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 48 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPOther2019International clinical practice recommendations on the definition, diagnosis, assessment, intervention, and psychosocial aspects of developmental coordination disorder.Developmental medicine and child neurologyDiagnose DCD only after age 5 unless severe. Use MABC-2 or BOT-2 with a 16th centile cut-off. Prioritize activity-oriented interventions like task-specific training. Sensory integration therapy lacks evidence. Screen for ADHD and anxiety, as co-occurrence is common and impacts outcomes.
• OTRCT2019Effect of the Wii Sports Resort on the improvement in attention, processing speed and working memory in moderate stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationModerate stroke patients who also used Wii for 8 weeks did not improve attention, speed or working memory more than those on usual stroke rehabilitation. Usual rehabilitation included walking, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and neuropsychology.
• PTOTCohort2019Relationship between walking efficiency and muscular strength of the lower limbs in children with cerebral palsy.Journal of physical therapy scienceFor children with cerebral palsy who walk inefficiently, stronger leg muscles linked to better walking efficiency. For those already walking efficiently, muscle strength showed no link to efficiency. Check a child's current walking efficiency before prescribing strength training.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2019Temporomandibular disorder and headache in university professors.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn university professors, headache and temporomandibular disorder symptoms occurred independently, with no association found between the two. Males reported headaches more frequently, while females reported more intense symptoms. This small survey suggests these conditions may coexist without being causally linked in this group.
• OTSurvey2019Mental health disorders, participation, and bullying in children with cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyOnly some mental health disorders were more common in children with cerebral palsy after accounting for other factors: anxiety, conduct problems, and multiple disorders. Difficulty with friendships and bullying were associated with these; activity participation alone was not.
• OTSLPNarrative Review2019New and emerging access technologies for adults with complex communication needs and severe motor impairments: State of the science.Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985)For adults with severe motor impairments, new AAC access tools may reduce positioning, fatigue, or typing effort in reported cases, but evidence is too preliminary to show they work.
• OTCohort2019The Effect of Optimism and Connectedness on Psychological Adjustment of Children with Cancer and Comparison Peers.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPHigher optimism was linked to more connectedness to parents, peers, and friends, which was linked to fewer emotional symptoms. The links held for children with cancer and healthy peers. Parent connectedness was linked to fewer emotional symptoms only in children with cancer.
• OTOther2019Test-retest reliability of goniometric measurements of the range of dart-throwing motion.Journal of physical therapy scienceA goniometer method for measuring the dart-throwing wrist motion was unreliable when repeated by the same or different occupational therapists in 24 healthy adults. Do not use it to guide clinical decisions yet.
• PTOTOther2019Medium-Term Outcomes of Digital Versus Conventional Home-Based Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Prospective, Parallel-Group Feasibility Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPatients using a digital home-rehab system after knee replacement showed greater improvement in walking speed and knee motion at 3 and 6 months than those receiving standard physiotherapy. However, the digital group had more treatment hours, and the study was not randomized.
• OTSLPCohort2019Investigating the factors underlying adaptive functioning in autism in the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchFor autistic people aged 6 to 31, parent-reported social difficulties were linked to poorer everyday adaptive skills and bigger gaps between IQ and daily functioning. Repetitive behaviours, sensory symptoms, anxiety, depression, and ADHD were not linked when other factors were considered.
• OTSLPCohort2019Fifteen-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study of Adult Outcomes of Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Children Attending Centers in Five Regional Departments in France: The EpiTED Cohort.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMost children with ASD in this French follow-up still had very slow growth in communication, socialization and daily living skills by young adulthood. Early autism severity and intellectual level predicted later adaptive outcomes, and language impairment was linked to self-injury.
• PTOTCohort2019Mortality due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer in adults with cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAdults with cerebral palsy in England died at higher rates from respiratory and circulatory diseases than the general population. Respiratory deaths were most elevated. Cancer mortality was not significantly higher. These findings highlight a need for vigilance regarding heart and lung health in this group.
• OTSLPOther2019Stop Making Noise! Auditory Sensitivity in Adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis: Physiological Habituation and Subjective Detection Thresholds.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdults with autism and adults without autism did not differ in how their sweat response settled to repeated sounds or in hearing thresholds. Adults with autism reported more auditory sensitivity and rated sounds more arousing.
• OTCohort2019Relationship Consensus and Caregiver Burden in Adults with Cognitive Impairments 6 Months Following Stroke.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationCaregivers of stroke survivors with cognitive impairments who reported less agreement on goals and expectations were more likely to have high burden. Time together and satisfaction did not track with burden in the main analysis.
• OTSurvey2019A Description of the Educational Setting Among Individuals With Fragile X Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesMost children with Fragile X in this survey spent at least some time in a regular classroom, but caregivers reported many were substantially below grade level, and older males spent less regular classroom time.
• PTOTCohort2019The Association Between Social Engagement, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Falls Among Older Primary Care Patients.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationMild cognitive impairment was linked to more prior-year falls in 430 older primary care patients at risk of mobility decline. Higher social engagement was linked to fewer falls, and among those with high engagement, MCI was not linked to falls. These are associations.
• OTRCT2019Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Children with Developmental Delay: The Role of Sleep Problems.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPIn 44 children with developmental delay, those who received Parent-Child Interaction Therapy had lower parent-reported sleep problems after treatment than waitlisted children. Pretreatment sleep problems did not predict parent-reported behavior improvement, but fewer sleep problems were linked to greater observed compliance gains.
• PTOTSLPOther2019What Drives Detection and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder? Looking Under the Hood of a Multi-stage Screening Process in Early Intervention.Journal of autism and developmental disordersReferring children for autism assessment based on provider or parent concern, even when screening scores are negative, found more diagnoses per staff hour than relying on positive scores alone. Concern was the stronger driver of engagement and diagnosis than the test results.
• OTSLPCase-Control2019Exploring the cognitive phenotype of Kabuki (Niikawa-Kuroki) syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRVisual construction and visual memory were weaker in people with Kabuki syndrome who completed detailed testing than in a control group with other genetic disorders. Immediate verbal recall was slightly higher, and planning and social cognition did not differ.
• PTOTOther2019Energy cost of ambulation in trans-tibial amputees using a dynamic-response foot with hydraulic versus rigid 'ankle': insights from body centre of mass dynamics.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSwitching from a rigid prosthetic foot attachment to one with a small hydraulic ankle reduced metabolic energy cost per meter by 11.8% on level ground and 20.2% on declines. This allowed faster walking at the same perceived effort, particularly on 10-degree slopes.
• OTOther2019Evaluation of tremor interference with control of voluntary reaching movements in patients with Parkinson's disease.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with Parkinson's disease and tremor began reaching later and took longer to complete movements than controls. Measured tremor intensity tracked the delay in starting, but clinical tremor scores did not.
• PTOTRCT2019Boosting robot-assisted rehabilitation of stroke hemiparesis by individualized selection of upper limb movements - a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThe group comparison of selected versus standard upper-limb movement training before adjusting for baseline scores was not significant. After accounting for baseline scores, the group trained on selected movements had an adjusted change of 4.42 versus 2.12 Fugl-Meyer points, but other outcomes were null.
• PTOTSurvey2019Late life disability and experienced wellbeing: Are economic resources a buffer?Disability and health journalOlder adults whose impairments interfered more with regular activities reported lower emotional wellbeing during daily tasks. Middle income softened this link. Wealth did not buffer it, and higher wealth was tied to lower wellbeing.
• PTOTRCT2019Effects of dry needling on tendon-pulley architecture, pain and hand function in patients with trigger finger: a randomized controlled trial study.Journal of physical therapy scienceOne dry needling session lowered pain, improved hand function and pinch grip, and reduced A1 pulley and tendon thickness one week after treatment in trigger finger. Control showed little change.
• PTOTOther2019Self-efficacy and Reach Performance in Individuals With Mild Motor Impairment Due to Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairConfidence for reaching was lower with the more affected arm in 20 people with mild arm impairment after stroke and 6 controls. Confidence about accuracy tracked accuracy on reaches across the body; speed confidence did not track speed for the more affected arm.
• PTOTSurvey2019Physical activity patterns and multimorbidity burden of older adults with different levels of functional status: NHANES 2003-2006.Disability and health journalOlder adults with activity limitations or difficulty with daily tasks moved less and spent more time sedentary than high-functioning peers. Their activity rose later and peaked lower, especially in morning and midday, when differences were largest.
• PTOTSystematic Review2019Effects of Dopamine on Motor Recovery and Training in Adults and Children With Nonprogressive Neurological Injuries: A Systematic Review.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairEvidence for dopamine medication was mixed. Some levodopa stroke studies showed motor improvement, but evidence for traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury was weak.
• OTCohort2019Hospital readmissions among older people with intellectual disability in comparison with the general population.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDROlder people with intellectual disability were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days, especially after nervous, musculoskeletal, respiratory or digestive admissions. Risk was lower for mental, behavioural and circulatory diagnoses. Review discharge plans.
• PTOTRCT2019Myoelectric Computer Interface Training for Reducing Co-Activation and Enhancing Arm Movement in Chronic Stroke Survivors: A Randomized Trial.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairChronic stroke survivors using EMG computer arm training improved Fugl-Meyer arm scores by 3.3 points at 6 weeks, with gains at 10 weeks. No dose or movement versus isometric training was clearly better, and there was no control group.
• PTOTOther2019A path analysis of the interdependent relationships between life space assessment scores and relevant factors in an elderly Japanese community.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 212 Japanese older adults, age, lower muscle mass, more fear of falling, and slower Timed Up and Go were directly linked to narrower life-space mobility. Cognition and chair-stand time appeared only through other factors.
• OTOther2019Grip control and motor coordination with implanted and surface electrodes while grasping with an osseointegrated prosthetic hand.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationImplanted electrodes gave three amputees finer grip force control, breaking fewer fragile objects. However, surface electrodes allowed faster transfers and better timing between grip and lift. The implanted system did not improve overall motor coordination, likely due to a lack of tactile feedback.
• PTOTCase Report2019Long term at-home treatment with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves symptoms of cerebellar ataxia: a case report.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOne patient with progressive cerebellar ataxia completed 59 at-home tDCS sessions alongside cognitive games and prescribed exercise. The report describes faster pegboard and walking tests and less fatigue, but cannot separate tDCS from the other treatments.
• PTOTCohort2019Relationships between gait variability and ambulatory activity post stroke.Topics in stroke rehabilitationStroke survivors who showed more variable step timing when walking in a busy lobby took fewer daily steps and had shorter walking bouts. This link was absent when they walked in a quiet hallway, suggesting clinic tests may miss real-world activity predictors.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2019Sensory retraining of the leg after stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationInterventions aimed at leg sensory retraining after stroke improved leg sensation and balance in pooled studies, but gait speed did not improve. The evidence came from small, low-quality trials, so it is not enough to change routine care by itself.
• OTCohort2019Sensory over-responsivity: parent report, direct assessment measures, and neural architecture.Molecular autismParent report and direct observation only partly agreed on children's auditory and tactile over-responsivity. Parent report flagged more children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In 39 boys, three brain tracts showed lower integrity in children who were over-responsive to sound.
• OTSurvey2019Insomnia Severity in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder is Associated with sensory Hyper-Reactivity and Social Skill Impairment.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn adults with autism, more insomnia symptoms were linked to greater sensory reactivity, especially visual sensitivity, and poorer social skills.
• PTOTCohort2019Don't forget the trunk in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients: more muscle weakness and compensation than expected.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBoys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy lean their trunk heavily to move their arms, using nearly all their back muscle strength just to sit. This compensatory trunk movement is essential for daily tasks and should not be restricted by seating or therapy.
• PTOTOther2019Does physical activity differ between youth with and without intellectual disabilities?Disability and health journalYouth with intellectual disabilities averaged 33.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily versus 46.5 minutes in peers, and only 6% met the 60-minute guideline. Their regular activities were similar or more frequent, especially girls, so low time, not lack of participation, was the pattern.
• OTCohort2019Depressive symptoms in caregivers immediately after stroke.Topics in stroke rehabilitationDepressive symptoms stayed similar from 2 to 6 weeks, but 57% of caregivers had at least mild symptoms early. Uncertainty, stress, coping, support, income, and stroke-survivor function were linked to symptoms; cortisol was not.
• PTOTCase Report2019A case of an elderly hip disarticulation amputee with rheumatoid arthritis who regained the ability to walk using a hip prosthesis.Journal of physical therapy scienceAn elderly woman with rheumatoid arthritis and a hip amputation learned to walk with a hip prosthesis fitted with easier fastening. This is a single person's course, not evidence that the method works.
• PTOTRCT2019A suite of automated tools to quantify hand and wrist motor function after cervical spinal cord injury.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new set of hand and wrist measurement tools reliably quantified muscle force deficits in people with cervical spinal cord injury, matching scores from standard clinical exams. The tools distinguish impaired strength from preserved movement range, offering a precise way to track recovery over time.
• OTOther2019Visual Search Performance Does Not Relate to Autistic Traits in the General Population.Journal of autism and developmental disordersHigher parent-rated autistic traits were not linked to faster or more efficient visual search. The finding held across reaction times, eye movements, accuracy, and the hardest searches.
• PTOTSLPCohort2019Molecularly confirmed Kabuki (Niikawa-Kuroki) syndrome patients demonstrate a specific cognitive profile with extensive visuospatial abnormalities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRChildren with Kabuki syndrome show a specific cognitive profile with severe visuospatial weaknesses but relative strengths in language. These deficits persist even when compared to IQ-matched controls, indicating a distinct neurocognitive pattern rather than general intellectual disability.
• OTOther2019Detection of movement onset using EMG signals for upper-limb exoskeletons in reaching tasks.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 10 healthy people, EMG detectors caught forward reaching starts 81.1% of the time and avoided false starts 96.2% of the time. Return-to-rest detection was poorer, catching 60.9% of starts.
• PTOTOther2019Relationships between grip strength, dexterity, and fine hand use are attenuated by age in children 3 to 13 years-of-age.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn children 3 to 13, grip strength and fine hand use scores are higher at older ages. After age is accounted for, tests are not strongly related, so one test cannot replace another.
• PTOTSLPCohort2019The Effect of Frailty on Discharge Location for Medicare Beneficiaries After Acute Stroke.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationFrail Medicare patients were less likely to go to inpatient rehab than non-frail patients with similar stroke severity. They were instead sent to skilled nursing facilities or home. This suggests pre-stroke frailty, not just stroke severity, drives discharge location.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2019The usefulness and acceptability of a personal health record to children and young people living with a complex health condition: A realist review of the literature.Child: care, health and developmentPersonal health records for children and young people were reported to support self-advocacy, knowledge, and communication, but use was uneven and depended on training, clear purpose, and service support.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2019Effectiveness of medication reviews in identifying and reducing medication-related problems among people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDMedication reviews identified many problems in people with intellectual disabilities, but evidence that they actually reduce these problems or improve health is weak. Reviews led to fewer drugs and lower doses, but no study measured patient well-being or long-term outcomes.
• OTOther2019Effects on activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living independence in patients with Alzheimer's disease when the main nursing caregiver consciously provides only minimal nursing care.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn hospitalized patients with mild Alzheimer's disease, those whose main caregiver reported providing only minimal help were more independent in basic and instrumental daily living. In moderate disease, only instrumental independence was higher; severe disease was not tested.
• PTOTOther2019Employment Concerns and Associated Impairments of Women Living With Advanced Breast Cancer.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMost women with advanced breast cancer had stopped working by the study. Many reported reduced productivity and need for rest. Lower function and more symptoms were linked to work distress, but this cross-sectional study cannot show what causes job loss.