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 53 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTSurvey2020Needs of Grandparents of Preschool-Aged Children with ASD in Sweden.Journal of autism and developmental disordersGrandparents of preschool children with autism in Sweden most needed information on helping the grandchild develop skills and manage behaviour. They also wanted guidance on communicating with teachers and accessing family counselling. Needs did not vary by age, gender, education, health, distance or contact.
• OTCohort2020Parenting styles as a predictor of long-term psychosocial outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in early childhood.Disability and rehabilitationYears after early severe brain injury, children had worse behaviour, social skills, and everyday planning and self-control than children with bone injuries. Later parenting mattered: permissive parenting linked to worse outcomes, authoritative to better social and planning skills.
• OTPilot2019Feasibility Study of Problem-Solving Training for Care Partners of Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Burn Injury, or Stroke During the Inpatient Hospital Stay.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationCare partners who completed problem-solving training during acute hospital stay reported high satisfaction and confidence after 2.6 sessions, but only 12 of 39 consented and few used app boosters.
• OTSLPCohort2019Mortality in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: Predictors over a 20-year period.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn adults and adolescents with autism, poorer health, lower daily living independence, and greater early social reciprocity impairment predicted higher mortality risk over 20 years. Deaths were premature, but this is an association, not proof treatment changes survival.
• OTSLPCohort2019Traumatic Microbleeds in the Hippocampus and Corpus Callosum Predict Duration of Posttraumatic Amnesia.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationCorpus callosum microbleeds correlated with post-traumatic amnesia duration, while hippocampal microbleeds only trended. A model using microbleeds, GCS, and age did not account for all variation, so this is not yet a clinical predictor.
• OTSLPOther2019Rey Tangled Line Test: A measure of processing speed in TBI.Rehabilitation psychologyIn 100 people with TBI, Rey Tangled Line Test time related to processing speed and motor scores, not accuracy. Test scores did not differ by injury severity.
• OTQualitative2019'People should be allowed to do what they like': Autistic adults' views and experiences of stimming.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults described stimming as mostly calming and helpful for regulating feelings, not something they wanted stopped. They said suppression made them feel on edge; acceptance, understanding, and reducing sensory overload mattered more than reducing non-harmful stims.
• PTOTPilot2019Immersive Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy for Upper Limb Recovery After Stroke: A Pilot Study.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationTen chronic stroke survivors tolerated immersive virtual reality mirror therapy without adverse events or significant cybersickness. Motor scores improved slightly but not significantly. The study confirms safety and feasibility but does not show the treatment works.
• PTOTCohort2019Does pre-existing cognitive impairment impact on amount of stroke rehabilitation received? An observational cohort study.Clinical rehabilitationStroke inpatients with documented pre-existing cognitive impairment received fewer physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions: 16 fewer on average, but 9 fewer after accounting for age, sex, stroke severity and pre-stroke disability.
• OTSLPOther2020Clinical Validation of the Autism Behavior Inventory: Caregiver-Rated Assessment of Core and Associated Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregiver ratings on the Autism Behavior Inventory were stable over 3 to 5 days and matched other parent-reported autism, anxiety, behavior and burden measures. Short-term changes tracked reported improvement, but no treatment effect was tested.
• OTCohort2020Brief Report: Behavior Disorders and Social Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Does IQ Matter?Journal of autism and developmental disordersMothers and teachers found no clear difference between adolescents with autism and intellectual disability and those with autism and higher IQ in behavior problems, social skills, or parent well-being.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2020Growing up with Fragile X Syndrome: Concerns and Care Needs of Young Adult Patients and Their Parents.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParents and young adults with Fragile X described a care system that fails them. They reported anxiety, hidden disabilities in women, and parents doing all the administrative work. Clinicians should screen for these specific gaps rather than assuming adult care is adequate.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Changing Healthcare and School Needs in the First Year After Traumatic Brain Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationUnmet or unrecognized health care needs were 22% at 3 months, with 13% unrecognized and 7% unmet at 12 months. Needs shifted from physical to cognitive and socioemotional, and combined health care or school need was 28% at 3 months and 24% at 12 months.
• PTOTSLPRCT2019Stroke patients' and non-professional coaches' experiences with home-based constraint-induced movement therapy: a qualitative study.Clinical rehabilitationChronic stroke patients and their family coaches described home-based constraint-induced movement therapy as hard to fit into daily life due to time and fatigue. While some valued the shared effort, others found the coaching stressful. Patients often struggled with the immobilizing glove and had unmet expectations for rapid recovery.
• PTOTSLPPilot2019A short bout of high-intensity exercise alters ipsilesional motor cortical excitability post-stroke.Topics in stroke rehabilitationFive minutes of fast treadmill walking increased brain excitability in the damaged hemisphere in stroke survivors. This short priming bout may prepare the brain for therapy, but the study did not show that it improves actual movement or function.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2019The Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Interventions on the Employment and Functioning of People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationSupported work and education with work experience were linked to employment in the open labor market. Sheltered work did not increase employment.
• OTRCT2019Work Motivation and Employment Outcomes in People with Severe Mental Illness.Journal of occupational rehabilitationBaseline work motivation was not associated with getting a competitive job, how long it lasted, or how quickly it was found in 151 adults with severe mental illness who wanted work. Motivation scores were narrowly spread.
• OTSLPNarrative Review2019Making healthcare decisions in a person's best interests when they lack capacity: clinical guidance based on a review of evidence.Clinical rehabilitationIn England and Wales, guidance says healthcare teams should build a long-term best-interests policy for adults lacking capacity, not treat each decision as a separate meeting.
• PTOTOther2020A Model-Based Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of an Exercise Program for Lung Cancer Survivors After Curative-Intent Treatment.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationIn a simulation, an exercise program cost $79,504 per added year of good health versus usual care. When patient time and travel were counted, it cost $179,774, above a $100,000 threshold.
• OTRCT2019The effect on subjective quality of life of occupational therapy based on adjusting the challenge-skill balance: a randomized controlled trial.Clinical rehabilitationAdjusting occupational therapy tasks to match patient skill levels improved subjective quality of life and health-related quality of life during hospitalization. These gains faded by three months post-discharge, and there was no difference in independence or flow experience compared to standard care.
• PTOTPilot2019Bimanual Skill Learning after Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Brief Report.Developmental neurorehabilitationChildren and young adults with unilateral cerebral palsy got faster at a bimanual cup-stacking task over ten days of tDCS and bimanual training. Without a sham group, training alone may explain the improvement.
• PTOTOther2019Neural Correlates of Passive Position Finger Sense After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairRobotic testing found finger proprioception deficits in 67% of stroke survivors' contralesional hands, far exceeding the 26% detected by standard clinical scales. Deficits were best explained by combined sensory system injury and functional connectivity, not motor damage alone.
• PTOTOther2019Physical-activity support for people with intellectual disabilities: development of a tool to measure behavioural determinants in direct support professionals.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRA new questionnaire measures what stops direct support professionals from helping people with intellectual disabilities stay active. It reliably scores three areas: the staff member's skills, the environment they work in, and their motivation. It identifies who needs support, but does not prove that helping staff increases patient activity.
• OTSLPCohort2019Camp-based psychosocial intervention dosage and changes in independence in young people with spina bifida.Developmental medicine and child neurologyMore camp summers were associated with parent-rated increases in spina bifida self-management independence and mastery. Camper-rated increases and social skills did not remain associated after accounting for age, IQ and severity. Without a control group, camp exposure and maturation cannot be separated.
• OTQualitative2019Domains of planning for future long-term care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Parent and sibling perspectives.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDParents and siblings of adults with IDD described seven long-term care planning areas: housing, legal planning, choosing a caregiver, finances, daily care, medical management, and transportation. Plans ranged from vague hopes to definite arrangements, and few housing plans were official.
• OTRCT2019Bilateral Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation Reveals New Insights Into the Interhemispheric Competition Model in Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairOne hour of bilateral stimulation driven by the strong hand reduced the non-lesioned side's braking of the lesioned side and kept lesioned-side output steady, unlike unilateral stimulation. The same-side pathway did not differ between sessions. This is physiology, not hand recovery proof.
• OTSurvey2019Insomnia prevalence among U.S. Army soldiers with history of TBI.Rehabilitation psychologyInsomnia was common among active-duty Army soldiers: 39.1% overall, 37.5% without TBI history, and 55.7% with moderate to severe TBI. Sleep problems increased with self-reported injury severity.
• PTOTSLPCohort2019Resilience facilitates adjustment through greater psychological flexibility among Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans with and without mild traumatic brain injury.Rehabilitation psychologyVeterans with resilient personality traits had better mental health and function over a year, largely because they had greater psychological flexibility. This protective effect held true regardless of whether the veteran had a history of mild traumatic brain injury.
• OTCohort2020Predictors of Change in Employment Status and Associations with Quality of Life: A Prospective International Study of People with Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAmong people with MS, moderate or severe disability and lower education predicted losing employment over 2.5 years. Retiring because of MS was associated with a drop in mental health quality of life. So watch for mood changes after job loss.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020The Impact of One's Sex and Social Living Situation on Rehabilitation Outcomes After a Stroke.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAfter adjusting for age and severity, women recovering from stroke discharged with greater functional independence than men on most measures. Living alone before the stroke also predicted better outcomes, suggesting this reflects higher pre-stroke capability rather than lack of support.
• OTOther2020Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn children with autism, a larger stress-related drop in heart-rate variability was linked to more behavior problems when parents were more negative, but fewer problems when parents were less negative. Resting heart-rate variability and positive parenting did not show these links.
• PTOTPilot2019Alexithymia in adolescents with and without chronic pain.Rehabilitation psychologyAdolescents with chronic pain reported greater difficulty identifying feelings than healthy peers, even when depressive and anxiety symptoms were similar. This difficulty was linked to more pain bothersomeness and interference with usual activities, not pain intensity.
• PTOTPilot2019The effect of electrical stimulation on impairment of the painful post-stroke shoulder.Topics in stroke rehabilitationIn 10 people, applying TENS or t-NMES for 10 seconds during passive shoulder movement did not make the painful post-stroke shoulder move further before pain began. The three conditions gave almost the same range.
• OTCohort2019Depression as a Predictor of Long-term Employment Outcomes Among Individuals With Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationDepression after moderate-to-severe TBI was associated with lower long-term competitive employment. People who were depressed at 1 or 2 years were less likely to be employed at 2 or 5 years, even after accounting for injury-related prognosis and current work.
• OTOther2020Disability advocacy messaging and conceptual links to underlying disability identity development among college students with learning disabilities and attention disorders.Disability and health journalDisability advocacy messages made by college students with learning disabilities and attention disorders inside a support program moved toward more personal or positive categories in one time comparison; other comparisons did not, and there was no control group.
• PTOTCohort2020Subgroups Defined by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Differ in Functional Gain During Acute Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationStroke patients grouped by Montreal Cognitive Assessment at rehab admission differed in functional gains. Those scoring 25 to 30 made the most gain per day; those scoring 19 or below made the least, and fewer reached a 22-point FIM gain.
• PTOTOther2019A Revised Motor Activity Log Following Rasch Validation (Rasch-Based MAL-18) and Consensus Methods in Chronic Stroke and Multiple Sclerosis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairA revised 18-item Motor Activity Log gives therapists a clearer way to rate how well a person with stroke or MS uses their affected arm in daily life. It removes items that are not universally applicable and includes a table to convert scores.
• PTOTOther2019Utilization of Rehabilitation Services in Stroke: A Study Utilizing the Health and Retirement Study With Linked Medicare Claims Data.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAmong older Medicare stroke survivors, only 21.6% reported rehabilitation at first poststroke interview. Older age and a second stroke were linked to more use.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2019Early Life Exposure to Antibiotics and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disordersEvidence linking early-life antibiotics to autism is inconclusive. Large cohort studies show conflicting results, and case-control studies suffer from recall bias. Current data does not support changing antibiotic prescribing practices for autism prevention.
• OTSystematic Review2019Reliability and validity of on-road driving tests in vulnerable adults: a systematic review.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationOnly a few on-road driving tests for older adults and people with health conditions have strong evidence. WURT/RIRT, P-drive, and TRIP had the most consistent scores and the best links to other driving assessments, but many gaps remain.
• OTSurvey2019The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress in the Relations Between Parental Emotion Regulation and Parenting Behaviors in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Dyadic Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn Chinese families of children with autism, parents' own difficulty managing emotions was linked to their own higher stress and less warm, more controlling parenting. The analysis of couples did not find links to the other parent's stress or parenting, and no intervention was tested.
• OTCohort2019Participation in Social Roles of Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy: Exploring Accomplishment and Satisfaction.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationAdolescents with cerebral palsy reported difficulty in most social roles, but were generally satisfied. Accomplishment and satisfaction did not track together, so ask satisfaction separately rather than assuming it follows improved accomplishment.
• OTRCT2019Advantages of using 3D virtual reality based training in persons with Parkinson's disease: a parallel study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCompared with a 2D screen, a 3D headset did not show a clear clinical test advantage in Parkinson's disease. It was more motivating and led to faster task performance, while both groups improved.
• PTOTCohort2019Upper Limb Performance in Daily Life Improves Over the First 12 Weeks Poststroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairUpper limb use in daily life improved over the first 12 weeks post-stroke, especially in those with low initial capacity. Belief, confidence, and motivation were already high and did not predict improvement. Early therapy may better target self-perceived barriers than psychosocial factors.
• OTOther2019Interoception is Impaired in Children, But Not Adults, with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with autism spectrum disorder counted heartbeats less accurately than comparison children, while adults with autism spectrum disorder showed no such difference. This points to a childhood difference in sensing internal body signals that was not found in adulthood.
• PTOTOther2019Breaking Proportional Recovery After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke arm recovery that looks proportional is partly a score artifact. Rule-breaking patients mostly fail wrist, hand, shoulder, and finger-to-nose items. Mid-range chronic scorers improved more in published arm practice trials.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2020Screening and treatment of trauma-related symptoms in youth with autism spectrum disorder among community providers in the United States.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost U.S. providers for youth with autism asked about trauma, but few screened or treated all patients. Allied health providers, including PTs, OTs and SLPs, screened less often than mental health providers.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Generic preference-based health-related quality of life in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a scoping review.Developmental medicine and child neurologyGeneric quality-of-life tools often miss key issues for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, like peer relations or school behaviour. Parents and children also report different scores. These tools should not be used alone to judge treatment success or resource allocation.
• OTQualitative2020The Experience of Caregivers Following a Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Requiring ICU Admission.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationCaregivers of people with moderate to severe brain injury wanted clear early updates, help with unknown prognosis, and support before discharge. Over months, burden shifted to daily care, scheduling, mobility, and emotional strain.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2019Challenging behaviours: Views and preferences of people with intellectual disabilities.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDPeople with intellectual disabilities link challenging behaviour to unclear expectations and high demands from staff. They prefer calm, consistent support and want to help decide on interventions. Many seek to reduce medication. These are patient preferences, not proven treatment outcomes.