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 78 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTOther2020Development of Learning Media for the Elderly to Promote Child Health in the Community.Occupational therapy internationalGrandparents caring for young children most often needed help with daily self-care. A web-based media package for brushing, eating, dressing, bathing, and toileting was rated easy to use in a trial of 58 users, but no child outcomes were tested.
• OTQualitative2020Cognitive Interviewing during Pretesting of the Prefinal Afrikaans for the Western Cape Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire following Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation.Occupational therapy internationalPatients with low literacy and vision problems struggled with the Afrikaans DASH questionnaire. Changing the format to use words instead of numbers and providing reading glasses fixed these issues, making the test usable in busy public clinics.
• OTQualitative2020Experience of Filipinos with Spinal Cord Injury in the Use of Assistive Technology: An Occupational Justice Perspective.Occupational therapy internationalFilipinos with spinal cord injury found wheelchairs essential for work, travel, and advocacy, yet faced steep ramps, inaccessible transport, and stigma. Social support and charity, often viewed negatively in Western models, were reported as necessary adjuncts to assistive technology use.
• PTOTOther2021Assessing the validity of administrative health data for the identification of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder in Ontario.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchOntario administrative health data identified only 50.0% of children and youth with autism, and 56.6% of those flagged actually had autism. Billing data alone misses many and may mislabel others.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Study Paradigms and Principles Investigated in Motor Learning Research After Stroke: A Scoping Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationExplicit instructions about movement sequences hindered motor learning in people with stroke, while providing feedback and using mental practice or action observation improved it. Increasing task difficulty helped, but neurostimulation results were inconsistent and hard to apply clinically.
• PTOTCohort2021Clinical value of assessing motor performance in postacute stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 15 postacute stroke patients, wearable sensors showed daily walking and arm use varied widely and did not match clinical capacity scores. A patient with good walking capacity could still be mostly sedentary, or a slow walker could cover long distances at home.
• PTOTPilot2021Biomechanical analysis of an unpowered hip flexion orthosis on individuals with and without multiple sclerosis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFive people with MS who wore a simple, passive hip orthosis showed significant increases in peak hip flexion angle and net hip work. The device was well-tolerated, but muscle activity responses were highly variable, suggesting individualized fitting is required.
• OTNarrative Review2021Effects of extreme weather events on child mood and behavior.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAfter extreme weather events, children may show posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, aggression, sleep problems, and school difficulties. Social support and caregiver presence are associated with less severe or shorter mood symptoms; other factors are mixed.
• PTOTCase Series2021Health Parameters in Standing and Nonstanding Nonambulatory Adults With Cerebral Palsy.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationBone density and health parameters showed no meaningful differences between 13 adults with cerebral palsy who stood and 5 who did not. Only descriptive occurrences, such as stand pivot transfers, were noted in the standing group.
• OTOther2021Usability and consistency in findings of the work support needs assessment tool.Work (Reading, Mass.)Most vocational rehabilitation professionals found a new 21-item tool useful for structuring client interviews and gaining insight into work support needs. However, training on the tool did not make their support recommendations more consistent across clients.
• PTOTCase Series2021Deep brain stimulation in Lesch-Nyhan disease: outcomes from the patient's perspective.Developmental medicine and child neurologyCaregivers reported mixed benefits after deep brain stimulation in Lesch-Nyhan disease. Some improvements were reported, but scores varied widely and adverse events were common. Only about half endorsed repeating the procedure.
• PTOTSLPPilot2021Desktop lighting for comfortable use of a computer screen.Work (Reading, Mass.)In a dark room, warm light at 1500 lux made computer use more comfortable than total darkness. It reduced eye strain and cognitive load during easy reading tasks. These findings apply to evening leisure use, not work performance or bright daytime settings.
• OTOther2021Effect of scent on comfort of aircraft passengers.Work (Reading, Mass.)Scenting an aircraft cabin did not stop comfort from dropping or discomfort from rising over 60 minutes. Mandarin slightly helped at first, but lavender made people feel worse. Stronger scents did not improve results. Personalising cabin smells may work better than one scent for everyone.
• OTOther2020The Development of Leisure Participation Assessment Tool for the Elderly.Occupational therapy internationalA new Korean assessment measures how often older adults engage in leisure, how satisfied they are, and what stops them. It showed strong consistency across items and stable results over two weeks, helping therapists identify meaningful leisure beyond just activity lists.
• PTOTOther2020Psychological Effects of Hands-On Training Using Public Transportation among Inpatients with Physical Disabilities: Analysis of the Self-Efficacy and Perception of Occupational Enablement Using a Multimethod Design.Occupational therapy internationalHands-on public transport training increased patients' confidence but did not change their view of their own ability. Patients who used transport after discharge had better balance and walking scores than those who did not.
• OTOther2021Guided by joy to live and work with hearing loss.Work (Reading, Mass.)One occupational therapist describes changing work and finding joy after progressive hearing loss. The paper reports no methods, outcomes, comparisons, or evidence that any approach works.
• OTSLPSurvey2021It took a pandemic: Perspectives on impact, stress, and telehealth from caregivers of people with autism.Research in developmental disabilitiesCaregivers of children with autism reported that loss of daily structure and difficulty with emotion regulation were the biggest stressors during pandemic shutdowns. While many families found telehealth helpful for continuing care, it was often less effective for children with significant communication challenges.
• PTOTOther2021Improving the Delivery of Function-Directed Care During Acute Hospitalizations: Methods to Develop and Validate the Functional Assessment in Acute Care Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Test (FAMCAT).Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationA computerized test for hospitalized patients was built to measure mobility, daily activities and thinking with fewer questions. Its scoring levels matched nurse or cognitive screen ratings only partly, and its effect on care is not yet shown.
• PTOTOther2021Preventive action with a population of excavator drivers exposed to whole-body vibration.Work (Reading, Mass.)Excavator drivers face whole-body vibration mostly in the front-to-back direction, not up-and-down. Standard seat suspensions do not reduce this front-to-back vibration. The specific task performed is the main factor determining exposure levels.
• OTCohort2021Microstructural changes in the spinal cord of adults with cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAdults with cerebral palsy showed smaller spinal cord cross-sectional areas and reduced gray matter compared to controls. These structural differences correlated with poorer hand dexterity scores, suggesting spinal cord microstructure plays a role in upper limb function.
• OTCohort2021Racial-ethnic differences in educational trajectories for individuals with intellectual disability.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDREducational gains for adults with intellectual disability varied sharply by race. Non-Hispanic Whites improved earliest. Non-Hispanic Blacks lagged behind and never caught up. Hispanics started lowest but surged in the youngest cohorts, surpassing both other groups in high school attainment.
• OTOther2021Human behaviour should be recorded in (dis)comfort research.Work (Reading, Mass.)This paper is a theoretical argument that research on comfort must record human behaviour, such as posture and movement. It cites other studies to show that these factors change comfort perceptions, but it contains no original data or clinical findings.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2021Verification of spatial recognition ability of stroke patients required to resume automobile driving.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke patients made larger errors judging car width than healthy drivers in a chair-and-panel simulation. This suggests paper-based cognitive tests may miss spatial recognition problems needed for safe driving. Use physical 3D assessments before clearing patients to drive.
• PTOTQualitative2020Clinical Utility of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in Older Adult Rehabilitation and Nursing Homes: Perceptions among Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in Spain.Occupational therapy internationalSpanish therapists reported older clients felt heard and more involved when COPM goals were set with them. Many clients struggled naming priorities and rating performance versus satisfaction, and time or institutional constraints limited routine use.
• PTOTOther2021Assessing the Reliability of Handheld Dynamometry and Ultrasonography to Measure Quadriceps Strength and Muscle Thickness in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.Physical & occupational therapy in pediatricsHandheld dynamometry and ultrasound produced repeatable quadriceps strength and thickness readings in healthy children, adolescents, and young adults. Using the top two of three strength trials made readings more consistent. The study did not test patients with motor impairment.
• OTQualitative2021Use of Measuring Tools in Practice Development Projects: A Critical Perspective.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieStandardised assessments often categorise older adults by loss rather than capacity, potentially conflicting with person-centred goals. While these tools justify resource allocation, they may pressure patients to conform to medicalised norms of 'active ageing', ignoring individual values and social context.
• OTSLPCohort2021Impact of sleep, neuroendocrine, and executive function on health-related quality of life in young people with craniopharyngioma.Developmental medicine and child neurologyParents reported worse quality of life in children with diabetes insipidus, but only because they also reported more executive function problems. The child's own view of their quality of life was not linked to sleepiness, brain involvement, or diabetes insipidus.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2021Behavioural change in Prader-Willi syndrome during COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRCaregivers reported that lockdown restrictions worsened Prader-Willi syndrome behaviours. Temper outbursts, irritability, anxiety and food-seeking increased in roughly half of the group. Individuals living in specialist care facilities showed significantly less increase in irritability and food-seeking than those living at home.
• PTOTSLPRCT2021Oculomotor Training for Poor Saccades Improves Functional Vision Scores and Neurobehavioral Symptoms.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationFive days of cloud-based eye training improved saccade speed and accuracy in people with poor baseline eye movements. Participants also reported significantly fewer neurobehavioral symptoms like dizziness and cognitive fog, while the control group showed no change or slight worsening.
• PTOTRCT2021Phase IIB Randomized Trial on the Use of 4-Aminopyridine in Guillain-Barré Syndrome.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation4-aminopyridine did not improve strength or walking compared with placebo in people with chronic Guillain-Barré syndrome. Seven of nineteen participants dropped out, including three because of adverse effects such as tremor and dizziness.
• PTOTQualitative2021Barriers and Facilitators to Rehabilitation Care of Individuals With Spatial Neglect: A Qualitative Study of Professional Views.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationTherapists identified barriers to spatial neglect care across five levels. Key obstacles included patient anosognosia, family misunderstanding of the deficit, staff knowledge gaps, equipment constraints, and insurance-driven short stays. Facilitators centered on interdisciplinary collaboration and specialized support.
• OTPilot2021Acting as Change Agents: Insight Into Québec Occupational Therapists' Current Practice: Actions menées à titre d'agents de changement : aperçu des pratiques actuelles parmi les ergothérapeutes du Québec.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieMost occupational therapists act as change agents only in clinical settings, communicating with families and colleagues. Very few target political actors or use mass media. Therapists with more experience or extra training were more likely to engage in broader social advocacy.
• OTOther2021Development and application of an innovative instrument to assess work environment factors for injury prevention in the food service industry.Work (Reading, Mass.)A new assessment tool combining manager interviews and site walkthroughs identified safety gaps in ten food service worksites. Time pressure and client-vendor contracts were key barriers to fixing hazards, not just physical layout issues.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Identification of Classes of Functioning Trajectories and Their Predictors in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury Attending Initial Rehabilitation in Switzerland.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMost people with new spinal cord injury in Switzerland fell into one of four recovery patterns. Higher age, tetraplegia, complete injury, and needing ventilation predicted a slower or lower-functioning trajectory. This helps clinicians identify who may need more support early.
• PTOTOther2021Time-integrated propulsive and braking impulses do not depend on walking speed.Gait & postureHow you calculate walking forces changes the results. Time-integrated impulses show propulsion stays constant regardless of speed. Peak force measures falsely suggest propulsion drops when walking slows, potentially mislabeling slow walkers as having gait deficits.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Visiting Out-of-Home Places When Living With Dementia: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study: Visiter des lieux hors du domicile lorsque l'on vit avec une démence: étude transversale observationnelle.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapiePeople with dementia visit fewer places overall, but the loss is uneven. They retain healthcare, home, and close social visits, yet abandon banks, pharmacies, and cultural venues. This creates specific gaps in daily life that require targeted support rather than general advice to 'go out'.
• OTQualitative2021Time lost: Factors influencing advanced practice provider's prioritization of sleep.Work (Reading, Mass.)Nine emergency care providers described sacrificing sleep to maintain social connections and meet work demands. They cited irregular shift rotations, family obligations, and a culture of invincibility as primary barriers. Napping policies existed but were often ignored due to personal guilt or lack of private space.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021DSM-5 symptom expression in toddlers.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCaregiver reports distinguish autism from other delays in toddlers. Repetitive behaviors and relationship deficits were most common. Insistence on sameness was rare, so two of the three remaining repetitive behavior criteria are needed for diagnosis. No single behavior is unique to autism.
• PTOTOther2021TEXT4myBACK - The Development Process of a Self-Management Intervention Delivered Via Text Message for Low Back Pain.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationDevelopers created 82 one-way text messages for low back pain self-management. Experts and consumers rated the messages, leading to revisions in 34% and 42% of drafts respectively. The final bank covers exercise, education, mood, care, sleep, and medication, but its effectiveness is untested.
• OTCase-Control2021Tactile cortical responses and association with tactile reactivity in young children on the autism spectrum.Molecular autismEarly brain responses to touch did not differ between autistic and neurotypical children, but a later response peaked about 10 ms sooner in autism. Autistic children had more parent-reported tactile difficulties, and early responses tracked tactile reactivity differently by group.
• OTOther2021Psychometric Properties of the Sensory Processing and Self-Regulation Checklist: English Version.Occupational therapy internationalFilipino parents could use the English Sensory Processing and Self-Regulation Checklist to report children's sensory and regulation behaviours consistently over time, and scores lined up with other parent checklists.
• OTQualitative2021Participation in Community Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Well-Being: Participation au jardinage communautaire : pour semer les graines du bien-être.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapiePeople living with mental health issues in a community gardening program at supported housing and a resource center described feeling safer, more confident, and more connected. They valued choice, facilitator-led and peer learning, hands-on gardening, staff and volunteers, and shared produce.
• PTOTRCT2021Effectiveness of a combined transcranial direct current stimulation and virtual reality-based intervention on upper limb function in chronic individuals post-stroke with persistent severe hemiparesis: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn chronic severe stroke hemiparesis, tDCS plus a self-triggered VR task followed by conventional physical therapy improved arm motor scores more than conventional physical therapy alone; sensory scores did not differ. Single components cannot be separated.
• OTCohort2021Long-term prognoses of patients with and without re-rupture after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.Journal of physical therapy sciencePatients whose rotator cuff re-ruptured after surgery still improved, but their shoulder flexion and abduction stayed worse than patients without re-rupture. Pain and daily-life scores did not differ at the final follow-up.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2021Occupational Stress and Burnout Among Health Care Workers in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationHealth care workers in Ethiopia reported high rates of occupational stress and burnout. Female workers, those 25 or younger, and diploma holders had higher stress odds. Married workers and those without shift work had lower burnout odds.
• PTOTCohort2021Correlates of improvement in the care need levels of older adults with disabilities: a two-year follow-up study.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn older adults using day-care services, better baseline cognitive, self-care, bladder and bowel control, and social-cognition scores were linked to improved care need levels over two years. Walking and strength tests did not differ between groups.
• OTOther2021The ADaptive Ability Performance Test (ADAPT): A new instrument for measuring adaptive skills in people with intellectual disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDClients receiving support scored lower on a caregiver adaptive-skills questionnaire than independently living people. Scores were higher with higher IQ, education and independent living. It gives reference values, not evidence that treatment helps.
• OTOther2021What is Professionalism in Occupational Therapy? A Concept Analysis: Qu'est-ce que le professionnalisme en ergothérapie? Analyse de ce concept.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieThis is a concept analysis, not a clinical study. It proposes a definition of professionalism for occupational therapists but reports no patients, outcomes, or tested interventions.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Associations Between Measures of Physical Activity and Muscle Size and Strength: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationObjective physical activity measures like accelerometers showed moderate positive associations with lower limb muscle size and strength. Self-reported activity showed negative associations in older adults. Use device-based data rather than questionnaires when predicting muscle outcomes.
• OTNarrative Review2021Looking Back to Move Forward: Canadian Occupational Therapy In Public Health, 1914-2019.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieA century of Canadian literature argues occupational therapy belongs in public health, yet the two fields remain separate. Historical barriers include funding models favoring hospital-based care, professional identity conflicts, and a reactive medical approach that clashes with preventative public health goals.