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 205 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTOther2025Intuition in Occupational Therapists' Clinical Reasoning: A Scoping Review.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthAcross 22 mostly theoretical articles, occupational therapists describe intuition as fast, experience-based judgement that develops with expertise and helps fill gaps when information is incomplete. The review warns it can bias decisions, and no validated tool measures it in occupational therapy.
• OTSystematic Review2025Economic Evidence in Occupational Therapy: A Rapid Review.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieOccupational therapy's economic evidence is mixed: in home care, some studies found savings or lower costs while others found no cost difference. In about 40% of the 135 studies the specific occupational therapy contribution was not described.
• PTOTOther2026Performance Quality Rating Scale for Somatosensation After Stroke Version 3: Reliability, Feasibility.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthA new 10-point scale rates how somatosensory loss after stroke shows up in activities a client chose. Two clinicians watching the same video agreed fairly well, with some disagreement. Four averaged together agreed very well. It got easier with practice.
• OTSurvey2026Relationships Between Frequency of Attendance, Engagement and Independence in Everyday Activities Among Children and Youth With Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities: The Association With Comprehension Difficulties.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDChildren with disabilities who also struggled to understand things attended everyday activities less often, were less engaged and were less independent than children with disabilities but no comprehension difficulties. Gaps were widest in complex tasks like shopping, managing money and transport.
• OTCohort2026Autistic young people's psychological well-being in school.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic teenagers like school less and are unhappy there more often than non-autistic peers, but those gaps disappear once academic self-concept, bullying and peer problems are accounted for. How autistic students rate their own academic ability tracked most closely with how they felt at school.
• OTRCT2026Goal Satisfaction, Not Attainment, Predicted Occupational Performance Improvement During Behavioral Activation/Problem-Solving Rehabilitation After Breast Cancer.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthHow satisfied women felt with how each week's goal turned out was the strongest predictor of improvement in performing and enjoying daily activities. Whether they met the goals, or whether weekly goals matched their long-term priorities, did not predict improvement.
• PTOTSurvey2026Pregnancy occurrence, intendedness, and outcomes among U.S. females with and without disability, 2011-2019.Disability and health journalFemales with disability reported more unintended pregnancies, miscarriages and other non-live birth outcomes than females without disability. Younger disabled females (15-25) were no more likely than peers to have an unintended pregnancy, but had more miscarriages.
• OTCohort2026Adverse Childhood Experiences in Autistic and Neurotypical Girls.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic girls had more parent-reported adverse childhood experiences than neurotypical girls, though not in any one category. In both groups, at least one ACE went with more anxiety and depression.
• PTOTCohort2026Relationships Among Activity, Motor Skill Performance and Executive Function in Preschool Children: Observational Report.Child: care, health and developmentPreschoolers who jumped further, balanced longer, gripped harder or ran faster in the supine timed up and go also did better on tests of holding back a response and remembering where things were. How much they moved, sat and slept showed no link to those scores.
• PTOTCohort2026Profiles of Quality of Life Outcomes Observed in Rehabilitation Patients Using Latent Profile Analysis.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationRehabilitation patients sorted into four quality-of-life patterns that cut across diagnosis, not by injury type: two groups doing well, one average group with pain, and the largest group (47%) with poor physical function and independence. No treatment was tested.
• OTSurvey2025Exploring occupational therapists' use of movement guidelines for young children with disabilities.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapiePediatric OTs in Canada agreed the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines matter for preschoolers with disabilities and were open to using them, but most knew the guidelines only vaguely and half said no implementation tools came with them. Training and confidence were the gaps.
• OTSurvey2025Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions: Follow-Up on Changes Within Canadian Academic and Fieldwork Curricula.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieCanadian occupational therapy programs were back to in-person teaching and pre-pandemic graduation timelines by 2023, keeping some online elements. Fieldwork placements are still hard to fill, and educators still flag students' communication and interpersonal skills as a concern.
• OTSystematic Review2025Occupational Therapists' Psychotherapy Competence: A Scoping Review of Secondary Data.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieAcross 104 articles, the review points to supervision, further training, experience and learning from colleagues as the ways therapists build confidence, and finds no clear route to competence. Entry-level training leaves therapists unsure, and those in their first five years need support.
• OTOther2025Supporting Sustainability: A Philosophical Analysis of Certain Assumptions Underlying Occupational Therapy.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieNo finding to act on. This is a philosophical essay about the ideas underneath occupational therapy, not a study of patients or treatments.
• OTCase Report2026Challenging Case: Health Care Professionals as Cultural Brokers for a Boy From Central America With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Trauma and Stressor-related Disorder.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPOne boy with ADHD, trauma and autism improved on stimulant and guanfacine treatment, but cost and language barriers blocked psychotherapy, and his mood later worsened. What helped was cultural brokering: staff attended his school meeting and helped the family with housing and prescriptions.
• PTOTOther2026Spinal cord neuromodulation for autonomic recovery following spinal cord injury: a scoping review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSpinal cord stimulation may improve blood pressure, bladder, bowel and sexual function after spinal cord injury, but the evidence is small case series and cohort studies with no randomised trials. Some had blood pressure spikes, and benefits varied.
• PTOTCohort2026Medical complications in children with central nervous system injuries during inpatient rehabilitation.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAlmost all the children (59 of 64, 92%) had at least one medical complication during inpatient rehabilitation after brain or spinal cord injury. Sleep problems, pain and constipation were most common, but treating physicians judged most complications to have no consequences for rehabilitation.
• OTSurvey2026Perceived Accessibility of Living Environment and Services Questionnaire: Validity and Reliability.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthOlder adults with disabilities rated their neighborhoods as less accessible than those without. The new 9-item PALES matched their answers to researchers' own ratings and gave the same score when people answered again two weeks later.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2026Systematic Review of Group-Based Emotion Regulation Interventions for Autistic Children's Socio-Emotional Competence.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthGroup programmes teaching autistic children to recognise and manage emotions may improve social skills, emotional competence and empathy. All 17 studies reported gains, but several had no comparison group and the studies were too varied to pool, so the effect is uncertain.
• OTQualitative2026Occupational Therapy Professional Identity: Learning From the Muriel Driver Memorial Lectures.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieAcross 43 Muriel Driver lectures, Canadian occupational therapy's shared identity stayed centred on occupation and social justice, even as the knowledge focus moved to the environment. Only three lectures discussed professional identity directly. Since 2012 the emphasis shifted from seeking medicine's legitimacy to influencing others to recognise the profession's values.
• OTOther2026Effectiveness of earplugs and noise cancelling headphones to improve turboprop acoustic comfort.Work (Reading, Mass.)Noise-cancelling headphones made 24 passengers in a simulated turboprop cabin more comfortable than the turboprop noise alone. Earplugs helped less clearly, and their results no longer held once the analysis was adjusted for multiple comparisons.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Motivation in motor training interventions after stroke-a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesOnly five of 17 trials of stroke motor training found gains on both motivation and motor performance. Many trials that claimed to be motivating never measured motivation, and every trial was rated at high risk of bias.
• OTOther2026How few channels suffice? A hierarchical validation framework for minimal-channel wearable sEMG in upper-limb rehabilitation gesture recognition.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFour forearm electrodes read eight hand and wrist gestures at 94.4% accuracy across 24 people, matching a six-electrode setup. Three electrodes reached 91.7%, but only 8 of 24 people matched their own best layout. Participants were healthy young adults, not patients.
• OTSLPCohort2026Reciprocal Associations Between Parental Anxiety/Depression and Emotional/Behavioral Difficulties in Autistic Children Following Their Diagnosis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchParents' anxiety and depression and autistic children's emotional and behavioural difficulties did not predict each other over the three years after diagnosis. At diagnosis 55.2% of mothers and 42.7% of fathers had clinically significant symptoms, and 61.3% of children were in the clinical range.
• OTRCT2026Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) in Parkinson's: Randomized Trial Findings.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieCO-OP occupational therapy improved self- and therapist-rated performance on goals chosen by people with Parkinson's compared with a waiting list, but a masked assessor's goal rating and measures of thinking, daily function, quality of life and self-efficacy showed no difference.
• PTOTCohort2026Pressure injuries beyond acute care hospitals: a multicenter cohort study across rehabilitation settings.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences17.3% of patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation already had a pressure injury, most stage 1 or 2, and 41.5% of those injuries healed during the stay. Those patients stayed longer and were less likely to be discharged routinely.
• OTOther2026Occupational Therapy as Integral Partner in Lower Limb Amputation Rehabilitation: A Clinical Commentary.Occupational therapy in health careThis is a clinical commentary, not a study. It proposes a four-phase framework for occupational therapy in lower limb amputation care, drawn from clinical experience and existing literature. No patients and no outcomes are reported.
• OTQualitative2026Occupational Therapist Perspectives: Factors Influencing Recovery Following Motor Vehicle Accident Injury.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieOntario occupational therapists described recovery after a motor vehicle accident as shaped by the insurance claim as much as the injury: late referrals leaving clients with poor coping, adjusters declining funding, and lawyers asking therapists not to let clients improve too much before settlement.
• OTSLPCohort2026Maternal And Paternal Differences in Parental Stress and Children's Autistic Features Among Parents of Preschool Autistic Children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceChild behaviour problems went with higher stress for both mothers and fathers of autistic preschoolers. Mothers' stress also went with social communication, repetitive behaviour and adaptive difficulties; fathers' did not. Mothers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and more educated mothers, reported less stress.
• OTQualitative2025Inclusion in Fieldwork: Academic Fieldwork Coordinators' Perspectives on Accommodating Disabled Occupational Therapy Students.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieAcademic fieldwork coordinators say they patch together accommodations for disabled OT students with little institutional help. Accessibility advisors don't understand what fieldwork demands, there are no formal tools to check whether accommodations worked, and coordinators leave students to flag problems themselves.
• OTSystematic Review2025Determining the success of clinical outcomes for thumb immobilization compared to no thumb immobilization in adult non-displaced, non-surgically managed scaphoid fractures: A systematic review.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTIn stable scaphoid fractures, casting with the thumb free made no clear difference to healing, pain, grip strength or wrist movement compared with casting that included the thumb. One small study of healthy volunteers found faster hand function without the thumb immobilised.
• OTCohort2025Pediatric normative data for the Complete Minnesota Dexterity Test.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsChildren aged 7 to 18 now have age-based scores for all five parts of the Complete Minnesota Dexterity Test, covering one-handed and two-handed tasks, with times getting faster each year. The authors say one attempt per task is enough.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2026Lorazepam for post-operative pediatric cerebellar mutism syndrome: A case report.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineOne 11-year-old boy with post-operative cerebellar mutism after medulloblastoma surgery gained 40 WeeFIM units the week after lorazepam was started, having gained 1 the week before, and lost ground when it was stopped. Four other drugs were on board as well.
• PTOTRCT2026Dissociable effects of β-tACS on spectral power and network organization for proximal versus distal upper-limb recovery in subacute stroke: double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial with high-density EEG.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation20 Hz stimulation over the stroke-side motor cortex, added to the same physiotherapy and occupational therapy for ten sessions over two weeks, improved arm recovery more than sham. Gains were clearest for shoulder and elbow control, not the hand, and held at one month.
• PTOTOther2026A mixed methods analysis of health literacy among adults with brachial plexus birth injury.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineAdults with brachial plexus birth injury describe care as all or nothing. A provider who knows the condition, or is willing to learn, makes it work. An unfamiliar or dismissive one does not, and childhood specialty care disappears in adulthood.
• PTOTPilot2026Feasibility, acceptability, and functional outcomes of a home-based exergaming telerehabilitation program for adults with functional disabilities: a multi-center single-arm pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA caregiver-supervised home exergaming programme was feasible: 9 of 10 participants exercised on more than 70% of days and no falls or adverse events occurred. Functional gains were seen but are uncontrolled, and everyone kept having usual outpatient rehabilitation.
• OTSLPSurvey2026Growing-up autistic: Sharing autistic children's experiences and insights.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost of these 136 autistic children felt it was okay to be autistic at home (91%) but not around teachers (26.8%) or friends (40.2%). Only 4.5% felt they definitely had the words to describe being autistic, and 45.1% said they masked.
• PTOTQualitative2026Health Care Providers' Perspectives on a Hybrid Outpatient Stroke Telerehabilitation Program: Qualitative Implementation Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesClinicians in one hybrid stroke telerehabilitation program wanted the choice of video or in-person visits, saw video as useful for intake, goal-setting and discharge planning but not for hands-on balance and gait work, and said it suited more independent, better-connected patients.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Organizational barriers and enablers of adult mobility in general acute hospital units: a scoping review.Physical therapyThe barriers to acute inpatients getting moving are mostly ward-level: staff with no time, unclear roles, nowhere to walk to or sit, and a falls-averse culture. Only 14 of 51 studies looked beyond the ward.
• OTSystematic Review2026Cognitive Interventions and Rehabilitation to Address Long-COVID Symptoms: A Systematic Review.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthCognitive training, CBT, neurostimulation and multicomponent rehabilitation were each reported to ease long COVID symptoms, but only three of the 19 studies were randomised trials and most of the rest had no control group.
• OTQualitative2025Exploring Textured Hair Care as a Meaningful Occupation: A Thematic Analysis.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieBlack and Mixed race occupational therapists in Canada said textured hair care is a meaningful occupation that was never mentioned in their practice or their training, and that hospital combs and shampoo do not work for it.
• OTQualitative2025Occupational Therapists' Experiences of Assessments With Indigenous Peoples: A Storytelling Approach.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieOccupational therapists described pressure from referrers and funders to complete standardized assessments that clash with culturally safer practice. What they said helped was human connection first, sharing power, and letting Indigenous service users decide whether and how to take part.
• OTCohort2025Long-term follow-up of participants with mental ill health in the Danish return-to-work program: A secondary analysis of a controlled trial.Work (Reading, Mass.)A Danish return-to-work programme for people off sick with mental health problems did not change health-related welfare dependency at 1, 3 or 5 years. The only positive result came at 5 years, on non-health-related benefits (18.1% versus 19.5%).
• OTRCT2025Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation for hemiparetic hand edema in stroke patients: A randomized crossover trial.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTTwo weeks of repetitive magnetic stimulation added to standard rehabilitation reduced hand swelling and improved knuckle bending in stroke patients with a severely paralysed hand. Sixteen people finished the study, all in one hospital, and nobody was blinded.
• OTSurvey2026'A New Pace of Life': A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Retirement Plans, Preparations and Experiences in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults retired at similar ages to non-autistic adults but arrived there differently: fewer had made any retirement plans, fewer had full state or workplace pensions, and more had been unemployed or unable to work. They worried most about money, losing routine and loneliness.
• OTSurvey2026How Much is Universal Accessibility Actually Taught in Canadian Occupational Therapy Programs?Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieEvery one of the 13 responding Canadian occupational therapy programs teaches universal accessibility, but only 7 have a dedicated course; the rest cover it inside other courses. Instructors rated it important, yet named gaps in depth and consistency.
• PTOTOther2026Assessing and categorizing health-related quality of life outcomes in children and youth with acquired brain injury in outpatient rehabilitation.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineYoung people referred to rehabilitation after acquired brain injury reported much lower quality of life than healthy Dutch peers, especially for school and work. Young adults fared worst. The authors propose cut-offs to make these scores quicker to interpret at intake.
• OTCohort2026The association of daily urinary and bowel incontinence with emotional functioning in young adults with spina bifida: an ecological momentary assessment study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThese 23 young adults with spina bifida reported worse mood, more anxiety and lower quality of life on days with more frequent or larger incontinence, or when they avoided activities. Managing bowel accidents on their own went with better mood and quality of life.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026"No Words Needed": Results of a Survey on How Parents of Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders Perceive (In)formal Peer Support.Child: care, health and developmentMost of the 225 Dutch parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (77.3%) said they needed peer support, mainly to hear others' experiences and to feel understood without judgement. Only 12.4% found it through a healthcare provider; most connected via Facebook groups.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Varied effectiveness of outpatient rehabilitation interventions in reducing long-term complications following childhood brain tumours: a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAfter treatment for a childhood brain tumour, rehabilitation most often helped movement: four of the five studies measuring balance, coordination, motor skills or daily living found gains, though every study was small. Cognitive outcomes did not improve in any study.