TOPIC

Adult rehabilitation research

Everything we have read on adult rehabilitation. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,091 PAPERS · PAGE 16 OF 22 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTQualitative2023Occupational participation and engagement of woman experiencing premenstrual syndrome: A qualitative study.The British journal of occupational therapyFour women described how premenstrual symptoms disrupted their daily routines and work, causing them to isolate themselves to avoid conflict. They found tracking their cycles and engaging in specific self-care occupations helpful, but struggled to maintain these routines when symptoms peaked.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2024Implementing neuropsychological rehabilitation following severe traumatic brain injury in a low-to-middle income country: a case report.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA man with severe brain injury used iPad checklists and loud calendar alerts to regain daily independence, but standard cognitive tests showed no improvement. Family reported better task completion and reduced conflict, while the patient’s physical function actually worsened. This single case cannot prove the method works.
• OTNarrative Review2023Home environment design theories and models related to the occupational performance, participation and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities: A scoping review.The British journal of occupational therapyThis review maps design theories for homes of people with intellectual disabilities. It highlights four principles: offering safety and comfort, providing control to manage stress, supporting skill acquisition, and fostering person-environment reciprocity. These inform assessment and advocacy, but do not prove that specific designs improve outcomes.
• OTQualitative2023Bringing therapy home: Exploring parents' experiences of telehealth for children with developmental coordination disorder.The British journal of occupational therapyParents of children with DCD valued telehealth for its flexibility and the insight it gave them into their child's abilities. However, they disliked taking on the therapist role and missed professional guidance. They wanted telehealth to support, not replace, face-to-face therapy.
• PTOTOther2024The Functional Dexterity Test in Adult Populations: An Exploration of a Simplified Test Protocol and Parameters Guided by Statistical Outcomes.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsA simplified Functional Dexterity Test scored as speed, without penalties, showed dexterity declines linearly with age in healthy adults. Dominant hands were faster by 0.054 pegs per second, and males faster by 0.047 pegs per second.
• PTOTSurvey2024Patient-reported outcome survey of user-experiences in the spinal cord injured-community with MPPT for treating wounds and pressure injuries and for controlling soft tissue infection caused by osteomyelitis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesSpinal cord injury patients reported a 100% closure rate for wounds and control of fistula symptoms using MPPT powder. Most treated themselves without nursing support. These are self-reported experiences from a small group, not proof of efficacy.
• OTPilot2023Usability of a mobile phone application to enhance activities of daily living in occupational therapy services for breast cancer survivors.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTTwenty-nine breast cancer survivors rated the MAIA app 63 out of 100 for usability after one month. The app lets occupational therapists send activity advice, but the app study measured usability only.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Analyzing Time Use by Occupation Area between Weekdays and Weekends by Gender of Parents in Single-Parent Families.Occupational therapy internationalSingle parents spent 197.65 more minutes on work weekdays than weekends. Weekends brought more sleep, leisure, and home care. Women used weekends for media and relationships. Men chose outdoor activities. These patterns show where time deficits occur for this group.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Mapping Effectiveness Studies of Occupational Therapy in Africa: A Scoping Review.Occupational therapy internationalEffectiveness studies of occupational therapy in Africa are emerging, mostly from South Africa. Most reported positive outcomes, particularly in physical rehabilitation and hand therapy. Paediatric evidence was less consistent. Systematic reviews are now feasible to determine actual strength of evidence.
• PTOTNarrative Review2023The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's occupations.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTPandemic restrictions disrupted children's occupations: outdoor and structured play fell, screen time rose, sleep became irregular, and remote schooling reduced learning and peer contact. These are patterns, not tested interventions.
• OTCohort2023Consistency between two subjective assessments of activities of daily living: Patient- and occupational therapist-reported judgments.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTIn subacute stroke, patient and OT ADL ability ratings matched moderately, but their ratings of change matched poorly. At discharge, OTs judged ADL ability higher than patients and than actual ADL performance.
• OTQualitative2024Occupational Therapy and Public Safety Personnel: Return to Work Practices and Experiences.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieOccupational therapists working with injured first responders report feeling pressured to document exposure therapy and return-to-work goals even when inappropriate. Stigma and poor communication with insurers block progress. Therapists build rapport by using clients' language and dark humour.
• OTCase Report2024Efficacy of mental practice on paralyzed upper extremity function in the acute phase of stroke: a case study.Journal of physical therapy scienceA patient with acute stroke palsy received mental practice combined with mirror therapy. Her upper limb function scores improved from zero to 25 on the Fugl-Meyer assessment. This single case does not prove the treatment works, but suggests early combined therapy is feasible.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Leisure Engagement Among People Living With Acquired Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthPeople with acquired brain injury engage less in leisure than before, shifting toward sedentary, solitary, home-based activities. Transport, fatigue, and cognitive limits block community participation. Assess these specific barriers and environmental factors, not just physical recovery, to support meaningful re-engagement.
• PTOTQualitative2024First Step to empowering change: enhancing self-efficacy, energy management, and physical activity in patients with sleep apnea.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPatients with sleep apnea valued a program combining energy management and physical activity. They found tailoring goals to meaningful daily activities helpful. However, transportation and session timing were barriers to attendance. The study reports experiences, not proven efficacy.
• OTPilot2024The Effect of Leisure Intervention on Occupational Performance and Occupational Balance in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: A Pilot Study.Occupational therapy internationalIn nine men with substance use disorder, group leisure education, planning, and chosen activities were feasible and the authors report favourable changes in occupational performance, balance, leisure participation, quality of life, and craving. No control group, so this cannot show the programme caused these changes.
• OTQualitative2024"We just take care after each other": Relational health strategies of nurses and nursing aides working in residential long-term care as a mechanism of in- and exclusion in care teams.Work (Reading, Mass.)Women in long-term care teams said they had to be sick before self-care was accepted. They protected their health by relying on colleagues, but teams could exclude those who did not fit the ideal worker norm.
• OTSLPQualitative2024Ongoing Challenges Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among People With Brain Injury.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthPeople with chronic traumatic brain injury described social isolation continuing after many pandemic policies had ended. They feared exposure, avoided unvaccinated people, and had fewer activities. Old strategies did not fit new barriers, and remote social options were hard to manage.
• OTOther2024A Quasi-Experimental Study Investigating the Impact of a Lifestyle Redesign Program on the Well-Being of Korean University Students.Occupational therapy internationalLifestyle Redesign lowered stress and improved daily activity performance in Korean OT students over 10 weeks. However, the control group also improved in activity performance, and quality of life gains were not significantly better than the control group's results.
• PTOTSLPRCT2024Effects of a dual intervention (motor and virtual reality-based cognitive) on cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBoth a VR kitchen-memory game and the same pencil-and-paper version improved cognition and reduced depressive symptoms in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Neither was better than the other. Neither improved daily-living skills. Both groups also did balance, strength and aerobic exercise, so the training alone cannot be credited.
• PTOTRCT2024Effect of electrode attachment location for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for pain relief in lumbar vertebral body fractures.Journal of physical therapy scienceTENS applied to the lumbar region or lower limbs reduced pain during movement for the first two weeks after bed rest began. Placement on the arms had little effect. Pain relief did not improve daily function or reduce fear of pain, and benefits disappeared by week three.
• OTOther2024Smart ArM: a customizable and versatile robotic arm prosthesis platform for Cybathlon and research.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSmart ArM is a customizable trans-humeral robotic prosthesis research platform, not a proven clinical treatment. It lets researchers reprogram elbow, wrist, and hand control, but battery life and the need for supervision limit daily use.
• OTQualitative2024Translation and initial cross-cultural adaptation of the tool for support-gradual return-to-work for persons with chronic musculoskeletal pain to the Swedish setting.Work (Reading, Mass.)Swedish occupational therapists found a Canadian gradual return-to-work instruction guide and planning worksheet relevant and usable for chronic pain, but wanted a shorter guide, clearer language, psychosocial content, and an 11-point discomfort scale.
• PTOTRCT2024The influence of scaffolding on intrinsic motivation and autonomous adherence to a game-based, sparsely supervised home rehabilitation program for people with upper extremity hemiparesis due to stroke. A randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationScaffolding game difficulty did not improve adherence or motivation compared to hidden algorithmic adjustment. However, both sparsely supervised home programs produced clinically meaningful gains in arm function and daily activities. The game design mechanism was not the driver of recovery.
• OTSLPQualitative2024Work-support techniques used by occupational therapists to facilitate support after acquired brain injuries: A qualitative study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTExperienced Japanese OTs described six core areas of work support for clients with acquired brain injury: vocational life rhythms, interpersonal skills, work tasks, compensation measures, illness awareness, and goal setting. These themes guide practice but are not tested interventions.
• OTQualitative2024Adaptation of a Sensory Reactivity Assessment for Use With Children in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.Occupational therapy internationalCaregivers and therapists found American sensory questionnaires hard to read and some balance tasks frightening. Adapted wording and tasks were accepted by caregivers, but the assessment still needs testing before diagnostic use.
• OTQualitative2024An Exploration of the Experiences and Perceptions of TBI Survivors About Accessing Vocational Rehabilitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Occupational therapy internationalTBI survivors described suspended rehabilitation during the pandemic as blocking their return to work. They feared infection at hospitals and faced costly transport barriers. Therapists maintained care through telehealth, video instructions, and triaging employed patients to protect jobs.
• OTQualitative2024Participant and caregiver experiences of an activities of daily living-focused cognitive stimulation program for individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia (CS-ADL).The British journal of occupational therapyPeople with mild-to-moderate dementia and their caregivers found the CS-ADL group enjoyable and socially connecting. They reported improved mood and purpose in daily life, but no observable memory improvement. The program's effect on actual daily living skills was not clearly captured.
• OTPilot2024Feasibility of OT-Parentship: An intervention for parents of adolescents with autism.The British journal of occupational therapyTen families completed a 13-session coaching programme for parents of teens with autism. Parents reported high satisfaction, and their own and their child's performance in daily tasks improved significantly, with gains maintained at three-month follow-up.
• PTOTCohort2024Predictors of increasing disability in activities of daily living among people with advanced respiratory disease: a multi-site prospective cohort study, England UK.Disability and rehabilitationMobility limitation predicts worsening ability to manage daily tasks like shopping and cooking in people with advanced respiratory disease. However, it does not predict decline in basic self-care tasks. Screen for mobility issues to identify patients who may need preventative rehabilitation.
• OTCohort2024Intraindividual variability in post-stroke cognition and its relationship with activities of daily living and social functioning: an ecological momentary assessment approach.Topics in stroke rehabilitationIn 202 mild-to-moderate stroke survivors, people whose self-reported cognitive problems varied more across the day had worse daily activities and social functioning. Standardized cognitive tests did not show the same differences.
• PTOTPilot2024The IndieTrainer system: a small-scale trial exploring a new approach to support powered mobility skill acquisition in children.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyChildren with severe mobility limitations using a device that turns their manual wheelchair into a power trainer showed significant gains in understanding and executing power wheelchair skills. Parents reported high satisfaction. However, without a control group, it is unclear if the device itself caused these improvements.
• PTOTSystematic Review2024Time to Service and Its Relationship with Outcomes in Workers with Compensated Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationEarly physical therapy and biopsychosocial care linked to faster return to work. Early MRI and opioids linked to longer disability and higher costs. Delayed surgery worsened neck outcomes. Timely access matters, but the specific service changes the result.
• PTOTOther2025Similarities and differences in factors associated with high and low sedentary behavior after stroke: a mixed methods study.Disability and rehabilitationPeople with more device-measured sitting time after stroke described basic daily tasks, help done for them, and barriers without solutions. People with less sitting time described wider activities, doing things with others, and finding ways around barriers.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024The relationship between patient-specific factors and functional progression of COVID-19 survivors admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationPatients recovering from severe COVID-19 in inpatient rehab made significant gains in mobility, self-care, and cognition. Older age predicted smaller gains in mobility and self-care, while those with more severe acute illness or lower starting function showed greater improvement.
• OTRCT2024Community Participation Transition After Stroke (COMPASS) Randomized Controlled Trial: Effect on Adverse Health Events.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationStroke survivors who received home modifications and self-management training from an OT had fewer deaths and nursing home admissions. Falls and 30-day readmissions were not significantly reduced. This safety benefit was a secondary finding, not the trial's primary aim.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Elements of Return-to-Work Interventions for Workers on Long-Term Sick Leave: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitationVocational rehabilitation can help people on long-term sick leave return to work, but no specific intervention elements explain why some programs succeed while others fail. Effective interventions varied widely in duration and intensity, meaning there is no single recipe for success.
• PTOTRCT2024Feasibility of a home-based home videogaming intervention with a family-centered approach for children with cerebral palsy: a randomized multiple baseline single-case experimental design.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEleven children improved on at least one chosen upper-limb daily activity after an 8-week home program that included videogame play, weekly monitoring calls and family goal setting. Only three of 13 met their weekly active playtime goal for six weeks.
• PTOTCohort2024Learning-to-learn as a metacognitive correlate of functional outcomes after stroke: a cohort study.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineStroke survivors who improved their motor learning speed during a brief computerized task achieved greater gains in daily independence. This link was strongest in younger participants. The association weakened with age, suggesting learning capacity may decline as a predictor of recovery in older adults.
• PTOTCohort2025Predictive utility of self-efficacy in early stroke rehabilitation.Topics in stroke rehabilitationIn 30 stroke patients, higher self-efficacy on admission predicted greater functional independence gains during inpatient rehab. This link held for the whole group but disappeared once age and stroke timing were considered. It only predicted recovery in those with moderate to severe arm weakness.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2024Increased Auditory Dual Task Cost During Gait Initiation in Adult Patients With Persistent Concussion Symptoms.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAdults with persistent concussion symptoms showed greater dual-task cost during gait initiation than healthy controls. They reduced forward and lateral movement when adding a cognitive task, suggesting they prioritize hearing over balance. This may increase fall risk in noisy environments.
• OTSurvey2025The role of perceived social support in subjective wellbeing among working-age U.S. adults with and without limitations in activities of daily living.Disability and health journalWorking-age U.S. adults with activities of daily living limitations reported lower happiness, meaning in life, and life satisfaction than peers without limitations. Perceived emotional and instrumental support were linked to better wellbeing, but support did not erase all differences.
• PTOTPilot2024Enhancing stroke rehabilitation with whole-hand haptic rendering: development and clinical usability evaluation of a novel upper-limb rehabilitation device.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTherapists and stroke patients rated a new whole-hand haptic robot as easy to use and motivating. The main practical issue was that patients' fingers slipped out of the device fixation, which requires a design fix before this can be used reliably in daily therapy.
• PTOTOther2024Chronic stroke survivors underestimate their upper limb motor ability in a simple 2D motor task.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn a simple reaching task, chronic stroke survivors were less confident about hitting targets with the more affected arm even when both arms reached targets equally often. Low confidence in that arm may not match what they can do.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Impact of the combination of virtual reality and noninvasive brain stimulation on the upper limb motor function of stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCombining virtual reality with brain stimulation improved arm movement scores more than standard care, but did not significantly improve daily living activities or muscle tone. Benefits were strongest in patients treated within a year of stroke onset, suggesting this combo helps motor recovery rather than overall independence.
• OTSLPPilot2024Applying a Motivational Instructional Design Model to Stroke Rehabilitation: A Feasibility Study on Occupational and Swallowing Therapies.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationStroke patients receiving a structured motivation-support process during OT or swallowing therapy plus usual physical and occupational therapy had no dropouts or adverse events. 84% were satisfied and 76% intended to continue. Outcome changes cannot be separated from usual therapy.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation alone or in combination with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in poststroke rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRepetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation improved upper limb movement and daily activities in stroke patients compared to sham or no stimulation. Adding transcranial magnetic stimulation did not provide extra benefit over transcranial magnetic stimulation alone. Higher stimulation doses were linked to better activity outcomes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024The effects of rehabilitation potential on activities of daily living in patients with stroke in Taiwan: a prospective longitudinal study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineDaily living improved most before discharge, then flattened. Better swallowing, lower-limb strength and motivation, plus no incontinence or moderate cognitive impairment, were linked with higher daily living scores.
• PTOTPilot2024Paired associative stimulation improves motor function in the upper extremity in chronic incomplete spinal cord injury: a corroborative study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineFive people with chronic cervical spinal cord injury completed a 16-session paired associative stimulation programme. Motor scores in the treated hand rose modestly but missed statistical significance, while the untreated hand showed a small significant gain. Individual responses varied widely.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Examining the effectiveness of motor imagery combined with non-invasive brain stimulation for upper limb recovery in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCombining motor imagery with brain stimulation improved upper limb function and daily activities more than either alone in acute and subacute stroke patients. Benefits faded by four weeks after treatment ended, and the approach showed no advantage for chronic stroke survivors.