)Nearly four in ten New York City taxi drivers were food insecure. Insecurity linked to higher stress, depression history, and skipped medical visits. Drivers whose income failed to meet basic needs had significantly lower odds of being food secure.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Neural coding of autonomic functions in different states of consciousness.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBrain-heart signal coupling was higher in patients with lower consciousness levels. This pattern helps distinguish unresponsive or minimally responsive patients from those who have emerged, offering a non-invasive, bedside tool to support behavioral assessments.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Measuring the determinants of implementation behavior in multiprofessional rehabilitation.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineExperts agreed a 21-item questionnaire captures key barriers and facilitators for implementing rehabilitation interventions in multiprofessional teams. It focuses on knowledge, skills, and organizational support, omitting system-level factors. Use it to assess readiness before launching new team-based protocols.
• OTCohort2022Factors affecting cross-linguistic transfer of handwriting performance among elementary-school bilingual students.The British journal of occupational therapyHandwriting transfer between languages depends on which language is dominant and how complex the script is. Arabic-speaking students wrote Hebrew as fast as their native Arabic, but Hebrew-speaking students wrote Arabic much slower than their native Hebrew. Legibility stayed high in both groups.
• PTOTSLPPilot2022Development of a new scale for the measurement of interprofessional collaboration among occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech-language therapists.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTA new 28-item scale measures collaboration among OTs, PTs and SLPs in Japanese rehab wards. It checks team behaviour, opinion exchange, flexibility, sharing patient context, and coordinating support. Scores were similar across professions, suggesting it is a common tool for all three.
• OTQualitative2022Service user perspectives on engagement in an occupational therapy-led pulmonary rehabilitation programme: A qualitative interview study.The British journal of occupational therapyPeople with COPD described pulmonary rehabilitation as doing exercises, feeling breathless, belonging to a group, and becoming someone living with COPD. Some initially doubted they fit the programme or the gym space.
• PTOTCohort2023Balance assessment in selected stages of Parkinson's disease using trend change analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new balance metric called the Trend Change Index (TCI) successfully distinguished Parkinson's patients from healthy controls in both early and later stages. Unlike standard speed measurements, this metric detected balance differences in Stage II patients who otherwise looked normal on traditional tests.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Gender-specific factors associated with the Japanese version of the trail making test among Japanese workers.Journal of physical therapy scienceWorkers with metabolic syndrome risk factors took longer to complete a cognitive flexibility test. Low muscle mass and lower-body strength also predicted slower test times in men, but not in women. These physical markers may help identify cognitive decline risk in the workplace.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Preliminary assessment of the reliability and validity of infrared skin temperature measurements in Rett syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRInfrared skin temperature measurements showed acceptable stability for hands but lower reliability for feet in females with Rett syndrome. Hand temperatures correlated moderately with parent-reported autonomic symptoms, while foot temperatures showed stronger associations with symptom severity.