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 152 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTSLPQualitative2024Diversity in Autistic Play: Autistic Adults' Experiences.Autism in adulthoodAutistic adults described solitary play as restorative and social play as draining but valuable. They preferred parallel play and smaller groups. Imaginary play was often grounded in reality. Flow provided relaxation but disrupted self-care. These preferences vary by individual needs and energy levels.
• OTPilot2024Feasibility of OT-Parentship: An intervention for parents of adolescents with autism.The British journal of occupational therapyTen families completed a 13-session coaching programme for parents of teens with autism. Parents reported high satisfaction, and their own and their child's performance in daily tasks improved significantly, with gains maintained at three-month follow-up.
• PTOTOther2025Returning to work after dysvascular lower limb amputation-A novel multivariate approach to examine relative contributions of biopsychosocial predictors.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalPhysical function and socioeconomic support predicted return to work, but only 30% of participants returned. Pre-amputation employment and self-reported mobility mattered more than lab walking tests. Access to rehab and financial difficulty were key contextual factors.
• OTCase Report2024Using recognition testing to support semantic learning in developmental amnesia.Neuropsychological rehabilitationIn one boy with developmental amnesia, learning new facts via multiple-choice recognition tests led to double the recall after one week compared to open-ended recall tests. This suggests using repeated recognition quizzes to support semantic learning in children with memory impairment.
• PTOTOther2024Assessing Work Functioning in Patients with Persistent Low Back Pain: Exploring the Structural Validity of the Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire.Journal of occupational rehabilitationWORQ self-report scores in patients with persistent low back pain grouped into psychological wellbeing, physical functioning, and cognitive ability. Use domain scores rather than the total score to guide work rehabilitation.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Clinical Work-Integrating Care in Current Practice: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationWork participation is rarely discussed routinely in hospital care, with conversations mostly initiated by patients. Medical specialists often lack specific return-to-work guidelines, leading to advice based on personal judgment rather than evidence. This leaves patients with insufficient practical details for their work situations.
• PTOTSurvey2024Work Difficulties in People with Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAmong 340 people with MS, older age, southern residence, and higher disability were linked to unemployment; higher education and open-ended contracts were linked to staying employed. In employed people, physical difficulties and fatigue were common.
• OTOther2024Validity of the Capacity to Work Index: Development of an Instrument to Measure Work Capacity in Relation to Depression and Anxiety in the General Working Population.Journal of occupational rehabilitationA 17-item Capacity to Work Index about work capacity problems in depression and anxiety was developed from qualitative studies and tested in 51 hospital staff. It showed consistent responses and related to wellbeing, but it is not ready to guide return-to-work decisions.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Service guidelines, models, and protocols for integrating rehabilitation services in primary healthcare in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa: a scoping review.Disability and rehabilitationRehabilitation is rarely integrated into primary care in BRICS countries. Most models rely on community health workers, often without proper supervision by therapists. This limits access and quality, particularly for speech and physical therapy services in remote areas.
• PTOTCohort2024Differences in rehabilitation evaluation access for rural and socially disadvantaged stroke survivors.Topics in stroke rehabilitationRural and socially disadvantaged stroke survivors received significantly fewer community-based physical and occupational therapy evaluations than their peers. Access to outpatient therapy was particularly low for these groups, with only 2.0% of the total cohort receiving outpatient occupational therapy.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Access to primary healthcare services for adults with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean: a review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.Disability and rehabilitationPeople with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean face barriers to primary healthcare, including inaccessible information, poor transport links, and untrained providers. Most evidence comes from Brazil, with significant gaps for people with intellectual impairments.
• PTOTCohort2024Psychological predictors of performance-based physical functioning among pediatric pain program participants.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineYouth in a four-week pain program improved on treadmill endurance and gross motor tests. Baseline depression predicted worse endurance and catastrophizing predicted worse motor skills, but neither predicted outcomes after treatment.
• PTOTCohort2024Predictors of increasing disability in activities of daily living among people with advanced respiratory disease: a multi-site prospective cohort study, England UK.Disability and rehabilitationMobility limitation predicts worsening ability to manage daily tasks like shopping and cooking in people with advanced respiratory disease. However, it does not predict decline in basic self-care tasks. Screen for mobility issues to identify patients who may need preventative rehabilitation.
• OTSLPQualitative2024The effectiveness of the use of a technology toolkit on activities and mother-child interactions: children with complex care needs.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologySome children with complex care needs stayed longer with toolkit items such as a vibrating speaker or talking parrot, and mothers sometimes followed their lead more in four families observed at home. The researcher's presence may have shaped these observations.
• PTOTQualitative2025Nutrition and eating beliefs and behaviors among individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders: Healthy or misconceived?Rehabilitation psychologyVeterans with chronic spinal cord injuries often restrict calories severely to manage weight or because injury altered their appetite and digestion. They also face physical barriers to cooking and shopping, leading many to rely on processed foods despite knowing this is unhealthy.
• PTOTRCT2024Novel Internet Support for Neck-Specific Rehabilitation Improves Work-Related Outcomes to the Same Extent as Extensive Visits to a Physiotherapy Clinic in Individuals with Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Prospective Randomised Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitationThe same neck-specific exercises showed no significant group difference on work ability when supported by Internet plus four physiotherapy visits or delivered at 24 clinic visits in chronic whiplash. Both groups improved, and gains lasted 15 months.
• PTOTOther2024Development of a value-based scoring system for the MobQoL-7D: a novel tool for measuring quality-adjusted life years in the context of mobility impairment.Disability and rehabilitationPeople with mobility impairments rate severe health states as less negative than the general public does. Clinicians should not assume patients view their condition as devastating. When calculating quality-adjusted life years, specify whose perspective you are using, as the two groups value states differently.
• OTCohort2024Intraindividual variability in post-stroke cognition and its relationship with activities of daily living and social functioning: an ecological momentary assessment approach.Topics in stroke rehabilitationIn 202 mild-to-moderate stroke survivors, people whose self-reported cognitive problems varied more across the day had worse daily activities and social functioning. Standardized cognitive tests did not show the same differences.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Fibromyalgia pain management effectiveness from the patient perspective: a qualitative evidence synthesis.Disability and rehabilitationPatients with fibromyalgia report conflicting views on pain management. Exercise and medication are polarizing, with some finding relief and others experiencing worsened pain or side effects. Success often depends on individualized, person-centered care and validation of the diagnosis rather than standardized protocols.
• PTOTPilot2024The IndieTrainer system: a small-scale trial exploring a new approach to support powered mobility skill acquisition in children.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyChildren with severe mobility limitations using a device that turns their manual wheelchair into a power trainer showed significant gains in understanding and executing power wheelchair skills. Parents reported high satisfaction. However, without a control group, it is unclear if the device itself caused these improvements.
• PTOTSystematic Review2024Time to Service and Its Relationship with Outcomes in Workers with Compensated Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationEarly physical therapy and biopsychosocial care linked to faster return to work. Early MRI and opioids linked to longer disability and higher costs. Delayed surgery worsened neck outcomes. Timely access matters, but the specific service changes the result.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2024Factors related to high-risk movement behaviour in people with stroke who are highly sedentary and inactive.Disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors with high-risk sedentary habits were largely unaware of their movement patterns and relied on daily routines rather than conscious regulation. Participants stated that receiving feedback on their actual activity levels and support to break habitual sitting were key to enabling change.
• OTSurvey2024Social Insurance Literacy Among the Sick-listed-A Study of Clients' Comprehension and Self-Rated System Comprehensibility of the Sickness Insurance System.Journal of occupational rehabilitationClients who rated the Swedish sickness insurance system as easier to understand more often had ongoing sickness benefits and saw the system as fair. Their own ability to obtain, understand, or act on information showed weaker links.
• PTOTSystematic Review2024Wellbeing After Finalization of a Workers' Compensation Claim: A Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationInjured workers who had finished a workers' compensation claim often had ongoing poor health, unstable work and financial strain. No study directly measured overall wellbeing, so these are related outcomes, not a confirmed wellbeing finding.
• OTOther2024Two Decades of Department of Veterans Affairs Traumatic Brain Injury Care and Benefits for Veterans of Post-9/11 Conflicts.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationThe VA TBI Registry has identified 441,639 post-9/11 Veterans with possible or confirmed TBI. Most were classified as mild, and some still reported symptoms months to years later.
• PTOTSurvey2024Improving telehealth for persons with multiple sclerosis - a cross-sectional study from the Australian MS longitudinal study.Disability and rehabilitationMost participants with MS used telehealth, and most who rated it said it was positive. They wanted preparation guidance, remote monitoring devices, and ways to do physical tests or treatment remotely.
• PTOTOther2024ICF classification of therapeutic goals for outpatient episodes of neurorehabilitation in post-stroke and Parkinson disease.Disability and rehabilitationClinicians mostly set goals for what patients can do in the clinic, not in daily life. Only 21% of goals targeted real-world performance, and fewer than 1% used direct measurement. This disconnect may explain why capacity improves but daily function does not.
• PTOTCohort2024Patterns of Mental Health Service Use in Australian Workers with Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitationOnly 9.7% of workers with low back pain claims received funded mental health services. Those who did wait a median of 26.6 weeks for the first visit. Services were concentrated in workers with long-term time loss, with psychologists providing most care.
• OTCohort2024Level of and Changes in Perceived Work Ability Among Partial Disability Pensioners and the Risk of Full Disability Pension-A Register-Linked Cohort Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAmong employees on partial disability pension, those rating their work ability as poor were nearly twice as likely to move to full disability pension within ten years. However, whether their work ability improved or worsened over four years did not predict this risk.
• PTOTOther2024Assessment of mental health and quality of life among children with congenital heart disease.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineChildren with congenital heart disease had more mood and anxiety disorders than healthy comparison children, and cyanotic children had the lowest quality-of-life scores. The study compares groups. It does not show that treatment works.
• OTOther2024Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing Interventions to Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders in Blue-Collar Workers: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationPreventing musculoskeletal disorders in blue-collar workers is more likely to be implemented when workers help design and choose the program, and when managers support changes. Barriers include rigid production cultures, weak employer support, and too many job rotations.
• OTOther2024The Social Insurance Literacy Questionnaire (SILQ): Development and Psychometric Evaluation.Journal of occupational rehabilitationA new 23-item questionnaire measures how well sick leave clients understand and act on insurance information, and how clear the agency is. It works well for most people, but scores for men and women differ significantly on one item about arguing legal cases.
• PTOTOther2024Challenges of Measuring Self-Reported Exposure to Occupational Biomechanical Risk Factors Amongst People with Low Literacy Engaged in Manual Labour: Findings from a Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Investigation in an African Population with Chronic Low Back Pain.Journal of occupational rehabilitationThe Igbo version of the Occupational Risk Factor Questionnaire is reliable but showed unexpected results: higher reported physical job exposure linked to lower disability and pain. This likely reflects the 'healthy worker' effect, where those with more pain stop working, rather than heavy work being protective.
• PTOTCohort2024Disparities in access but not outcomes: Medicaid versus non-Medicaid patients in multidisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation.Disability and rehabilitationMedicaid patients started pain rehab with worse pain and lower function than non-Medicaid patients, but both groups improved equally over three weeks. Access to multidisciplinary programs remains the barrier, not the effectiveness of the treatment for disadvantaged populations.
• PTOTPilot2025Healthcare Awareness Profile Interview: Development of a new evidence-based brief clinical tool to assess awareness in people with dementia.Neuropsychological rehabilitationA brief awareness interview for people with mild-to-moderate dementia was feasible by phone or video, lasted about 11 min, and was generally acceptable. It gives a profile of awareness across memory, daily tasks, social and emotional functioning and mobility, and is not yet validated.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Positive impacts of psychological pain treatments: Supplementary analyses of a randomized clinical trial.Rehabilitation psychologyHypnosis and mindfulness maintained improvements in positive psychosocial impact at six months, while pain education effects faded. There were no differences between groups immediately post-treatment or at three months, suggesting these skills help sustain well-being over time.
• OTSurvey2025Self-Perceived Interpersonal Problems Among Long-Term Unemployed Individuals, and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (In)ability to Change Them.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAfter one year in a tailored vocational rehabilitation program, self-perceived interpersonal problems did not significantly change in 51 long-term unemployed participants with full responses. They had reported more problems than a Danish general population norm, especially cold/distanced, socially inhibited, vindictive/self-centered, and non-assertive.
• OTQualitative2025Barriers to and Facilitators for Finding and Keeping Competitive Employment: A Focus Group Study on Autistic Adults With and Without Paid Employment.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAutistic adults identified workplace inclusion, supportive supervisors, and job-coaching as key to employment. Those without jobs cited lack of energy, low self-esteem, and fear of losing benefits as barriers. Those with jobs emphasized assertiveness and finding work aligned with personal interests.
• PTOTOther2025Developing a Work Accommodation Operating Model for Workplaces and Work Ability Support Services.Journal of occupational rehabilitationA workplace survey found that fewer than half of respondents reported their workplace had enough knowledge and skills to accommodate work, and Finnish workplaces co-created a work accommodation model setting out process steps, roles, and tools. The paper does not test whether the model works.
• PTOTOther2025Similarities and differences in factors associated with high and low sedentary behavior after stroke: a mixed methods study.Disability and rehabilitationPeople with more device-measured sitting time after stroke described basic daily tasks, help done for them, and barriers without solutions. People with less sitting time described wider activities, doing things with others, and finding ways around barriers.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Barriers and facilitators to parent-delivered interventions for children with or infants at risk of cerebral palsy. An integrative review informed by behaviour change theory.Disability and rehabilitationParents delivering home therapy for children with or at risk of cerebral palsy often felt underprepared, time pressed, and emotionally strained. Clear knowledge, coaching for skills, realistic goals, flexible home programmes, family support, and stable therapist relationships were described as facilitating delivery.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Can General Practitioner Opioid Prescribing to Compensated Workers with Low Back Pain Be Detected Using Administrative Payments Data? An Exploratory Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAdministrative payment data can detect that at least 35.6% of opioid dispenses to workers with low back pain were likely prescribed by a general practitioner on the same day. This allows insurers to monitor prescribing trends without needing clinical notes.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2024Using machine learning to discover traumatic brain injury patient phenotypes: national concussion surveillance system Pilot.Brain injuryMachine learning sorted self-reported concussion symptoms into five distinct groups. One group had many symptoms and worse outcomes, including more social and work impairment. Another had headache alone and resolved quickly. These profiles may help target care, but the study did not test any treatment.
• PTOTNarrative Review2024The role of exercise in aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationFor breast cancer patients with aromatase inhibitor joint pain, combined aerobic and resistance exercise over many months had the strongest support to reduce pain and improve function. Yoga and tai chi were feasible, but evidence is smaller.
• PTOTSLPOther2024Translation and Psychometric Testing of the Hägerbäumer Presenteeism Scale in English.Journal of occupational rehabilitationThe English translation of the Hägerbäumer Presenteeism Scale is valid and reliable for measuring the behaviour of working while ill. It does not mix this behaviour with health status or productivity loss, offering a clear tool for assessing presenteeism in English-speaking employees.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2024Social determinants of health and COVID-19 recovery after inpatient rehabilitation.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationPatients from lower-income or suburban areas reported worse quality of life and needed more help one year after rehab. Female patients also reported poorer outcomes and sought more follow-up care. Functional gains during the hospital stay were similar across all groups, so discharge scores did not predict who struggled later.
• PTOTSLPOther2024Neurobehavioral Symptom Profiles for the Behavioral Assessment Screening Tool in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAdults with chronic TBI fell into three distinct symptom profiles: High-Risk (mostly younger men with high substance misuse and impulsivity), Moderate-Risk, and High Negative Affect (mostly women with mild TBI and low other symptoms). These patterns suggest tailoring screening and intervention based on demographic and symptom clusters rather than treating TBI symptoms as a single uniform block.
• PTOTCohort2024Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography can predict inpatient rehabilitation functional outcome in patients with stroke.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationStroke patients with abnormally low blood flow velocity in the affected brain artery gained significantly less motor function during inpatient rehabilitation compared to those with normal flow. This single-center study suggests transcranial Doppler may help predict motor recovery potential.
• PTOTSystematic Review2024Electronic Health Records for Predicting Outcomes to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationVery few studies use electronic health records to predict work-related musculoskeletal disorder outcomes. Most rely on claims databases. There is no standard set of data therapists should collect, and current records often lack the psychosocial and workplace factors needed for accurate prediction.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2024Attitudes of cardiac rehabilitation and stroke teams towards integration of stroke survivors into adapted cardiac rehabilitation: A focus group study.Clinical rehabilitationCardiac rehab staff reported positive experiences integrating stroke survivors but lacked confidence managing stroke-specific issues like tone and fatigue. Stroke teams doubted cardiac staff's ability to provide safe support. Both groups agreed a specialist stroke physiotherapist must be present in classes.