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 216 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTOther2026Development of an ICF-Based Core Assessment Set for Psychiatric Occupational Therapy in Japan: A Three-Round Delphi Study.Occupational therapy internationalFourteen Japanese psychiatrists and OTs agreed on 42 ICF categories for psychiatric assessment, prioritizing daily routines, stress handling, and employment. It is a consensus list, not a validated tool. No patients were involved.
• OTSystematic Review2026Interventions for Improving Leisure for Older Adults on the Palliative Pathway Living With Advanced Cancer: A Qualitative Systematic Review.The British journal of occupational therapyPatients with advanced cancer described wanting to keep doing the things that made them feel like themselves (gardening, cooking, being with others) and said adapting those activities let them stay engaged. OTs in the same studies reported their role was reduced to equipment provision.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026A Scoping Review of Therapy Provision Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme: Provider-Identified Barriers and Facilitators.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDNDIS administrative complexity is the most common barrier to therapy for children with cognitive disabilities, followed by family circumstances. Tailoring the intervention to the individual child is the most common facilitator. Across 55 studies, providers reported 171 barriers against 122 facilitators.
• OTSLPOther2026Assessing Intellectual Disability in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Adults: A United Kingdom Delphi Study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDTwenty UK psychologists agreed that current cognitive and adaptive behaviour tests are culturally limited, that existing guidance is too vague for consistent practice, and that assessments need more time, interpreter continuity, and specific training. In practice, fewer than half used any alternative to the WAIS-IV.
• OTOther2026Reliability, Validity, and Responsiveness of the Visual Perceptual and Fine Motor Function Tests in School-Aged Children With Mild Intellectual Disabilities.Occupational therapy internationalTwo of three commonly used hand and visual-perceptual tests (JTHFT, TVPS-4) reliably track change in children with mild intellectual disability, but the Box and Block Test is too imprecise to detect individual-level improvement in this group.
• OTPilot2026Head Scanning by Drivers With Left Homonymous Visual Field Loss: A Naturalistic Driving Pilot Study.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy AssociationDrivers with left visual field loss made much larger head turns toward their blind side than the seeing side, and cross-traffic from the blind side prompted more scanning, but they still skipped the blind-side check at traffic-light intersections and in poor visibility.
• OTQualitative2026Workplace peer support for continuing professional development in occupational therapy: A grounded theory.Australian occupational therapy journalOTs described peer support as working through three channels (validating clinical reasoning, managing emotional strain, and building expertise) and said it works best when timely, practice-grounded, and safe. Productivity pressure, especially in private practice, was the main barrier.
• OTSurvey2026Multidimensional Sleep Health of Toddlers With Down Syndrome: A Descriptive Study Guided by the Pediatric Sleep Health Framework.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy AssociationMost parents of 24 toddlers with Down syndrome reported sleep in line with guidelines, but bedtime behaviors (screens, routines, and sleep-onset methods) were the most common difficulty. This describes what these families reported; it is not evidence any sleep intervention works.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Characterisation of Quality of Life and Its Utility as a Descriptor of Health Outcomes for People With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: A Scoping Review of Primary Studies.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAcross 31 studies of adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, no existing quality-of-life measure can show whether postural care is working, and no agreed threshold exists for what counts as 'good' or 'poor' QOL in this group.
• OTCohort2026Sex Differences in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Transportation Modes by Driving Status Among Older Adults.Occupational therapy internationalCurrent drivers aged 75–80 in Japan did more everyday activities and reported better health than non-drivers. Among non-drivers, the sex gap was in transport mode (men cycled more, women were driven by others more) not in activity frequency.
• OTOther2026Strategy Use Among People With Parkinson's Disease During the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy AssociationCrossing off items, entering fixed appointments first, crossing off free day, and self-checking related to higher accuracy for people with Parkinson's, but more strategies meant longer time with no efficiency gain. For those with mild cognitive impairment, strategy use did not relate to performance.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Examining Transitions From Early Intervention to Preschool Services: A Retrospective Review of Therapeutic Service Access in a Clinical Sample of Children With Developmental Disabilities.Infants and young children90% of 194 preschoolers with developmental disabilities had no clinic-based therapy at evaluation. Prior Early Intervention was the strongest predictor of school access, but children with intellectual disability or global developmental delay were less likely to receive school-based therapies than peers with other diagnoses.
• PTOTSLPPilot2026Learning and Sharing Together to Work Better Together: Service Providers' and Parents' Perceptions of the ENVISAGE-Integrated Programme.Child: care, health and developmentParents and service providers reported positive experiences learning together in a 5-week online programme, describing it as levelling the playing field and helping them see each other as people. This is a pilot of perceptions, not evidence the programme changes practice.
• OTCohort2026Occupational Therapy in the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Occupational therapy internationalICU occupational therapy (cognitive, upper-limb, and daily-living training) was delivered safely, one adverse event in 656 sessions, but 65.2% of patients did not complete the planned five sessions, mostly due to transfer out of the ICU. No effectiveness was measured.
• OTSLPOther2026Implementation of a Digital Tool to Identify Child Development and Parental Mental Health Needs Among Multicultural Communities Attending a School-Based Wellbeing Hub.Child: care, health and developmentAmong 61 multicultural families with preschoolers, lower parent education was linked to a 3.6-times higher chance of the child being flagged for developmental concern, but parental mental health was not. Staff said trust, flexibility, and CALD-speaking colleagues were what got families to engage.
• OTNarrative Review2026Occupational intersectionality: Introduction, contextualisation, and relevance to occupational therapy practice.Australian occupational therapy journalA conceptual paper proposing the term 'occupational intersectionality' and mapping it onto existing OT frameworks. No participants, no data, no outcomes. A discussion starter, not evidence.
• PTOTRCT2026Outcomes of rehabilitation following device-aided therapy start in parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineRehabilitation added after device-aided therapy for Parkinson's left patients doing noticeably better on hands-on tasks at 6 and 12 months than standard care alone. At 12 months, 19% of the rehab group fell below the independence threshold versus 54% of the control group.
• OTQualitative2026Transferring Occupational Therapy Knowledge to Village Health Volunteers to Enhance Activities of Daily Living Among Older Adults in Community-Based Elder Care: A Qualitative Study.Occupational therapy internationalPractical strategies across six ADL domains (seated dressing to cut fall risk, oval-lipped cups for stroke patients, bamboo grab bars) emerged from ten experienced OTs in Chiang Mai, alongside a hands-on training model for village health volunteers using simple language and local materials.
• OTCohort2026Neuropsychological consequences three years post-covid-19 are persistent and have great impact on everyday activities.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThree years after COVID-19, 10 of 12 cognitive tests still showed below-expected performance in this group of 59 working-age adults, and 77% reported ongoing cognitive impact on daily life. Fatigue scores were unchanged from 18 months.
• PTOTQualitative2026Experiences of People With Long COVID Accessing Rehabilitation Services: A Qualitative Study.Occupational therapy internationalPeople with long COVID described losing the ability to work, study, or maintain social connections. The main barriers to reaching rehabilitation were referrals, cost, and professionals not understanding their condition. Those who received care rated it highly and valued coordinated, multidisciplinary support.
• PTOTPilot2026Educator-Led Screening to Identify 4-Year-Old Children At-Risk of Motor Delay: A Mixed Methods Convergent Study.Child: care, health and developmentTrained childcare educators can screen four-year-olds for motor delay; their scores matched physiotherapists' exactly on co-scored assessments. But 34 of 51 children flagged as at-risk likely reflects parents seeking confirmation, not true prevalence.
• OTPilot2026Application of VR360 for Clinical Reasoning Development in Occupational Therapy Students in Handling Complex Behavioural Symptoms in Individuals With Dementia.Occupational therapy internationalSixty OT students rated their own clinical reasoning higher after a four-scenario 360° video module on dementia behaviour, but with no control group the gains could come from simply completing the module. Promising as a training tool, not yet proven to work.
• OTSystematic Review2026A systematic review of nonpharmacological interventions to improve trauma symptoms and mother-infant bonding for women who experience birth trauma.Australian occupational therapy journalOf four non-drug treatments tested for women with birth trauma, only face-to-face counselling reduced trauma symptom severity and improved mother-baby bonding. EMDR showed benefit in one of two trials. Self-help materials and compassion-focused therapy showed no effect.
• OTRCT2026Participation Education Intervention for People With SCI From LMIC: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.Occupational therapy internationalAdding a participation education manual to standard inpatient rehabilitation for spinal cord injury did not improve daily-living scores more than rehabilitation alone. Both groups improved over 6 weeks. This small Gaza pilot tests feasibility, not efficacy.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Advancing inclusive development through community-based rehabilitation: a systematic literature review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA review of nine studies found community-based rehabilitation programmes generally improved participation, social inclusion, and empowerment for people with disabilities. Evidence was strongest where comparison groups existed. Education and livelihood outcomes remain under-studied.
• OTQualitative2026The tensions between risk and choice: Perspectives of Australian occupational therapists about informed choice when working with older people.Australian occupational therapy journalTen Australian OTs describe a persistent tension between supporting an older person's choice and managing risk. They navigate it through negotiation, tailored communication, and team work with family, but report that organisational policies and duty-of-care obligations sometimes override the client's preference.
• OTQualitative2026Understanding Autistic Adults' Psychological Experiences of Anxiety Problems: A Qualitative Interview Study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceTwenty autistic adults described anxiety as a constant, chronic part of daily life, driven by intolerance of uncertainty and repetitive negative thinking. They found CBT felt neurotypically focused and blamed them for their feelings. This is a qualitative study. It describes experiences, not treatment effects.
• OTOther2026Expert Consensus on Components of an Evidence-Based Framework to Facilitate Self-Employment for Persons With Disabilities: A Delphi Study.Occupational therapy internationalTwenty-one South African experts reached consensus on a five-part framework to guide occupational therapists in helping people with disabilities start and sustain small businesses. It is a planning tool, not a tested intervention, and is context-specific.
• OTOther2026Integrating Stakeholder Voices to Improve Occupational Therapy Research for Minoritized Autistic Hispanic and Latino Communities.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy AssociationTwenty-five Hispanic and Latino stakeholders rated their involvement in culturally adapting an OT intervention highly, and their input directly shaped recruitment, data safety, and dissemination. This is a process evaluation, not a test of the intervention's effectiveness.
• OTSystematic Review2026An occupational perspective of the lived experience of individuals with Alopecia Areata: A scoping review.The British journal of occupational therapyA scoping review of 11 qualitative studies maps how alopecia areata disrupts daily life (school, work, self-care, relationships) across the lifespan. It identifies unmet occupational needs and calls for OT involvement, but tests no treatment and offers no evidence that any intervention works.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Functional capacity evaluations in medico-legal contexts: a scoping review of best practices, limitations, and areas for improvement.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA scoping review of 51 studies finds that functional capacity evaluations in legal settings lack a gold standard and often ignore psychosocial context; some cited research reports return-to-work prediction accuracy as low as 10%. Treat FCE scores as one input, not a verdict.
• OTPilot2026Functional Needs Assessment Tool for estimating population-level functional difficulties and the need for services and assistive products: pilot testing in Western Uganda.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA new population-level survey tool for identifying who needs rehabilitation services was found workable in rural Uganda, but its screening questions for self-care and thinking need tightening before it can be used at scale. It is not yet a validated clinical assessment.
• OTQualitative2026Development of student self-efficacy in innovative fieldwork placements: A qualitative study.The British journal of occupational therapySixteen OT students described how non-traditional placements in early 2020 affected their confidence. It went up with clear roles, supportive preceptors, and matching interests; down with ambiguity and limited clinical practice. These are perceptions, not measured change.
• OTMeta-Analysis2026Predictors of Return to Driving in Patients With Acquired Brain Injury: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.Occupational therapy internationalSimulator and VR driving training reduced driving errors and improved the odds of passing an on-road test in people recovering from brain injury. Those with more severe initial injuries were less likely to return to driving.
• OTSystematic Review2026Outcome Measures of Fatigue in Adults With Cancer Receiving Radiation Therapy: A Scoping Review.Occupational therapy internationalMost fatigue scales used in radiation therapy clinics barely ask about daily activities or roles. Occupational therapists should pair whatever fatigue tool they use with their own occupation-focused assessment, since no single scale captures how fatigue affects a patient's daily life.
• PTOTOther2026Fundamental Motor Skills in Children With Specific Learning Disorder.Occupational therapy internationalChildren with specific learning disorder (reading, writing, or math difficulties) have significantly weaker gross motor skills than their peers, 9 of 12 basic movement skills were less mature, but the deficit looks the same across dyslexia, dyscalculia, and mixed diagnoses.
• PTOTRCT2026Rewiring the Senses: The Impact of Sensory Integration Therapy on Balance and Cognition in Cerebral Palsy.Occupational therapy internationalAdding sensory integration therapy to balance exercises did not significantly outperform balance exercises alone on the balance scale, but did produce significantly larger gains in cognitive scores across all measured domains in children with CP aged 6–10.
• PTOTPilot2026Basic Technology to Support Stimulation Access, Activity, and Correct Posture in Individuals With Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: Development and Usability Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA smartphone-based system helped 9 adults with severe intellectual disability and blindness activate their own music and complete physical exercises independently, and improved posture in 5 of them. The technology is cheap and simple, but the study is too small to confirm lasting effects.
• PTOTRCT2026Feasibility and Acceptability of an App-Based Mindfulness Meditation Intervention for People with Spinal Cord Injury and Chronic Pain.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitationA free 6-week mindfulness app is feasible and acceptable for people with spinal cord injury and chronic pain, but this pilot did not test whether it reduces pain. Adherence fell below the 70% target overall. A larger trial is needed before recommending it.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Navigating airports: a scoping review of physical access challenges and experiences for persons with disabilities.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIf a patient with a disability is planning air travel, expect barriers at every stage. 'Accessible' features often don't work in practice, invisible disabilities are ignored in design, and access depends on staff help. Plan ahead and advocate for the patient's specific needs.
• OTPilot2026Enhancing Executive Function in Adolescents With ADHD: Preliminary Findings From a Multicomponent Intervention.Occupational therapy internationalA multicomponent OT program (cognitive training, academic skills coaching, parent education) produced measurable gains in working memory and mental flexibility in 54 adolescents with ADHD, but with no control group, these results are preliminary and cannot confirm the intervention caused the change.
• OTPilot2026Usability and Functional Outcomes of the Obi3 Robotic Feeding Device Among People With Disabilities, Caregivers, and Providers: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA manufacturer-funded 1-week usability trial of a robotic feeding arm found all three user groups rated it well above the usability benchmark, and self-feeding scores improved on an unvalidated scale. No adverse events. Not evidence of long-term benefit.
• OTSLPCohort2026Executive Functioning Is Linked to Internalizing Symptoms in Autistic Adults With Higher Support Needs.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAmong 486 autistic adults with higher support needs, caregiver-reported emotion regulation and flexibility difficulties were each linked to more severe anxiety and depression, while inhibitory control was not. These two domains are the most relevant EF targets for mental health in this group.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2026Prevalence and impact of orofacial pain in older adults with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CoDASAbout 1 in 5 older adults with dementia has orofacial pain, though the true rate may be as low as 9% or as high as 31%. These patients often cannot report pain, so clinicians should actively look for it rather than wait for complaints.
• PTOTOther2026Iterative Development and Usability Evaluation of an Open-Source Rehabilitation Follow-Up Platform: User-Centered Development Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA rehabilitation follow-up app was tested for ease of use by 24 people in one session; they found it easy to use. This tells you nothing about whether it helps patients recover. No clinical outcomes were measured.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2026Predicting early intervention outcomes in autism via individual participant data mega-analysis.Molecular autismESDM and other evidence-based early interventions produce similar gains in language, cognition, and adaptive skills in autistic toddlers. The difference appears in symptom severity, where ESDM improves over time, particularly for children with higher starting ability. Starting earlier matters more than which programme you choose.
• OTSystematic Review2026Mapping the occupational therapy process in response to COVID-19 and long COVID: A scoping review.The British journal of occupational therapyAcross 25 studies of OT for COVID and long COVID, most were single-patient case reports. Only one controlled trial tested a specific OT approach. The evidence base is too thin to recommend any particular intervention over another.
• OTSystematic Review2026Ecological Momentary Assessment of Daily Activities in Individuals With Neurological Disorders: Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesOnly 20 studies (2012–2024) have used real-time smartphone prompts to track daily activities in neurological patients. Most ask only 'what are you doing' without capturing meaning or context, and no agreed-upon best design exists.
• OTOther2026Updating and validating the Domestic and Community Skills Assessment.Australian occupational therapy journalThe DACSA-3, a revised IADL assessment for mental health clients, has been reviewed by experts who confirmed it covers the right tasks. But it has not been tested for reliability or whether scores actually reflect real-world performance, so treat it as a non-standardised tool.
• PTOTOther2026Regional disparity in the use of a financial incentive for device-assisted rehabilitation: an ecological study in Kanagawa, Japan.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn Kanagawa, Japan, billing for device-assisted rehab (FES, robotics) varies 67.7-fold between neighbouring areas. No link was found to local stroke caseload or rehab capacity, pointing to the 2-month eligibility window as a likely structural barrier rather than a demand or supply problem.