Occupational Therapy in Return-to-Work Processes After Stroke: A Scoping Review of Ongoing Therapeutic Support and Implications for Work-Treatment Balance.

Occupational therapy international · 2026 · Systematic Review · OT
Reiko Miyamoto, Peter Bontje

Across 58 studies of stroke survivors returning to work, therapeutic support was variably integrated with employment. OT roles extended beyond individual rehab into employer liaison and workplace adjustment. Fatigue was the second most common barrier but was rarely measured.

Key findings

1

Therapeutic support most commonly continued in parallel with RTW (10 studies) or was explicitly integrated with workplace demands (12 studies), while 13 studies reported treatment completed before RTW and 23 did not provide sufficient information about timing or continuity.

2

35 of the 58 included studies (60.3%) reported OT-related activities, which were grouped into 10 categories across five broader domains, with RTW process coordination being the most commonly reported domain.

3

Fatigue and reduced endurance was the second most frequently reported barrier to RTW (n = 22), yet fatigue-specific assessments appeared in only 6 studies.

MethodologyResultsClinical Relevance

Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sixty-four participants were randomized across two intervention arms and assessed at twelve weeks for the primary outcome…

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