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 64 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPCohort2020Behavior Problems Following Childhood TBI: The Role of Sex, Age, and Time Since Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationLow family income predicted behavior problems more strongly than injury severity did. Girls injured in adolescence showed higher attention and externalizing symptoms than boys. Social competence improved as time passed, but early deficits were common.
• OTOther2020Dynamic changes in seating pressure gradient in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.Assistive technology : the official journal of RESNAReclining a power wheelchair from 10 to 30 degrees lowered the steepness of pressure differences under the sit bones. Tilting from 15 to 35 degrees changed the direction of those differences. The study did not test pressure ulcer prevention.
• PTOTCohort2020Individualized OnabotulinumtoxinA Treatment for Upper Limb Spasticity Resulted in High Clinician- and Patient-Reported Satisfaction: Long-Term Observational Results from the ASPIRE Study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost clinicians and patients were satisfied with onabotulinumtoxinA for adult upper limb spasticity, and reported difficulty with dressing, hygiene, posture and pain improved. Treatment varied widely, so this describes real-world use, not proof of benefit.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2020Health behaviors and disordered eating in adolescents and young adults with spina bifida: results from a national survey.Disability and rehabilitationAdolescents and young adults with spina bifida reported higher rates of purging and restricting than typically developing peers. This risk extended to males and those with lower body mass index, meaning weight-based screening alone misses those already underweight or healthy.
• OTCase Series2020Feasibility of an iterative rehabilitation intervention for stroke delivered remotely using mobile health technology.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyFive chronic stroke survivors used a mobile app to practice goal-setting strategies remotely. Participants reported high satisfaction and felt understood by therapists, with no adverse events. The study adapted the intervention protocol but did not test whether the approach improves function or reduces disability.
• PTOTCohortHealth Phenotypes and Neurobehavioral Symptom Severity Among Post-9/11 Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium Study.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAmong post-9/11 Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury, symptom burden varied by health phenotype. Polytrauma and Moderately Healthy+Decline groups reported more severe symptoms and daily-life interference than Moderately Healthy, especially affective symptoms.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Association of formal and informal care with health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms: findings from the Caring for Adults Recovering from the Effects of Stroke study.Disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors receiving only informal care reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than those receiving no care. Shared care involving both formal and informal sources showed no difference in depression or quality of life compared to no care, despite the shared care group having more severe strokes.
• OTCase Report2021Testing of a 3D printed hand exoskeleton for an individual with stroke: a case study.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyA 3D-printed passive exoskeleton helped one stroke survivor extend his hand and grasp blocks with a normal pinch, rather than wedging them between fingers. The device scored well for usability, but this single case cannot prove it works for other patients.
• PTOTCohort2021Vocational Rehabilitation with or without Work Module for Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Sick Leave from Work: Longitudinal Impact on Work Participation.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAdding a work module to vocational rehabilitation was associated with higher work participation at 6 months, but not at discharge. The study was observational with high dropout, so this suggests a benefit rather than proving it.
• PTOTSLPPilot2021Development of a dyadic sleep intervention for Alzheimer's disease patients and their caregivers.Disability and rehabilitationA five-session sleep program for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers showed promising self-reported improvements in sleep and daily habits. It was not designed to prove efficacy, but it successfully refined materials for a future trial.
• OTSLPCohort2021Memory Support System training in mild cognitive impairment: Predictors of learning and adherence.Neuropsychological rehabilitationPatients with mild cognitive impairment who learned the Memory Support System better at the end of a 10-day program were more likely to keep using it at 6, 12, and 18 months. Baseline global cognition predicted how well they learned the system.
• PTOTRCT2021The Effect of Repeated abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport®) Injections on Walking Velocity in Persons with Spastic Hemiparesis Caused by Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationRepeated lower-limb abobotulinumtoxinA injections were associated with higher walking speed, step length, and cadence after four injections in chronic spastic hemiparesis. Walking was not the primary outcome, and this was a before-after analysis.
• PTOTPilot2020Assistive technology self-management intervention for older Hispanics: a feasibility study.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyA culturally tailored group programme for older Puerto Ricans was feasible and well-accepted, with nine participants attending 85% of sessions. Participants reported learning new strategies and using abandoned devices. However, global health scores declined slightly, and the study was too small to prove the intervention works.
• PTOTCohort2020Longitudinal depressive and anxiety symptoms of adult injury patients in Kenya and their risk factors.Disability and rehabilitationMost injury survivors in Kenya had low distress, but 13% developed persistent elevated depression and anxiety. This group faced three times higher disability and very low return-to-work rates. Risk factors included being female, prior trauma exposure, and long hospital stays.
• OTOther2020TBI-CareQOL family disruption: Family disruption in caregivers of persons with TBI.Rehabilitation psychologyA brief caregiver questionnaire consistently measured family disruption among TBI caregivers. Higher scores mean more interference in family life, and caregivers of low-functioning persons with TBI reported more disruption.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Spirituality and outcomes in caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI).Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers with a stronger sense of life purpose and meaning coped better with the stress of caring for someone with severe brain injury. This existential well-being buffered the negative impact of the patient's disability on the caregiver's mental health more effectively than religious well-being did.
• OTSLPOther2020Assessing vigilance in caregivers after traumatic brain injury: TBI-CareQOL Caregiver Vigilance.Rehabilitation psychologyA new 6-item questionnaire measures the constant alertness caregivers of people with brain injury feel. It takes less than a minute to complete and reliably scores how much vigilance is impairing the caregiver's quality of life, distinguishing those caring for individuals with more severe disability.
• PTOTOther2020Financial difficulty in community-dwelling persons with lower limb loss is associated with reduced self-perceived health and wellbeing.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalPeople with lower limb loss who struggle to pay bills reported much greater difficulty working and doing daily activities due to physical and emotional problems. Financial difficulty was not linked to differences in physical function, pain, vitality, or mental health scores.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Severity of Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Adults and Risk of Ischemic Stroke and Depression.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationIn older adults with traumatic brain injury, high injury severity was associated with a much higher risk of ischemic stroke but not depression. Stroke risk was 6.68 times higher in the severe group. This suggests monitoring for stroke, not mood, based on injury severity.
• PTOTCohort2020Predicting Long-Term Sickness Absence and Identifying Subgroups Among Individuals Without an Employment Contract.Journal of occupational rehabilitationThree questions predict who stays sick-listed for a year: education level, expected absence duration, and help-seeking ability. Workers expecting absence over three months or lacking help-seeking skills are high risk. Four subgroups emerged, with those holding negative expectations needing the most return-to-work support.
• OTSystematic Review2020Return to Work for Mental Ill-Health: A Scoping Review Exploring the Impact and Role of Return-to-Work Coordinators.Journal of occupational rehabilitationEvidence on return-to-work coordinators for mental health is sparse. Coordinators did not consistently improve return-to-work rates and sometimes took longer than conventional care. Their specific strategies are poorly described, and no study checked if mental health itself improved.
• PTOTQualitative2020Examining daily physical activity in community-dwelling adults with stroke using social cognitive theory: an exploratory, qualitative study.Disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors valued independence above all else. They built confidence by mastering small tasks. They managed barriers by planning and tracking steps. Family support helped, but overprotectiveness was a major barrier. Therapists should help patients negotiate boundaries with family to maintain autonomy.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Differential Effects of Time to Initiation of Therapy on Disability and Quality of Life in Patients With Mild and Moderate to Severe Ischemic Stroke.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationIn adults with stroke or TIA, longer time to therapy consult was associated with worse 30-day disability and self-reported function. In mild stroke, consult time also related to cognitive concerns; in moderate to severe stroke, treatment time related to mobility and disability.
• OTCohort2020The Predictive Value of Return to Work Self-efficacy for Return to Work Among Employees with Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.Journal of occupational rehabilitationBelief in one's ability to return to work did not predict actual return to work in employees with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Once sex and treatment intent were accounted for, this self-efficacy score added no predictive value. Sex and palliative treatment were the stronger predictors.
• OTQualitative2020Severity of military traumatic brain injury influences caregiver health-related quality of life.Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers of service members with moderate, severe, or penetrating brain injury described higher stress, less personal time, and family strain than caregivers of those with mild or uncertain severity. This was in 30 caregivers.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Patients with Symptomatic Hip Osteoarthritis Have Altered Kinematics during Stair Ambulation.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationPeople with symptomatic hip osteoarthritis walk up and down stairs differently than healthy controls. They turn their hips inward and their knees and ankles outward. These small changes may help avoid pain, but their long-term effect on joint health is unknown.
• PTOTRCT2021Behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition: An examination of function in chronic pain.Rehabilitation psychologyAmong 328 Veterans with chronic pain, higher behavioral inhibition was tied to more pain interference and less positive function. Higher behavioral activation was tied to better positive function, but inhibition was the stronger pattern.
• PTOTOther2021Falls After Dysvascular Transtibial Amputation: A Secondary Analysis of Falling Characteristics and Reduced Physical Performance.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationIn older adults with dysvascular leg amputation, falls were mostly caused by internal balance issues during transfers, not external trips. This suggests therapy should focus on weight-shifting and safe transfer techniques for the first five years after amputation.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021A Systematic Review of the Incidence, Prevalence, Costs, and Activity and Work Limitations of Amputation, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Back Pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke, and Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: A 2019 Update.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationBack pain affected 33.9% of US adults in the past 3 months, osteoarthritis affected 32.5 million adults, and older adults with stroke were 65 to 121 percent more likely to need help with daily activities.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Motivational Interviewing and Return to Work for People with Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Mapping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationEvidence on motivational interviewing for return to work in musculoskeletal disorders is limited and inconsistent. One small study found no benefit, while a larger study showed improved return to work for those unemployed at baseline. Neither study isolated the effect of motivational interviewing from other rehabilitation components.
• PTOTQualitative2020Qualitative analysis of resilience characteristics of people with unilateral transtibial amputation.Disability and health journalPeople with leg amputation who reported higher resilience described using active coping, flexible thinking, optimism, risk appraisal, and social support to pursue goals. Those with lower resilience reported passive coping, rigidity, avoidance, and limited support. Humor and exercise did not consistently emerge as key factors.
• PTOTCase-Control2020Measurements of Hand Function in Degenerative Cerebellar Disease: A Case-Control Pilot Study.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationThe 9-Hole Peg Test performed with the dominant hand best tracked hand function in adults with degenerative cerebellar disease, correlating with ataxia severity across all clinical tests. Simple reaching kinematics separated patients from healthy controls but failed to track disease severity.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Factors associated with depressive symptoms of carepartners of stroke survivors after discharge from rehabilitation therapy.Topics in stroke rehabilitationStroke caregivers with more depressive symptoms provided less autonomy support to survivors during home exercises. Depression was also linked to higher fatigue, worse family functioning, and more survivor memory problems. These associations were found in a small group of mostly white, educated spouses.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2020Job Crafting Among American Workers with Disabilities.Journal of occupational rehabilitationWorkers with disabilities reported lower rates of job crafting than the general population, particularly in social and task domains. However, those with higher education or adult-onset disabilities showed specific patterns of engagement, suggesting tailored strategies are needed to support workplace adaptation.
• PTOTCase Report2020Oxygen Consumption While Walking With Multijoint Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation After Stroke.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationIn one stroke survivor, implanted multi-joint electrical stimulation doubled walking speed. While total oxygen consumption increased, the energy cost per meter walked decreased. This suggests the faster walking was more efficient, though the effort required was higher.
• PTOTCohort2020Day-of-Injury Computed Tomography and Longitudinal Rehabilitation Outcomes: A Comparison of the Marshall and Rotterdam Computed Tomography Scoring Methods.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationMarshall and Rotterdam CT scores did not predict functional recovery at rehab discharge or later. They did predict rehab stay, but no single CT score clearly separated from the others.
• PTOTOther2021Reliability and Validity of a New Toileting Assessment Form for Patients with Hemiparetic Stroke.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationA new 24-item toileting form for stroke patients was scored consistently by therapists and matched existing FIM toileting ratings, but it was tested only on 30 simulated videos in one hospital.
• PTOTOther2021Passive Trunk Exoskeleton Acceptability and Effects on Self-efficacy in Employees with Low-Back Pain: A Mixed Method Approach.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAfter trying a passive trunk exoskeleton, employees with low-back pain rated greater confidence in spine-loading tasks. The gain was largest in those with lower baseline confidence, and the study measured confidence, not pain or disability.
• OTQualitative2021Disclosure, Privacy and Workplace Accommodation of Episodic Disabilities: Organizational Perspectives on Disability Communication-Support Processes to Sustain Employment.Journal of occupational rehabilitationWorkplace support staff often label episodic disabilities as performance issues when symptoms are invisible or unpredictable. They struggle to balance privacy laws with the need for health information, leaving supervisors and co-workers excluded from accommodation plans and creating interpersonal tension.
• PTOTOther2021Reliability and Validity of a New Transfer Assessment Form for Stroke Patients.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationThe new Bed-wheelchair transfer Tasks Assessment Form breaks transferring into 25 subtasks, letting therapists pinpoint exactly where a patient needs help. It showed good reliability among raters and identified specific problem steps that standard global scores miss.
• PTOTRCT2021Phase I Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Balance and Aerobic Training in Degenerative Cerebellar Disease.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationHome aerobic training improved ataxia severity more than home balance training in this small pilot. Both helped walking and balance, but aerobic gains lasted longer at three months. A larger trial needs 26 people per group to confirm these findings.
• OTSLPPilot2021Treating limb apraxia via action semantics: a preliminary study.Neuropsychological rehabilitationThree people with post-stroke limb apraxia showed different responses. Two improved hand posture on trained tools after tool-use practice, and one also improved after semantic action training. Untreated tools did not improve.
• OTNarrative Review2021A review of adaptive sport opportunities for power wheelchair users.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyPower wheelchair users face limited competitive sport options, with most existing activities requiring stationary wheelchairs. Only power soccer, hockey, and obstacle courses demand movement, necessitating custom equipment that is often too expensive or complex for widespread adoption.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Relationship Satisfaction and Depression After Traumatic Brain Injury: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model of Patients and Caregivers in Mexico and Colombia.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationHigher relationship satisfaction during hospitalization predicted lower depression two months later for both patients and caregivers. Caregiver depression at two months also predicted lower relationship satisfaction at four months. These links were strongest when patients reported high satisfaction.
• OTSurvey2020Do emotional distress and functional problems in persons with traumatic brain injury contribute to perceived sleep-related impairment in caregivers?Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers of service members and veterans with traumatic brain injury reported more sleep impairment than civilian caregivers. In civilian dyads, patient thinking and arm function were linked to caregiver sleep impairment; in military dyads, patient anger was linked.
• PTOTOther2020A Reaching Performance Scale for 2 Wolf Motor Function Test Items.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationThe modified scale shows only weak-to-moderate agreement between raters, so it is not yet reliable for clinical use. It did correlate with other stroke measures, suggesting it may help distinguish movement quality in the future.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Participation in Physical Activity at Time of Presentation to a Specialty Concussion Clinic Is Associated With Shorter Time to Recovery.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationChildren referred to a concussion clinic who were already doing moderate or heavy activity recovered 21 days sooner than those doing none or light activity. This association held after adjusting for symptoms and demographics, suggesting early non-contact activity is safe and linked to faster recovery.
• PTOTOther2020Digital Phenotyping to Quantify Psychosocial Well-Being Trajectories After Spinal Cord Injury.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationSmartphone surveys and GPS tracking were feasible in 43 wheelchair users with spinal cord injury, but newly injured adults dropped out more. Depression was linked to lower social participation; community mobility relationships varied by person.
• PTOTSLPRCT2020Biopsychosocial intervention for stroke carers (BISC): results of a feasibility randomised controlled trial and nested qualitative interview study.Clinical rehabilitationA biopsychosocial intervention for stroke carers was feasible but not tested for efficacy. Carers valued peer support and flexibility, but struggled to attend group sessions due to competing demands. One-to-one delivery had better attendance.
• PTOTOther2020Health literacy, health outcomes, and the caregiver role in traumatic brain injury.Rehabilitation psychologyTwenty-one percent of TBI caregivers had low health literacy. These caregivers reported more burden, less satisfaction with the relationship, and poorer physical health, but no differences in mental health or caregiving ideology.