Occupational engagement was first described in 1980 by Elizabeth Yerxa. Forty years later, the concept has no consensual definition in the literature. Despite a lack of common agreement, occupational ...engagement has been used to describe the ultimate goal of occupational therapy in several documents of associations and research articles. The opinion piece discusses the importance and implications of a lack of consensual concept definition for the profession of occupational therapy and focuses on five descriptions of occupational engagement in the literature. The word "promise" expresses the message occupational therapists send through their organizations, institutions, clinical practice, and research to society and stakeholders that can benefit from occupational therapy services. The descriptions of occupational engagement are presented to illustrate how the literature understands the phenomenon differently. The literature presents definitions that diverge in four meanings: (a) occupational performance; (b) occupational participation; (c) occupational balance, routine and skills; and (e) beyond performance. As a final consideration, this opinion piece highlights the need for action in exploring the concept of occupational engagement in the profession of occupational therapy and in the discipline of occupational science.
Abstract
Background: Since the beginning of the occupational therapy profession, engagement in occupation has been valued as the primary therapeutic agent as well as the goal of intervention. While ...there are few today who would not support this idea, occupational therapists continue to struggle with implementing their beliefs through "what we do" and "how we do it". Contributing to this problem is their failure to use terminology in a manner that clearly defines what and how occupational therapists do what they do in occupational therapy research, education, and practice. Methods: The author will, therefore, first discuss some key occupational therapy terms and propose that they represent an occupation-related taxonomy that can be used to more clearly define and describe for occupational therapists and others what they do and how they do what they do as occupational therapists. Then, with a goal of fostering critical self-reflection among occupational scientists and occupational therapy researchers, educators, and practitioners, the author will go through the stages of the occupational therapy process outlined in the Occupational Therapy Intervention Process Model (OTIPM) and demonstrate how a more precise use of this occupation-related taxonomy can facilitate maximizing the power of occupation in practice.
Spirituality is an important aspect of occupational therapy theory and practice, yet it remains little understood.
This timely book adds to the current debate by exploring the meaning of spirituality ...within occupational therapy and by outlining evidence which supports this area of practice. Beginning with the three stances surrounding spirituality for the common good and the theology of occupation, throughout its 10 chapters the book goes on to cover topics such as:
Spirituality of caring;
Theories of spiritual development;
Definition of spirituality from occupational therapy literature;
Differences between assessing spirituality and religion;
Spirituality and ethics;
Spiritual and cultural diversity in the occupational therapy clinic;
Therapeutic self.
By the end of the volume the reader will have the toolset required to consider spiritual concepts and their application to health principles. Occupational Therapy and Spirituality is written in an accessible format and is designed for occupational therapy and occupational science academics, researchers, and graduate students.
BackgroundOlder people are at risk for health decline and loss of independence. Lifestyle interventions offer potential for reducing such negative outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the ...effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a preventive lifestyle-based occupational therapy intervention, administered in a variety of community-based sites, in improving mental and physical well-being and cognitive functioning in ethnically diverse older people.MethodsA randomised controlled trial was conducted comparing an occupational therapy intervention and a no-treatment control condition over a 6-month experimental phase. Participants included 460 men and women aged 60–95 years (mean age 74.9±7.7 years; 53% <$12 000 annual income) recruited from 21 sites in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.ResultsIntervention participants, relative to untreated controls, showed more favourable change scores on indices of bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, mental health, composite mental functioning, life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology (ps<0.05). The intervention group had a significantly greater increment in quality-adjusted life years (p<0.02), which was achieved cost-effectively (US $41 218/UK £24 868 per unit). No intervention effect was found for cognitive functioning outcome measures.ConclusionsA lifestyle-oriented occupational therapy intervention has beneficial effects for ethnically diverse older people recruited from a wide array of community settings. Because the intervention is cost-effective and is applicable on a wide-scale basis, it has the potential to help reduce health decline and promote well-being in older people.Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT0078634.
Adults with cancer may be at risk for limitations in functional status and quality of life (QOL). Occupational therapy is a supportive service with the specific mission to help people functionally ...engage in life as safely and independently as possible with the primary goal of improving QOL. Unfortunately, for people with cancer, occupational therapy remains underused. The overall purpose of this review is to provide an understanding of what occupational therapy is and its relevance to patients with cancer, highlight the reasons to refer, and, last, provide general advice on how to access services.
Implications for Practice:
Adults with cancer are at risk for functional decline, which can lead to increased hospitalization, poor tolerance of cancer treatment, and increased health‐care costs. Occupational therapy is specifically designed to evaluate and treat functional deficits, yet it remains underused in cancer care. This article describes what occupational therapy is, how to identify those who may need it, and how to access services.
Adult cancer survivors are significantly more likely to report being in fair or poor health, have comorbidities, one or more limitations in activities of daily living, and poorer functional status when compared with similar age adults without a cancer diagnosis. Occupational therapy is specifically designed to evaluate and treat functional deficits, yet it remains underused in cancer care.
Rehabilitation clinicians need to stay current regarding best practices, especially since adherence to clinical guidelines can significantly improve patient outcomes. However, little is known about ...the benefits of knowledge translation interventions for these professionals.
To examine the effectiveness of single or multi-component knowledge translation interventions for improving knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors of rehabilitation clinicians.
Systematic review of 7 databases conducted to identify studies evaluating knowledge translation interventions specific to occupational therapists and physical therapists.
12 studies met the eligibility criteria. For physical therapists, participation in an active multi-component knowledge translation intervention resulted in improved evidence-based knowledge and practice behaviors compared with passive dissemination strategies. These gains did not translate into change in clinicians' attitudes towards best practices. For occupational therapists, no studies have examined the use of multi-component interventions; studies of single interventions suggest limited evidence of effectiveness for all outcomes measured.
While this review suggests the use of active, multi-component knowledge translation interventions to enhance knowledge and practice behaviors of physical therapists, additional research is needed to understand the impact of these strategies on occupational therapists. Serious research gaps remain regarding which knowledge translation strategies impact positively on patient outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed health care delivery, including rapid expansion of telehealth. Telerehabilitation, defined as therapy provided by physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech ...and language pathology, was rapidly adopted with goals to provide access to care and limit contagion. The purpose of this brief report was to describe the feasibility of and satisfaction with telerehabilitation. A total of 205 participants completed online surveys after a telerehabilitation visit. Most commonly, participants were women (53.7%), 35-64 yrs old, and completed physical therapy (53.7%) for established visits of 30-44 mins in duration for primary impairments in sports, lower limb injuries, and pediatric neurology. Overall, high ratings ("excellent" or "very good" responses) were observed for all patient-centered outcome metrics (range, 93.7%-99%) and value in future telehealth visit (86.8%) across telerehabilitation visits. Women participated more frequently and provided higher ratings than male participants did. Other benefits included eliminating travel time, incorporating other health care advocates, and convenience delivering care in familiar environment to pediatric patients. Technology and elements of hands-on aspects of care were observed limitations. Recognizing reduced indirect costs of care that telerehabilitation may provide along with high patient satisfaction are reasons policy makers should adopt these services into future health care delivery models.
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