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 46 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTOther2018Machine learning algorithms for activity recognition in ambulant children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationMachine learning models accurately identified brisk walking and sedentary time in children with cerebral palsy using wrist or hip sensors. Combining both locations improved accuracy. Comfortable walking was often misclassified as brisk walking, so current models cannot reliably distinguish walking speeds.
• OTOther2019Effects of a self-management training for people with intellectual disabilities.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDOverall independence did not change after a self-management training, but participants made progress on personal goals and support needs were lower at follow-up.
• PTOTSystematic Review2018Assistive Technology for the Upper Extremities After Stroke: Systematic Review of Users' Needs.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesStroke survivors, carers and clinicians prioritise upper-limb assistive devices that are easy to use, fit home life, support real tasks, and feel safe. Cost, evidence and trust decide adoption.
• PTOTOther2018A Tablet-Based Interactive Movement Tool for Pediatric Rehabilitation: Development and Preliminary Usability Evaluation.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesSeven pediatric therapists found the prototype movement toy hard to operate: selecting games, configuring keys, and moving panels caused frequent failures. They liked its head, foot, and tactile options, but changes are needed before testing with children.
• PTOTSLPOther2018The effect of comprehensive physiotherapy-based rehabilitation on stooped posture in Parkinson's disease.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn Parkinson's patients with stooped posture, inpatient comprehensive physiotherapy improved trunk bending angles significantly more than usual home care. However, the rehabilitation group received intensive multi-disciplinary therapy, so the specific contribution of physiotherapy alone cannot be separated.
• PTOTCohort2019Falls resulting in health care among older people with intellectual disability in comparison with the general population.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDROlder people with intellectual disability had more fall-related health care contacts than matched peers, especially at institutions and during daily activities like eating or hygiene. They sustained more head, hip, and leg injuries, required longer hospital stays, and were readmitted more often.
• OTQualitative2019A mixed-methods process evaluation of Family Navigation implementation for autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceNavigators often struggle to set up community services and engage families, while training and fidelity monitoring are easily overlooked. Implementation fails when systems are complex, requiring better resource inventories and consistent supervision rather than just adding more steps.
• OTCohort2019A Comparison of Satisfaction With Life and the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended After Traumatic Brain Injury: An Analysis of the TRACK-TBI Pilot Study.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationSix months after TBI, 31% had a mismatch between functional recovery and life satisfaction. Depression at six months was linked to lower satisfaction. Ask about mood, not just recovery.
• OTSLPOther2019ASD Comorbidity in Fragile X Syndrome: Symptom Profile and Predictors of Symptom Severity in Adolescent and Young Adult Males.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn adolescent and young adult males with fragile X syndrome, weaker sentence construction was associated with more severe autism symptoms, especially social communication symptoms. Repetitive behaviors were associated with nonverbal IQ and anxiety, avoidance, or hyperactivity.
• PTOTSurvey2018Does stereopsis account for the link between motor and social skills in adults?Molecular autismIn 650 adults, self-reported poorer depth perception went with worse fine motor and coordination skills and lower social skill. Fine motor scores partly accounted for the depth perception and social skill link, but the study cannot show that vision treatment improves social skills.
• PTOTOther2018Barriers, Facilitators and Interventions to Support Virtual Reality Implementation in Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationTherapists faced many barriers to VR use, including fit, skills, space, time and support. Some evaluated support packages improved knowledge and confidence, but use did not clearly increase.
• OTOther2019Variation in restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests relates to inhibitory control and shifting in children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceChildren with autism who showed more restricted interests and rituals also had more trouble ignoring conflicting cues on a Stroop task and more parent-reported difficulty shifting. Both abilities were linked independently of age and IQ.
• PTOTSystematic Review2019International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Domains of 60 Physical Functioning Measurement Instruments Used During the Adult Intensive Care Unit Stay: A Scoping Review.Physical therapyMost ICU physical function tools measure mobility. Sixty tools covered 26 ICF domains, but none captured all four ICF components. If you need a broad picture, expect to combine scales, scores, questionnaires, or biophysical tests.
• PTOTSLPCohort2019Associations of Participation-Focused Strategies and Rehabilitation Service Use With Caregiver Stress After Pediatric Critical Illness.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAfter PICU discharge, caregivers whose children received PICU rehabilitation and reported home participation strategies had stress that declined over 6 months. Strategies alone were not shown to lower stress. This is not proof that rehabilitation caused the change.
• OTCohort2019Group Differences Among Caregivers of Civilians and Service Members or Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationCaregivers of service members or veterans with TBI were more often younger spouses, cared for people injured longer ago, and reported more adjustment problems in the person with TBI and feeling trapped. These group differences do not show cause.
• PTOTCohort2019Weight loss changed gait kinematics in individuals with obesity and knee pain.Gait & postureWeight loss changed knee motion during walking, but the change was linked to weight loss, not pain relief. Patients lost an average of 10.4% of body weight. Greater weight loss predicted more kinematic change, yet pain reduction did not correlate with how the knee moved.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2019Goal-setting in geriatric rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationGoal-setting did not improve physical functioning, quality of life, or reduce rehabilitation duration in older adults compared to usual care. The evidence was low quality, and usual care often already included some form of goal-setting, making it hard to see a benefit from standardized methods.
• OTRCT2018Generalizing remotely supervised transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): feasibility and benefit in Parkinson's disease.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTen home tDCS sessions paired with cognitive training were feasible in 16 people with Parkinson's disease. Fatigue, sleep, visual learning and reaction time scores did not show a clear change; negative affect scores decreased, but this was a small pilot.
• PTOTRCT2018Evaluation of the Keeogo exoskeleton for assisting ambulatory activities in people with multiple sclerosis: an open-label, randomized, cross-over trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with multiple sclerosis walked and climbed stairs slower while wearing the Keeogo exoskeleton compared to not wearing it. However, using the device at home for two weeks improved their unassisted walking and stair performance, suggesting a conditioning benefit rather than immediate assistance.
• PTOTCase Report2019Impacts of early powered mobility provision on disability identity: A case study.Rehabilitation psychologyChildren with cerebral palsy experienced early powered mobility differently. Sam's wheelchair was tied to choice and play; Jamie's ride-on car was tied to school play, while his mother saw it as delaying a wheelchair.
• OTSLPQualitative2019'I kind of figured it out': the views and experiences of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in using social media-self-determination for participation and inclusion online.International journal of language & communication disordersPeople with TBI used social media to stay connected, but many lurked, felt overwhelmed or fatigued, and learned platforms by trial and error. They lacked direct support and needed prompt, relevant help.
• PTOTNarrative Review2018Transcranial direct current stimulation for promoting motor function in cerebral palsy: a review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationtDCS paired with training was linked to better walking speed, balance and mobility in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, but upper limb motor gains remain unclear.
• OTSLPOther2018Capturing Expert Knowledge for the Personalization of Cognitive Rehabilitation: Study Combining Computational Modeling and a Participatory Design Strategy.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA free web tool can generate personalized paper-and-pencil cognitive tasks for people after stroke. It uses expert ratings of task demands, not patient outcomes, so it may help therapists choose tasks but does not show improved recovery.
• PTOTNarrative Review2018Why orthotic devices could be of help in the management of Movement Disorders in the young.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationUpper-limb orthoses for dyskinetic children have limited evidence. Small studies and reviews show mixed effects on hand and motor function. Customised, dynamic, low-force devices are proposed, not proven.
• PTOTOther2019Psychometric Evaluation of the Improved Work-Disability Functional Assessment Battery.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationThe updated work-disability self-report generally gave consistent scores when answered twice five days apart, but some physical and mental health scales were less stable. This is not evidence it improves care.
• PTOTSLPCohort2018Associations Between Medical History, Cognition, and Behavior in Youth With Down Syndrome: A Report From the Down Syndrome Cognition Project.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesSevere birth defects like heart and gut surgeries did not predict worse cognition or behavior in 234 youths with Down syndrome. Lower income and later early intervention did predict poorer outcomes. Parents of children with gut defects reported unexpectedly better executive function skills.
• PTOTPilot2019A Single Session of Robot-Controlled Proprioceptive Training Modulates Functional Connectivity of Sensory Motor Networks and Improves Reaching Accuracy in Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairChronic stroke patients judged arm position more accurately after one session of passive arm movements with left/right judgment and feedback. Six patients who could actively reach moved in straighter paths. This was small and uncontrolled, so it is not proof of lasting recovery.
• OTCohort2019Healthcare Utilization and Missed Workdays for Parents of Children With Traumatic Brain Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationParents of children with traumatic brain injury missed more work and used more healthcare services than parents of children with other injuries, especially in the first 6 months. The burden grew with injury severity.
• PTOTPilot2018User-centered practicability analysis of two identification strategies in electrode arrays for FES induced hand motion in early stroke rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBoth semi-automatic and automatic electrode-array search methods found stimulation areas for hand opening in sub-acute stroke patients, but finger flexion was less reliable. The semi-automatic search was faster, and neither method was clearly preferred.
• OTOther2019Bimanual coordination during a physically coupled task in unilateral spastic cerebral palsy children.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDuring a two-handed lifting task, children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy took longer, squeezed harder, and moved jerkily than typical peers, but the overall grip and lift relationship was not worse than typical peers, and they did not show excessive early grip.
• PTOTNarrative Review2019Mobility related physical and functional losses due to aging and disease - a motivation for lower limb exoskeletons.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAging and disease reduce lower limb strength, power, walking speed, endurance and daily steps, while falls rise. Exoskeletons are proposed to assist or train mobility, not shown to work.
• PTOTSLPPilot2019The effect of leg angle during push-up plus exercise on shoulder stabilization muscle activity.Journal of physical therapy scienceRaising the legs to a 110-degree angle during a push-up plus exercise significantly increased serratus anterior muscle activity compared to 70 and 90 degrees in healthy young men. This finding does not confirm benefits for patients with shoulder pain or instability.
• PTOTOther2019PROMIS Physical and Emotional Health Scores Are Worse in Musculoskeletal Patients Presenting to Physiatrists than to Other Orthopedic Specialists.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationPatients choosing physiatrists reported worse physical and emotional health than those seeing surgeons or other specialists. This holds true even after adjusting for age, sex, and race. Clinicians should expect higher baseline symptom burden and potential biopsychosocial complexity in this referral group.
• OTSurvey2019Leisure time and family functioning in families living with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceFamilies with a child with autism spent similar leisure time as comparison families, but reported lower leisure satisfaction and poorer family functioning. They also showed a trend toward lower satisfaction with family life. These are associations, not proof that changing leisure improves outcomes.
• OTRCT2019Adapting myoelectric control in real-time using a virtual environment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn people with intact limbs, training with the arm moving may improve real-time control over training in one fixed position. A virtual game that updated the control software improved scores after fixed-position training, but four amputees showed no clear improvement.
• OTRCT2019The effects of time-use intervention on the quality of life of outpatients with chronic stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke outpatients who received weekly counselling to balance their daily routines reported better quality of life than those given usual therapy and free time. The intervention helped them choose and track two new activities per week.
• OTOther2019Fixed muscle synergies and their potential to improve the intuitive control of myoelectric assistive technology for upper extremities.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 11 able-bodied people, 3-5 muscle patterns explained finger and rod movements, but patterns changed with rod length. A pooled set of 6-8 helped across lengths. The paper proposes this for device control, but it was not tested in patients.
• OTCohort2019Use of a multilayer perceptron to create a prediction model for dressing independence in a small sample at a single facility.Journal of physical therapy scienceA neural-network model predicted which stroke patients would dress independently at discharge better than conventional models in 82 patients, but it was tested only at a single facility and not externally.
• PTOTSystematic Review2019Minimal clinically important difference for grip strength: a systematic review.Journal of physical therapy scienceNo clear grip-strength change threshold was identified. Only four studies met criteria, and thresholds ranged from 0.04 to 6.9 kg. A rough estimate of 5.0 to 6.5 kg may help.
• PTOTSLPOther2019Effect of forward head posture on thoracic shape and respiratory function.Journal of physical therapy scienceAssuming a forward head posture immediately reduced lung capacity and flow rates in 15 young men. The lower chest became less mobile and shifted inward, restricting breathing. This is a short-term mechanical effect in healthy volunteers, not a diagnosis or treatment outcome.
• PTOTCohort2019Different improvement trends in gait function and quadriceps strength early after total knee arthroplasty.Journal of physical therapy scienceEarly after knee replacement, strength in the operated leg barely predicts walking speed, but strength in the opposite leg does. Pain also drives gait limits. Therapists should not assume operated-leg quad strength is the main bottleneck for early recovery.
• OTSLPCase-Control2018Aberrant functional connectivity of neural circuits associated with social and sensorimotor deficits in young children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBrain scans under sedation showed weaker links in social/language networks and stronger links in sensorimotor/visual networks in 29 children with autism and 29 matched controls. These patterns tracked social and repetitive behavior scores, but did not test therapy.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2019Childhood neurodevelopment after prescription of maintenance methadone for opioid dependency in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAt 6 months, mental and motor score differences were small and uncertain. By age 2, exposed children scored lower on those tests, and some had abnormal visual tests. This cannot prove methadone caused it; other drug exposure and other differences were common.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2019Effectiveness of active soft tissue release and trigger point block for the diagnosis and treatment of low back and leg pain of predominantly gluteus medius origin: a report of 115 cases.Journal of physical therapy scienceMost patients with low back or leg pain had myofascial trigger points, often in the gluteus medius. Active soft tissue release alone or with injection improved symptoms in nearly all cases, but this uncontrolled report cannot prove the treatments caused the relief.
• PTOTOther2019Comparison of range of motion during movement from supine to sitting position in healthy young and elderly participants.Journal of physical therapy scienceHealthy elderly participants had larger shoulder extension and elbow flexion angles and reached the measured joint angles earlier when getting up from lying, compared with healthy young participants.
• OTOther2019A modified standardized nine hole peg test for valid and reliable kinematic assessment of dexterity post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke participants showed slower, less smooth hand movements on a standardized nine-hole peg test than controls. The movement analysis required motion capture and was tested only in mild to moderate impairment.
• PTOTRCT2019Effect of a leucine-enriched essential amino acids mixture on muscle recovery.Journal of physical therapy scienceLeucine-enriched amino acids lowered a blood marker of muscle damage but did not improve strength or reduce pain. The effect on damage markers was significant, while functional outcomes showed no difference between the supplement and placebo.
• PTOTSLPOther2019Outcome measures in post-stroke arm rehabilitation trials: do existing measures capture outcomes that are important to stroke survivors, carers, and clinicians?Clinical rehabilitationStroke survivors prioritized independence and freedom, but the most common trial measures for arm rehabilitation failed to capture these outcomes. Clinicians focused on everyday tasks and pain. Current research tools often miss what matters most to patients.
• OTSLPPilot2019User activity recognition system to improve the performance of environmental control interfaces: a pilot study with patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn eight patients with neurological or spinal cord conditions, a prediction-assisted environment control interface let them complete more daily tasks in ten minutes than manual scanning. Users did not report lower workload.
• OTSurvey2018Assessing subtypes of restricted and repetitive behaviour using the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 in autistic adults.Molecular autismIn autistic adults, the RBQ-2A questionnaire sorted repetitive behaviours into two clusters: insistence on sameness and repetitive sensory/motor behaviours. Repetitive sensory/motor behaviours were lower in adults aged 50 to 66, while gender did not differ.