best research topics for occupational therapy

100 Most Influential OT Research Articles

• Post date --> January 4, 2024
• Sticky post

Learn how we review the most influential occupational therapy research. And, see our 2024 list of the most influential OT-related journal articles.

How OT Potential helps you keep up with new research

Approximately 1,000 research articles containing OT are published EACH YEAR. That means roughly 5,000 articles have come out over the past five years!

As busy clinicians, we obviously don’t have time to keep up on all of the evidence. But, we do owe it to our patients to stay on top of the most influential research. 

In our membership community, The OT Potential Club , we find and review the most influential research for you. In our two week rotation, we first share a written review of the research and give you space to discuss it. Then the follow week, we release an episode of the OT Potential Podcast , where we invite an expert guest to help us pull out actionable takeaways. These episodes are AOTA approved courses.

See the process in the video below. You can also sign up for a free trial to see our platform !

See sample journal article reviews and take 2 free CEU courses Sign up for our OT Potential Club free 5-day trial.

How we select OT research to review

Each year to determine the most influential research for us to review we generated a list the 100 most influential OT-related journal articles from the past 5 yeras.

We team up with a research librarian to make this happen. 

For our 2024 list, we searched the Scopus database for articles published from 2019-2023 that had “ occupational therapy ” included in either the title, abstract, or keywords. (By the way, Elsevier’s Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature.) Then, we ranked the list by the number of times the articles had been cited in other journal articles.

The articles with green check marks have already been discussed in the OT Potential Club , and we will continue to work through this list throughout 2024.

To see research we’ve reviewed from past years’ lists check our article, research in the OT Potential Club .

The 100 most cited OT articles from the past five years

✅ = already reviewed in the ot potential club and featured as ceu course on the ot potential podcast.

• Listen to the podcast: Parkinson Disease Evidence Review with Brandy Archie
• Listen to the podcast: Cerebral Palsy and OT Evidence with Iona Novak
• Listen to the podcast: Rheumatoid Arthritis and OT with Cheryl Crow
• Listen to the podcast: OT and Psoriatic Arthritis with Duana Russell-Thomas
• Spinocerebellar ataxia (2019) Nature Reviews Disease Primers
• Considering the potential for an increase in chronic pain after the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) Pain
•   Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process-Fourth Edition (2020) American Journal of Occupational Therapy
•   American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (2019) Arthritis Care and Research
• Outpatient Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy Synchronous Telemedicine; A Survey Study of Patient Satisfaction with Virtual Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020) American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Secondary Fracture Prevention: Consensus Clinical Recommendations from a Multistakeholder Coalition (2020) Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
• Long-Term Effects of Breast Cancer Surgery, Treatment, and Survivor Care (2019) Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health
• Cerebral palsy in children: A clinical overview (2020) Translational Pediatrics
• Listen to the podcast: Depression in Neurodegenerative Diseases with Rachel Wiley
• Listen to the podcast: Pediatric OT Evidence Review with Michelle DeJesus
• Pediatric Teleheath: Opportunities Created by the COVID-19 and Suggestions to Sustain Its Use to Support Families of Children with Disabilities (2021) Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics
• Listen to the podcast: Virtual Reality and OT with Christopher Gaskins
• Benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in covid-19 – a prospective observational cohort study (2021) ERJ Open Res
• Emerging health challenges for children with physical disabilities and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The ECHO French survey (2021) Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
• Cerebral palsy: An overview (2020) American Family Physician
• Complex regional pain syndrome: a narrative review for the practising clinician (2019) British Journal of Anaesthesia
• Social Isolation – The Other COVID-19 Threat in Nursing Homes (2020) JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association
• Listen to the podcast: CIMT and OT with Catherine Hoyt
• Assessment of Emergency Department and Inpatient Use and Costs in Adult and Pediatric Functional Neurological Disorders (2021) JAMA Neurology
• Canadian guideline for Parkinson disease (2019) CMAJ
• A systematic review of ayres sensory integration intervention for children with autism (2019) Autism Research
• Professional identity: A concept analysis (2020) Nursing Forum
• Sepsis-associated encephalopathy and septic encephalitis (2021) Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
• Diagnosis and management of functional neurological disorder (2022) BMJ
• Listen to the podcast: OT for Spasticity in Adults with Scott Thompson
• Elements virtual rehabilitation improves motor, cognitive, and functional outcomes in adult stroke (2019) Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
• Clinical Neurorestorative Therapeutic Guidelines for Spinal Cord Injury (2020) Journal of Orthopaedic Translation
• Immersive Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy for Upper Limb Recovery after Stroke: A Pilot Study (2019) American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Best-evidence for the rehabilitation of chronic pain part 1: Pediatric pain (2019) Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Developmental delay: Identification and management at primary care level (2019) Singapore Medical Journal
• Occupational therapy consensus recommendations for functional neurological disorder (2020) Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
• One year in review 2019: Systemic sclerosis (2019) Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
• Personalized medicine for patients with COPD: Where are we? (2019) International Journal of COPD
• Association of Geriatric Comanagement and 90-Day Postoperative Mortality among Patients Aged 75 Years and Older with Cancer (2020) JAMA Network Open
• Immersive Virtual Reality for the Management of Pain in Community-Dwelling Older Adults (2019) OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health
• Nonpharmacological Interventions to Improve Depression, Anxiety, and Quality of Life (QoL) in People With Dementia (2020) Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
• Occupational therapy for people with dementia and their family carers provided at home (2019) BMJ Open
• Decade of progress in motor functional neurological disorder: Continuing the momentum (2021) Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
• Management of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (2020) Frontiers in Endocrinology
• Multiple sclerosis management during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) Multiple Sclerosis Journal
• Parent perspectives of an occupational therapy telehealth intervention (2019) International Journal of Telerehabilitation
• Breast cancer in adolescent and young adult women under the age of 40 years (2021) JCO oncology practice
• Effects of telerehabilitation in occupational therapy practice: A systematic review (2019) Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Awareness and current knowledge of Parkinson’s disease: a neurodegenerative disorder (2019) International Journal of Neuroscience
• Cognitive reserve and age predict cognitive recovery after mild to severe traumatic brain injury (2019) Journal of Neurotrauma
• Cognitive training for people with mild to moderate dementia (2019) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Physical Rehabilitation in Critically Ill Children: A Multicenter Point Prevalence Study in the United States (2020) Critical Care Medicine
• Quality of life and its related factors for adults with autism spectrum disorder (2019) Disability and Rehabilitation
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Is a Team Sport: Institutional Survival Benefits of a Formalized ECMO Team (2019) Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia
• Motor learning in neurological rehabilitation (2021) Disability and rehabilitation
• Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of the progressive ataxias (2019) Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
• Construct validity, test-retest reliability, and the ability to detect change of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in a spinal cord injury population (2019) Spinal cord series and cases
• Telerehabilitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Outpatient Rehabilitation Settings (2021) Physical Therapy
• Loss in services precedes high school exit for teens with autism spectrum disorder (2019) Autism Research
• Construct validity of a revised version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (2020) Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Telehealth for the provision of occupational therapy: Reflections on experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) International Journal of Telerehabilitation
• Treatment patterns in children with autism in the United States (2019) Autism Research
• Stroke self-management and the role of self-efficacy (2021) Disability and rehabilitation
• Occupational therapy in the promotion of health and well-being (2020) The American Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Toward a theory-based specification of non-pharmacological treatments in aging and dementia (2020) Alzheimer’s & Dementia
• Efficacy of Virtual Reality Combined With Real Instrument Training for Patients With Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial (2019) Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Relationships between job satisfaction, burnout, professional identity and meaningfulness of work activities for occupational therapists working in mental health (2019) Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
• Potential benefits of music playing in stroke upper limb motor rehabilitation (2020) Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
• Evaluation of pelvis postural systems in spinal cord injury patients: Outcome research (2020) Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
• A review of interprofessional training wards: Enhancing student learning and patient outcomes (2019) Medical Teacher
• Effects of virtual reality-based planar motion exercises on upper extremity function, range of motion, and health-related quality of life (2019) Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation
• What is the threshold dose of upper limb training for children with cerebral palsy to improve function? A systematic review (2020) Australian occupational therapy journal
• Listen to the podcast: OT, Plagiocephaly, and Cognitive Outcomes with Amirra Condelee
• COVID-19 and Cerebrovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review and Perspectives for Stroke Management (2020) Frontiers in Neurology
• The use of augmented reality for rehabilitation after stroke: a narrative review (2020) Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technology
• Listen to the podcast: Pain and OT with Irvin Eisenberg
• Flexor tendon rehabilitation in the 21st century: A systematic review (2019) Journal of Hand Therapy
• An intervention to reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden in dementia: Preliminary results from a randomized trial of the tailored activity program–outpatient version (2019) International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
• Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic strategies in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic literature review informing the EULAR recommendations for the management of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (2021) RMD open
• Patient satisfaction with telehealth in rural settings: A systematic review (2020) International journal of telerehabilitation
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy for children with cerebral palsy (2020) Developmental medicine and child neurology
• Enhanced recovery after surgery trends in adult spine surgery: A systematic review (2020) International journal of spine surgery
• Impact of Sarcopenia on Adverse Outcomes after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (2019) Journal of the National Cancer Institute
• Optimal Terminology for Services in the United States That Incorporate Horses to Benefit People: A Consensus Document (2021) Journal of alternative and complementary medicine
• Improving the quality of life of people with advanced respiratory disease and severe breathlessness (2019) Breathe
• Comparative efficacy of interventions for reducing symptoms of depression in people with dementia: Systematic review and network meta-analysis (2021) BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
• Listen to the podcast: OT & Smart Home Tech Adoption with Carol Chiang
• Contributing to social transformation through occupation: Experiences from a think tank (2019) Journal of Occupational Science
• Moving from cultural competence to cultural humility in occupational therapy: A paradigm shift (2020) The American journal of occupational therapy
• Virtual reality in neurorehabilitation: An umbrella review of meta-analyses (2021) Journal of clinical medicine
• Recommendations for the Nonpharmacological Treatment of Apathy in Brain Disorders (2020) The American journal of geriatric psychiatry
• Evidence-based practice implementation in stroke rehabilitation: A scoping review of barriers and facilitators (2020) The American journal of occupational therapy
• Treatment of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve and brachial plexus traumatic injury (2019) Neurology India
• Cultural competency and the reproduction of White supremacy in occupational therapy education (2020) Health Education Journal
• Rural-urban disparities in health care costs and health service utilization following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (2019) Health services research
• Listen to the podcast: OT and CRPS with Megan Doyle
• Interventions to improve upper limb function for children with bilateral cerebral palsy: a systematic review (2019) Developmental medicine and child neurology
• Re-imagining occupational therapy clients as communities: Presenting the community-centred practice framework (2019) Scandinavian journal of occupational therapy
• Occupational therapy, everyday life and the fabric of life: Theoretical-conceptual contributions for the construction of critical and emancipatory perspectives (2020) Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional
• Hyperphosphatemic Tumoral Calcinosis: Pathogenesis, Clinical Presentation, and Challenges in Management (2020) Frontiers in Endocrinology
• Early versus delayed mobilization for in-hospital mortality and health-related quality of life among critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2019) Journal of intensive care

Need help accessing these articles?

As you can see, each of the articles in our list is hyperlinked for your convenience—and I’m always surprised by how many research articles are free! However, if you find one that is not free, you can also see if it’s available via your AOTA membership in AJOT or via ProQuest with your NBCOT membership. You can read more about these options in our blog post on where to find OT research .

All that being said, some articles you may simply have to purchase. 

Resources derived from our OT research list

As we spend time exploring this research, we’ll continue to systematically pull information that is helpful for OTs. Check out these other blog posts, which incorporate information we find in our research:

• Helpful List of OT Journals
• List of OT Assessments
• OT Documentation

We hope this list fills you with excitement for occupational therapy—and the research that is driving it. And, we hope you consider joining us in our favorite corner of the internet…the OT Potential Club . 🙂

13 replies on “100 Most Influential OT Research Articles”

Thanks for taking the time to research and share these articles, I live by and truly believe that Team Work Makes a Dream Work! I look forward to our club and please count me in 🙂 One way that I would keep up with the latest and greatest was having mini lunch time discussions with my therapy pals. We would switch off who was responsible to bring in an article and share what we learned but most importantly how we can apply it. I think if more DOR could get behind these groups this would make big impacts in our daily practices. Look forward to your next blog! Aloha <3

Hey Monica!!

I am so excited to hangout with you in the OT Potential Club, and talk about ways to apply new research! I agree that lunch time journal clubs are such a great tool for departments. Hopefully the OT Potential Club will make preparing content for these even easier!

Thank you so much for all your support! (And please send some of your warm weather to those of us in the Midwest!)

As a future OT student, I’m curious if you have any insight into the following question. As I read about advancements in childhood development research, it strikes me that OT’s are often not included in these discussions. For instance, I went to a Brookings Institution panel on "A prescription for play" ( https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2018/08/21/a-prescription-for-play/ ) and it would have been great to have an OT on the panel since they work "on the ground" with children. As neuroscience continues to break ground on new issues related to childhood development (i.e. the brain and trauma), why aren’t OT’s being included in these discussions? Is it because they are considered practitioners and not researchers?

Hi Laura, You’ve stumbled onto a huge problem here, and it isn’t specific to OT. One often cited study showed that it takes about 17 YEARS for new medical knowledge to be adopted into practice (and even then only a fraction of best practices actually get adopted.) There is clearly a disconnect between academia and practitioners on the ground. To solve the complex challenges of today and the future, we certainly need new tools and bridge builders to help us shorten this gap!

Thanks – this is helpful to know. And I’m glad it’s just a problem with OT, because it had me wondering what the issue was.

*it’s not just

Hi Laura. As Sarah stated, you’ve stumbled upon a huge problem, that I think IS specific to occupational therapy. The medical and research communities (and general community for that matter) remain under-educated about the existence and value of the occupational therapy profession. We very rarely have a seat at the table, as you recognized. Occupational therapy, though being around for over 100 years, continues to be quite insulated. Although this is changing! In my opinion, AOTA has never done an excellent job of marketing us OUTSIDE the occupational therapy community, and thus hasn’t had the skillset to teach us how to market ourselves. This is a challenge I continue to struggle with but am working solidly towards addressing.

A few strategies I use are to always identify myself as an "occupational therapist," instead of an "OT" and I work in the field of "occupational therapy". I also don’t refer to PT in my definition of what occupational therapy is. A third way I do this is to have an elevator pitch of what occupational therapy is ready at all times.

Hope this helps answer your question 🙂

Love, love, love this post and the list!! Ever an inspiration, Sarah!

Ahhh! Thank you! I am consistently inspired by the OT community and can’t wait to hang out with OT practitioners in the OT Potential Club!

I wish there were more exert articles about OT in Mental Health, such a great need for mental health supports now-a-days!

It’s awesome.. Am amazed. I was able to conduct my research problem.

Oh wow! I’m so glad to hear that! What was your research problem?

Thanks for sharing these articles, they are so useful. 🙂

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61 Best Occupational Therapy Research Topics

Occupational therapists help people of all ages to recover and improve their physical, sensory, and cognitive activities. More than half of occupational therapists work in hospitals, while others work in nursing homes, educational facilities, and homes. But what does it take to be an occupational therapist? It would be best to study occupational therapy primarily up to the master’s level . Students are assigned projects as part of their course work through the studies. That is why we have selected the best occupational therapy research topics for your next assignment.

In occupational therapy, students always have trouble handling research projects. If you study occupational therapy and feel like you need help selecting a research topic, do not hesitate to contact us. Our writers go the extra mile and assist you in writing a top-notch research paper.

Do You Need Help in Selecting an Occupational Therapy Research Topic?

When you search “occupational therapy research topics, “it is not easy to trust platforms that offer academic consultation services. However, we offer expert writing services and professional research tips to keep your data confidential when you order from us.

Need help doing your assignment?

Often, occupational therapy students have a large workload which prevents them from doing every task on time. And when you have limited time, it becomes challenging to select a research topic.

We hope the tips below help you in your subsequent research:

1. Select a topic that interests you

When you select a topic that interests you, the research process becomes fun and engaging.  

2. Narrow your topic

If your topic is too broad, it loses focus. Therefore, you should narrow down your scope to cover all the relevant information on the topic.

3. Review your research guidelines

Make sure that the research topic meets the requirements. If some of the guidelines are unclear, you should consult your professor or HelpForHomework to explain . 

4. Read your class notes  and do background research

Reading your notes helps in doing background checks on a topic. Knowing more about your research topic helps you develop a compelling argument for your paper.

5. Consider your audience

You should select a topic that is understandable to your audience. The research depends on your level of education as more comprehensive reports are high in the educational spectrum. Further, by identifying your audience, you can arrange details, tone, and supporting information in an appropriate presentation . 

6. Create questions to evaluate your research topic

After finding a research topic, create questions to evaluate it. For example:

• Is the research feasible?
• How attractive is the research topic?
• What has been researched?
• What is the problem to be solved?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• How is your solution a good one?
• Who is the audience?

Qualities of an Excellent Occasional Therapy Research Topic

As we have recommended, always narrow down to a topic that interests you. After selecting a topic, you should check if it has the following qualities:

Clarity: Your occupational therapy research topic should be straightforward and understandable to your audience.

Complex: Your project topics should not be answerable by yes or no. The topic should be arguable and analytical.

Focused : Once you select a topic, check if it is narrow and focused and answer it thoroughly.

Your final research grade depends on how effective your topic selection is. It would be best if you prepared for your research early. However, if you need help, do not hesitate to contact us. But first, go through the occupational therapy research topics below and tell us what you think.

Hot Occupational Therapy Research Topics

Hot occupational therapy research topics should help you in creating a unique project. Before selecting a topic, you should examine the aspects that are preferable to you and what interests you the most. But it would be best if you did not worry as we have a list of top recommendations to save you .

• Discuss the progress made in a decade in occupational therapy for adults
• Ethics in occupational therapy
• Explain the role of occupational therapy for patients with stroke
• How do diabetic patients benefit from occupational therapy?
• How does culture affect occupational therapy?
• How is occupational therapy important in controlling dementia?
• How is occupational therapy necessary in pain management?
• Is occupational therapy truly occupational?
• Occupational therapy for breast cancer patients
• Occupational therapy in disease prevention
• Role of occupational therapy in disaster preparedness and management
• Role of occupational therapy in functional literacy
• Role of occupational therapy in the management of depression
• Role of occupational therapy in the management of eating disorders
• What is the role of occupational therapy in schools?

Good research topics for occupational therapy

An excellent occupational therapy research topic should be comprehensive and enjoyable to read. When formulating a research topic, you should ensure that you are original, specific, and concrete. We hope you find the best research topic from the list below:

• Benefits of occupational therapy for adult mental health patients
• Between bottom-up and top-down approaches, which method is effective for patients suffering from a stroke?
• Coexistence between teachers and occupational therapists in a school setting
• Discuss the stereotypes in occupational therapy practice
• Evaluate occupational therapy for patients with a brain tumor
• How can occupational therapy be used to prevent human trafficking?
• Interventions used by occupational therapists when treating spinal cord injuries
• Occupational therapy for cancer patients with metastatic disease
• Occupational therapy for inpatient
• Occupational therapy for terminally ill patients
• Occupational therapy in mental health management
• Role of occupational therapy in symptoms control
• The role of occupational therapy for prisoners
• The use of apps in occupational therapy treatment
• What are the therapeutic outcomes of occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy student research topics

It may seem challenging to select the best occupational therapy research topic, so the trick is to narrow down and select one that fascinates you. Always take your time, research a list of topics, and choose the one you can support. Here are some of the topics to consider:

• Critical historical analysis of occupational therapy
• Does occupational therapy affect politics
• Foundations of occupational therapy practice
• Impact of the gender of providing occupational therapy services
• Importance of occupational therapy in school mental health
• Leadership in occupational therapy
• Occupational therapy for children with autism
• Occupational therapy for people who have hip replacement
• Occupational therapy models for families
• Role of occupational therapy for children with sensory modulation disorder
• Role of occupational therapy in managing sleep
• Role of occupational therapy in psychiatry
• Scope of occupational therapy
• Students perception of occupational therapy
• Teacher’s perception towards occupational therapy
• The perspective of sensory integration approach in occupational therapy

Pediatric occupational therapy research topics

Pediatric occupational therapists seek to understand children’s motor skills, cognitive abilities, and social development. The therapists also check factors that may hinder children’s growth or ability to perform certain tasks at a specific age.

While studying pediatric occupational therapy, students go through a hassle in selecting a research topic. That is why HelpForHomework compiled the best 15 Pediatric occupational therapy research topics for you.

• A profile of your country pediatric occupational therapy
• Competency of a pediatric occupational therapist in the USA
• Correlation between obesity and academic achievement
• Discuss how religion and culture affect decision making in pediatric occupational therapy
• Effects of COVID-19 to outpatient occupational therapy
• How effective are the weighted vests in pediatric occupational therapy?
• How effective is the standing frame to children with cerebral palsy?
• Policies governing pediatric occupational therapy
• Risk factors correlating with musculoskeletal complaints from children
• The role of pediatric occupational therapy to children with osteosarcoma
• Treatment methods of lower limb spasticity in children with cerebral palsy
• Treatment of neonatal jaundice
• Use of video occupational therapy modeling for children
• What is the role of pediatric occupational therapy?
• What is your perspective on occupational-based pediatric therapy?

Need Help With Occupational Therapy Research?

Now that you have an occupational therapy research topic, do you need help in writing? Our support department is on standby to help you get top-quality expert papers. Further, if you need more clarification on project topics, do not hesitate to contact us. We assure you of personalized and professional help whenever you consult us for your assignments. Also check out Physical Therapy Research Topics .

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Ojot announces a call for artists for the occupation and the artist feature, attention authors:, current issue: volume 12, issue 2 (2024) spring 2024, letter from the editor.

Artificial Intelligence: Analysis and Guidelines for Scholarly Writing Diane Powers Dirette

Applied Research

Informing Modifications to Social Participation and Navigation (SPAN) for Adolescents with Social Anxiety Incorporating Pet Dogs Nicole Porter, Gary Bedell, Jason Getzler, and Megan Mueller

Factors Influencing Driving Confidence in Older Adults Jill Linder, Beth Ann Walker, Elizabeth Moore, and Anne Hegberg

A ‘Friendly Visitor’ Volunteer Intervention for Hoarding Disorder: Participants’ Perceptions Susan Noyes, Sarah van Houten, and Elizabeth Wilkins

Occupational Therapists' Perceptions on Addressing Spirituality: A Cross Sectional Survey Shannon Metzger, Jeanine Beasley, Jordan Marheineke, Amy Stites, Amy Riley, Christine Byam, Diane Maodush-Pitzer, and Dawn R. DeVries

Adolescent Perceptions of Weighted Blankets and Quality of Sleep: A Mixed Method Design Tara D. S. Summers

The Effects of Cervical Cancer Diagnosis on Occupational Performance Wynnet Sinclair, Christine McConnell, Emily Clark, Katie B. McEntire, Caitlin Lewis, Lyndsi Pound, and Katherine Wuertz

Topics in Education

Perspectives of Occupational Therapy Graduates on Sentinel Events During Transitions to Practice: A Phenomenographic Study Nileththi Achini De Silva, Eleanor Furtado, and Anne W. Hunt

Barriers that Affect Equity in the Occupational Therapy Admissions Process: Student and Faculty Perspectives Quinn P. Tyminski and Lenin Grajo

The Relationship Between Holistic Admissions Criteria and Program Ranking Among Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Programs Kristian Taylor, Cat-Tien Nguyen, Jenny Grant, Mary B. Brewster, Mary A. Barrett, Teal Benevides, and Sharon M. Cosper

Associations Between Learning Environment and Study Satisfaction Across Time: Two Cross-Sectional Analyses of Occupational Therapy Students Gry Mørk, Susanne G. Johnson, Astrid Gramstad, Linda Stigen, Tove Carstensen, and Tore Bonsaksen

Policy and Advocacy

Improving Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students’ Social Awareness for Making Equitable Policy Decisions: A Quantitative Quasi-Experimental Study Alysson Goodwin and Denise Crowley

Opinions in the Profession

The Role of Occupational Therapy in the Recognition, Assessment, and Treatment of Presbyvestibulopathy Jennifer Hill, Ellen Hudgins, and Sharon Leonard

Promoting Equity and Inclusion for Mothers of Young Children in Academia Sabina Khan

Sibling Involvement: Highlighting the Influential Role of Siblings in Supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Gracie Krueger and Robyn Otty

• Occupation and the Artist

Art, Family, and a Calling to Occupational Therapy Erin Barrus

Would you like to learn about the art featured on the cover? The “Occupation and the Artist” section of OJOT highlights the use of art in the practice of OT and in the occupations of both consumers of OT services and its practitioners. Click here to explore this unique feature of OJOT.

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Occupational Therapy Research Guide: Overview

• Books and ebooks
• Health Science Reference Books
• Selected OT Journals & Current Article Feeds
• Federal, State & Local Resources
• International & Private Foundation Sites
• Professional Organizations
• Resources for Individuals & Families, Accessibility Techology
• Video Tutorials: Keywords, Peer-review, How to Read Articles, & More
• APA 7th Ed. Citations, Paraphrasing, and More
• Endnote Reference Manager

START WITH THESE RESOURCES

Cross-searches over 60 full text reference books with a single search. Find facts and background material, images, sound files, animations, videos and topic pages that organize research tools available for your topic. There is also a concept map, interactive software to map out and focus your chosen research topic.

Credo Health & Medicine Topic Pages

With one click, get encyclopedia summary articles, Mind Maps, charts and graphs, related articles, and more on your research topic!

Access Science - Medicine & Health Sciences by McGraw Hill provides access to more than 8500 articles and Research Reviews covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology; 115,000+ definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms; 3000 biographies of well-known scientific figures; 18,000+ downloadable videos, images and animations illustrating key topics.

Research 101 - Getting Started in Library Research

Try the steps outlined in this guide for a simple and effective search strategy to find information for your research paper, project or presentation.

Getting Started in Library Research

• Research 101 Try the steps outlined in this guide for a simple and effective search strategy to find information for your research paper, project or presentation.
• Citations Guide Provides information and links on plagiarism, APA Style basics and examples, and setting up citation management systems such as EndNote that can store all your research as well as put all your references into proper format!

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)

• International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) ICF is the WHO framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels. more... less... The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, known more commonly as ICF, is a classification of health and health-related domains. As the functioning and disability of an individual occurs in a context, ICF also includes a list of environmental factors.

Mapping the Literature

• Mapping the Literature of Occupational Therapy How is Occupational Therapy covered by the major databases, and what do the newest findings suggest about the field.

Core Databases for Occupational Therapy

• MEDLINE (EBSCO Search)
• MEDLINE (PubMed Search) Created by the National Library of Medicine, users can search abstracts from over 4,000 current biomedical journals. Authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, psychiatry, the health care system, and more. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. TO CHECK FOR WSU AVAILABILITY, view Abstract and click on "360 Link to Full Text" icon.
• Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information & Exchange (CIRRIE) CIRRIE’s role is to identify and disseminate in the U.S. information found useful in other countries for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. CIRRIE has developed a Database of International Rehabilitation Research. The database may be searched by subject, author, country, title, year and other parameters. CIRRIE has also developed an online, multi-lingual International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation, which can be downloaded from this site. more... less... The International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation provides a synthesis of much of this research. The majority of the authors of the Encyclopedia articles are from outside the U.S. as are the reviewers, providing the Encyclopedia with an international scope. CIRRIE supports international collaboration in rehabilitation research through its program to support exchanges of researchers between the U.S. and other countries. CIRRIE also develops educational resources related to culture and disability to strengthen the cultural competency of rehabilitation service providers who work with persons born outside the U.S., especially recent immigrants. Additionally, CIRRIE compiles a list of conferences, workshops and other events that provide settings for the exchange of expertise internationally. In our current cycle we have conducted the U.S. Launch and Symposium for the World Report on Disability.
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• MOHO Web The Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) explains how occupations are motivated, patterned, and performed within everyday environments. MOHO Web is an online resource of for occupational therapy practitioners, educators, students, and researchers. Here you may access free and fee-based MOHO assessments and interventions that are supported for distribution through the University of Illinois at Chicago. Assessments for sale have been psychometrically validated using classical test theory and RASCH approaches. References to this research and other evidence for the use of MOHO throughout the world are available in the Scholarship section.
• OTseeker OTseeker is a database developed by Occupational Therapists from two Australian Universities, the University of Queensland (School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), and the University of Sydney. The database contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Trials have been critically appraised and rated to assist you to evaluate their validity and interpretibility. These ratings will help you to judge the quality and usefulness of trials for informing clinical interventions. Also offers other freely accessible resources, power-point presentations and links to evidence-based practice resources.
• PEDro, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database PEDro is the Physiotherapy Evidence Database. PEDro is a free database of over 34,000 randomised trials, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy. For each trial, review or guideline, PEDro provides the citation details, the abstract and a link to the full text, where possible. All trials on PEDro are independently assessed for quality. These quality ratings are used to quickly guide users to trials that are more likely to be valid and to contain sufficient information to guide clinical practice. PEDro is produced by the Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy at The George Institute for Global Health in Australia.
• Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine (Gale OneFile) This collection includes over 100 titles covering the fields of physical therapy and sports medicine, providing researchers with access to topics discussed in the field, including proven treatment techniques, experimental research theses, and many more. Primarily periodicals.
• APA PsycInfo Citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, all in psychology and related disciplines. Largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral sciences and mental health. International coverage. .
• REHABDATA Produced by the National Rehabilitation Information Center, this is the leading literature database on disability and rehabilitation. The database describes over 80,000 documents covering physical, mental, and psychiatric disabilities, independent living, vocational rehabilitation, special education, assistive technology, law, employment, and other issues as they relate to people with disabilities. The collection spans 1956 to the present. more... less... Three main categories of documents are included: (1) reports, studies, and papers submitted by projects funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (as featured in the NIDILRR Program Directory); (2) articles published in rehabilitation-related periodicals; and (3) commercially published books. Some non-print materials are also included.The collection spans 1956 to the present.
• Science Direct   A leading full-text scientific database offering almost 14 million journal articles from more than 3,800 peer-reviewed journals and book chapters from more than 35,000 books. Covers topics in the health & life sciences and the social & behavioral sciences.

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What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy practitioners ask,

"What matters to you?" not, "What's the matter with you?"

Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations).

From the American Occupational Therapy Association

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Critically appraised topics (CATs) are very brief reviews which summarize current best evidence on an intervention or diagnosis.

The main limitation of CATs is their brief scope, which makes them more prone to selection bias than a systematic review or a rapid review.  But they have an important role to play in supporting evidence based practice – identifying gaps in the knowledge, quickly scoping the literature and informing policy.

CATs have been used since the 1990s, mainly in the fields of veterinary science, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dermatology, urology, radiology, nursing, business management and education.

Parts of a CAT

Like a systematic review, a certain methodology should be followed. Even though CATs are quick, compared to other reviews, they should still follow these steps:

• Define a clear, concise and focused question – use a search framework such as PICO to help you with this.
• Develop a search strategy – identify search terms, work out how to combine them and select a limited number of appropriate databases.
• Identify the relevant studies that help answer your question.
• Critically appraise the located evidence – describe and appraise the included studies. (Often the appraisal is limited to the methodological appropriateness of each study).
• Summarize your findings – what’s the “bottom line” suggested by the evidence?

* this list based on info from the libguide "Systematic and Systematic-like Reviews", Charles Sturt University, https://libguides.csu.edu.au/systematicreviews/cats

Examples of CATs

Because CATs are so brief, they are an ideal form of publication for students, and several universities have adopted them as core project within their Masters and Doctorate of Occupational Therapy programs:

• Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City Critically appraised Topics
• UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Program Critically Appraised Topics
• UNE Physical Therapy Program Critically Appraised Topics
• Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine Pediatric Residency Critically Appraised Topics
• WSU School of Medicine St. Louis Occupational Therapy Program Critically Appraised Topics
• Center for Evidence-Based Management. (2017). CEBMa guideline for critically appraised topics in management and organizations . https://cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/CEBMa-REA-Guideline.pdf  
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Research-based occupational therapy education: An exploration of students’ and faculty members’ experiences and perceptions

Kjersti velde helgøy.

1 Center of Diakonia and Professional Practice, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway

Jens-Christian Smeby

2 Centre for the Study of Professions, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway

Tore Bonsaksen

3 Department of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Science, Elverum, Norway

4 Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized University, Sandnes, Norway

Nina Rydland Olsen

5 Department of Health and Functioning, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway

Associated Data

In accordance with restrictions imposed by the Norwegian Data Protection Services (NSD) with ID number 8453764, data must be stored on a secure server at VID Specialized University. The contents of the etics committe`s approval resolution as well as the wording of participants` written consent do not render public data access possible. Access to the study`s minimal and depersonalized data set may be requested by contacting the project manager, KVH, email: [email protected] or the institution: on.div@tsop .

Introduction

One argument for introducing research in bachelor`s degree in health care is to ensure the quality of future health care delivery. The requirements for research-based education have increased, and research on how research-based education is experienced is limited, especially in bachelor health care education programmes. The aim of this study was to explore how occupational therapy students and faculty members experienced and perceived research-based education.

This qualitative, interpretative description consisted of three focus group interviews with occupational therapy students in their final year (n = 8, 6 and 4), and three focus group interviews with faculty members affiliated with occupational therapy programmes in Norway (n = 5, 2 and 5). Interviewing both students and faculty members enabled us to explore the differences in their experiences and perceptions.

Five integrative themes emerged from the analysis: “introducing research early”, “setting higher expectations”, “ensuring competence in research methods”, “having role models” and “providing future best practice”. Research was described as an important aspect of the occupational therapy bachelor program as it helps ensure that students achieve the necessary competence for offering future best practice. Students expressed a need to be introduced to research early in the program, and they preferred to have higher expectations regarding use of research. Competence in research methods and the importance of role models were also highlighted.

Conclusions

Undergraduate health care students are expected to be competent in using research. Findings from our study demonstrated that the participants perceived the use of research during training as important to ensure future best practice. Increasing the focus on research in the programme’s curricula and efforts to improve students’ formal training in research-specific skills could be a starting point towards increased use of research in the occupational therapy profession.

Occupational therapists have positive attitudes towards research, but implement research evidence infrequently within their daily practice [ 1 ]. Professional education is believed to play an important role in the development of positive attitudes towards evidence-based practice (EBP) skills [ 2 , 3 ]. One approach to improving evidence-based practice uptake in clinical practice is through the integration of research in education [ 4 , 5 ]. Developing student’s research skills is an important aspect of EBP [ 6 ] and participation in a research course has been found to improve nursing student’s attitudes towards research [ 7 ]. The World Federation of Occupational Therapists recommends an occupation-focused curriculum that includes critical thinking, problem-solving, EBP, research and life-long learning [ 8 , p. 6]. As such, educators in occupational therapy are advised to engage in research [ 8 , p. 53].

Several studies have explored how to link research and teaching in higher education [ 9 – 20 ]. Based on previous research [ 9 , 10 , 15 – 20 ], Huet developed a research-based education model that distinguishes between research-led teaching and research-based teaching [ 14 ]. Research-led teaching means that academics use their expertise as active researchers or use the research of others to inform their teaching. Research-based teaching means that students develop research skills by being involved in research or other inquiry-based activities. Research-led teaching and research-based teaching is interconnected, and research and teaching should be seen as interlinked [ 14 ]. One strategy for linking research and teaching is to bring research into the classroom, e.g. through academics presenting their research relevant to the subject and discussing research outcomes and methods with students [ 14 ]. In a research-based learning environment, students learn how to become critical thinkers, lifelong learners and to generate discipline-enriching knowledge [ 14 ].

Research-based education has mainly been emphasized in disciplinary university education [ 21 ]. In medical education, students’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards research have been examined in several studies [ 22 – 25 ]. In their review, Chang and Ramnanan [ 22 ] found that medical students had positive attitudes towards research. Similar results emerged in Paudel et al.`s cross-sectional study [ 24 ]. Kandell and Vereijken et al. [ 25 ] found that first-year students believed that research would be important to keeping up to date in their future clinical practice.

Less research has been carried out on research-based education in bachelor’s programmes in health care, but the requirements for research-based education have also increased in these programmes [ 21 , p. 11]. Some studies have, however, investigated the attitudes, skills and use of research among nursing students [ 4 , 7 , 26 ]. In their literature reviews, Ross [ 7 ] found that nursing students have positive attitudes towards research and Ryan [ 26 ] found that nursing students are generally positive towards the use of research. Ross [ 7 ] noted that participation in research courses and research-related activity improved students’ attitudes towards nursing research. Leach et al. [ 4 ] have argued that undergraduate research education has an impact on nursing students’ research skills and use of EBP.

Students in occupational therapy and physiotherapy have been found to share positive attitudes towards research [ 27 ]. Similarly, studies have found positive attitudes towards EBP among occupational therapy students [ 28 – 31 ]. Stronge and Cahill [ 29 ] found that students were willing to practice EBP, but a lack of time and clinical instructors not practising EBP were perceived as barriers. Stube and Jedlicka [ 28 ] and Jackson [ 30 ] highlighted the importance of learning EBP through fieldwork experiences. DeCleene Huber et al. [ 31 ] found that students were least confident in EBP skills that involved using statistical procedures and statistical tests to interpret study results. These studies focused mainly on students’ attitudes and competence in EBP and research utilization (RU), and other elements of research-based education, such as student’s exposure to and engagement with research evidence were not investigated.

Few studies have explored faculty members’ perceptions of research in undergraduate education. Wilson et al. [ 32 ] found that the way in which university teachers in university disciplines translate research into learning experiences depends on their own personal perception of research. Some academics have highlighted that disciplinary content must be learned before engaging in research [ 32 ]. This idea is in accordance with the findings of Brew and Mantai [ 33 ], who also found variations in the way in which academics conceptualized undergraduate research. Experiences, attitudes and barriers towards research have been examined among the junior faculty of a medical university, and findings indicate that fewer than half of the participants in the study were involved in research at the time [ 34 ]. Ibn Auf et al. [ 35 ] found that the factors significantly influencing positive perceptions of research experience among the faculty at medical programmes were being male, having had education in research during undergraduate level, having been trained in research following graduation, and having undertaking years of research. To our knowledge, few studies have been conducted on faculty members’ perceptions of research in health care education, and we have identified only one such study related to occupational therapy education [ 36 ]. In a survey Ordinetz [ 36 ] found that the faculty members had a positive attitude towards research-related activities, and they considered research as an integral component of their role. Still, participants found research-related activities difficult to perform.

Research into how research-based education is experienced and perceived by faculty members and students is limited, especially in bachelor’s programmes in health care [ 21 , p. 11]. To gain a better understanding of the advantages or disadvantages of linking teaching and research, we therefor aimed to explore students’ and faculty members’ experiences and perceptions of research-based education in one bachelor’s programme in health care in Norway. Our specific research questions were:

• How do students and faculty members in occupational therapy programmes perceive the emphasis on research in the programme?
• How do occupational therapy students and faculty members perceive the expectations regarding research during the programme?
• What similarities and differences exist between the experiences and perceptions of students and faculty members regarding research-based education in the programme?

Context of the research

In Norway, it is required that higher education should be research-based [ 37 ]. According to the Act relating to universities and university college § 1–1 b, education must be on the cutting edge in terms of research, development work and artistic practice [ 37 ]. In a recent white paper on quality in higher education, research-based education is defined as education that is linked to a research environment; is conducted by staff who also carry out research; builds on existing research in a particular field; provides knowledge about the philosophy of science and research methods; and provides opportunities for students to learn how research is conducted from staff or students themselves conducting research as a part of their studies [ 38 ].

In Norway, six higher education institutions offer bachelor’s programmes in occupational therapy. The bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy consists of 180 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits and covers four main areas of learning: the natural sciences, medicine, the humanities and the social sciences as described in the National Curriculum [ 39 ]. In total, clinical education consists of 60 ECTS. Philosophy of science and research methods comprise 6 ECTS, and research and development consist of 9 ECTS. The bachelor project module involves research and development work in occupational therapy and consists of 15–20 ECTS, with some variation across programmes. According to the national curriculum, the purpose of the occupational therapy education is to prepare students to be professionally up-to-date, future-oriented and research-based in their practice [ 39 ]. Students should be able to read research papers and use research results in their professional practice, and they should be able to justify their actions to users, other professionals and employers. These regulations have typically been operationalized as learning outcomes, such as: “Students will be able to apply relevant theories and research results, to understand people with activity problems as a result of somatic illness or injury, and to be able to make reasoned choices of intervention”, or “Students will be able to find and apply research to justify an intervention in occupational health” [ 40 ].

Most higher education institutions in Norway require that faculty members hold a master’s degree and many require a PhD or equivalent. It is regulated by law that at least 20% of faculty members in programmes at the bachelor’s level have PhD or equivalent according to the regulation concerning supervision of the quality of education in higher education § 2–3 (4) [ 41 ]. The amount of time that faculty members are able to use on research and development varies between institutions. The type of academic position will often influence the percentage of time for which they can apply; 20% of a full-time position for assistant professors, 30% of a full-time position for associate professors and 40% of a full-time position for full professors [ 42 ].

We used a qualitative design with empirical data from six focus group interviews, and the research strategy ‘Interpretative description’ guided the analysis. Interpretive description is an inductive approach inspired by ethnography, grounded theory and phenomenology [ 43 ], and is a research strategy suitable for studying phenomena in practical disciplines, such as nursing, teaching and management [ 44 ]. It is an approach driven by a fundamental belief in the rightness of striving to find better ways to serve one’s disciplinary purpose, and the potential of research to guide one there [ 43 , p. 12].

Participants

A purposive sample was recruited consisting of two different participant categories: final year occupational therapy students and faculty members. Participants were recruited from three different bachelor’s programmes in Norway. We contacted programme managers, who helped us recruit faculty members. We used the students’ digital learning platform to inform them about the study and students were encouraged to contact us via email should they wish to participate in the study. Focus group interviews with students were conducted after their final clinical placement, when they had just started working on their bachelor’s projects. The study sample for this project consisted of two groups: third-year occupational therapy students (n = 18), and faculty members (n = 12). In total, 30 persons between the ages of 21 and 64 participated in the study ( Table 1 ), 7 of whom were men.

*Held a bachelor’s degree in other subject area before entering the bachelor’s program in occupational therapy.

Data collection

In total, we conducted six focus group interviews with occupational therapy students and faculty members from three different bachelor’s programmes. All focus groups were conducted during the spring of 2019. The focus groups with students and faculty members were conducted separatly, due to differences in expertise and power; according to Krueger [ 45 , p. 22], this is necessary to ensure that participants feel free to speak openly. The size of the focus groups ranged from two to eight participants ( Table 1 ), and they lasted between 76 and 86 minutes. A digital voice recorder was used to audiotape each session. The focus groups were held at a convenient time and location for the participants, such as meeting rooms on campus. All participants were asked to provide written consent before participating in the study, and completed a form, giving brief details about their background. A thematic interview guide was developed, based on the aim of this study and on previous research on research-based education. The following topics were covered: 1) perceptions of the term “research-based education”; 2) expectations regarding the use of research in education, including clinical placements; 3) students’ involvement in research projects and the faculty’s experiences regarding such involvement; 4) faculty’ members participation in research; 5) experiences with teaching research methods and the philosophy of science; and 6) research-based education and future professional practice. The first author developed the interview guide, drawing on previous research on the subject, and in cooperation with the three other authors. The authors are faculty members at different educational institutions. All authors were interested in the topic of research-based education, and were experienced both in teaching and supervising health care students, and conducting focus groups.

Ethical considerations

The Norwegian Data Protection Services (NSD) approved the study (ID number 845364). Participation in the study was voluntary and the participants had the opportunity to withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. All transcripts and notes were anonymous and written consent was obtained from all the participants. None of the authors conducted focus group interviews with their own colleagues.

Previous research into research-based education served as an important starting point for the interview guide and the analysis. Interpretive description guided the process of analysing the data [ 43 ]. The co-moderators took notes during the focus group interviews, and all focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim. After each focus group interview, the moderator and co-moderator engaged in a short debriefing session. The first and last author (KVH and NRO) performed the analyses, separately at first, followed by a joint analysis in which the two authors discussed and compared their interpretation of the data and agreed on patterns and themes. Word processing was used to analyse the data, and the analysis consisted of a series of operations: 1) reading the transcripts many times while being as open-minded as possible; 2) writing marginal remarks by consistently questioning the text and pointing out important points, potential themes or patterns; 3) condensing; 4) broad coding, 5) comparing and contrasting within focus groups with similar participant categories; and finally 6) comparing and contrasting focus groups compromised of different participant-categories. Comparing and contrasting within and between focus group interviews, enabled us to generate patterns and themes within the entire data set.

The analysis was characterized by a back and forth process that involved taking things apart and putting them back together again. Throughout this process, the first author frequently returned to the transcripts to ensure that the interpretations reflected the data. To ensure rigor and credibility in the analysis, the authors stepped away from the data periodically to ask questions such as: “what am I seeing?”, “why am I seeing that?”, “how else might I understand this aspect of data?”, “what might I not be seeing?” and “what are they not telling me?” [ 43 , p.174]. This approach prompted the authors to see the data through “alternative lenses” and to acknowledge that there was much else to be seen [ 43 , p. 174].

The aim of this study was to explore how occupational therapy students and faculty members experienced and perceived research-based education. Across the focus group interviews, we identified five integrative themes; “introducing research early”; “setting higher expectations”; “ensuring competence in research methods”; “having role models”, and “providing future best practice”. Students felt it was important to be introduced to research early on in the programme, meet high expectations regarding the use of research, gain competence in research methods and have role models who use research evidence during clinical education. Faculty members felt that students needed competence in research methods and they highlighted the importance of linking research to professional practice. We found the most contrasting views between students and faculty members to be related to the theme “setting higher expectations”. While the students would have liked more focus on research, the faculty members discussed whether expectations regarding the use of research were too high. Both students and faculty members across the focus group interviews believed that research-based education was important with regards to helping students achieve the necessary competences to provide future best practice.

Introducing research early

Across the focus group interviews, several students expressed the belief that focusing on research early in their education would better enable them to read and understand research during their training. Furthermore, one participant highlighted that occupational therapists are expected to integrate up-to-date research findings in their practice, and learning about research in the early stages was important in order to ensure this competence. Most students questioned the timing of when research should be introduced to students during their training. One of these students was of the opinion that learning about research should be mandatory from the start of the programme:

“I wished that teaching related to research was mandatory early in my studies. Everything you want to be good at requires practice, right? I wished that I had better research skills; [in particular concerning] searching for and using articles before we started working on our bachelor’s project.” (Student, Focus group 3)

This participant had also experienced benefits, such as higher grades, when using research articles in assignments. One of the other students highlighted that critical thinking is also part of research-based education. Students expressed a need to be critical with regard to research, and several of them wished that the curriculum had focused on how to read an article critically. Some of the participants pointed out that the use of research was not introduced until their final year, which they felt was too late.

Learning about research early on in the programme was also mentioned in one of the focus group interviews with faculty members. Some of the faculty members believed that learning to use research should be introduced at the start of the programme, as research is a natural part of academic development. For students to be able to read research articles early, they must also learn about research methods early on in the programme.

“I think it is important for [students’] academic development to start early. That they start early, and really expects that they will implement it in their first, second and third year, and that it won’t just come abruptly in third year.” (Faculty member, Focus group 6)

In contrast to this, one of the faculty members expressed that early on, some students seem more focused on understanding what it will be like to practice occupational therapy, rather than learning about research evidence:

“Of course, one must start [focusing on research], but I understand students who wish to understand what the profession is like first and foremost, right? What will my day consist of as a clinician when I graduate, that is what they want to know first, right?” (Faculty member, Focus group 6)

This faculty member felt that first-year students strived to grasp the concept of occupational therapy, and that understanding the profession is essential early on in their training. Later, students can develop their understanding and use of research evidence.

Setting higher expectations

Several students expressed that they would have preferred their teachers to have set higher expectations early on regarding the use of research during their training. They had the impression that the expectations had changed for new student cohorts, and they wished that they had been given the same opportunity. In contrast, however, one student described having been given clear expectations regarding the use of research articles during the first year, although these expectations decreased as the program progressed. This participant felt that the expectations regarding the use of research in assignments were too low, especially after the first year:

“It… seems sufficient to include a sentence from an article, and to refer to one research article in the reference list, and then it is okay in a way. I think the expectations are too low. We must include a research article, but why do we do this really? What is the point? Nothing more is required.” (Student, Focus group 2)

Some students also experienced that the expectations regarding the use of research use were too low during their clinical placements. They expressed that it was unusual to talk about theory and research during placement. As future clinical instructors, they would expect more research use from their students.

We found the most contrasting views between students and faculty members regarding this theme. While students would have liked more focus on research, the faculty members discussed whether expectations regarding the use of research were too high. In one focus group with faculty members, participants discussed how students’ motivations regarding the use of research varied. In their experience some of the students were mainly interested in hands-on practice, whereas others were more interested in research. In another focus group, faculty members indicated that they were satisfied with the requirements and expectations regarding research use among their students. They highlighted that learning about research requires maturation, and that the extent to which research can be integrated during training is limited.

Another factor that was highlighted by faculty members was a fear that the increased demand for research-based education could create a distance to professional practice. Some participants highlighted that it takes time to understand the profession and that too much emphasis on research in education could threaten this process. In one focus group interview, there was a discussion regarding how to balance the emphasis on research and profession- specific knowledge:

One participant remarked that research was too much in focus:

“In light of the national expectations regarding research-based and evidence-based practice, we need to ask ourselves, what is our profession, right? We live in a time and a society where evidence-based practice and research is almost emphasized too much.” (Faculty member, Focus group 6)

In contrast, however, one of the other faculty members in the same focus group, stated that one does not forget the importance of the occupational therapy profession when conducting research, and emphasized the importance of research in education.

In another focus group interview, some of the faculty members were concerned about the increasing demand for research competence among faculty members. They feared a situation where the majority of the faculty might have research competence, but limited clinical experience, which might affect the students’ learning of specific occupational therapy skills:

“Occasionally I fear that we have less of the experience-based knowledge in the faculty, now that faculty members are expected to have a PhD. Many [faculty members] start their career at the university colleges and universities and complete the doctoral degree, without having much clinical experience.” (Faculty member, Focus group 1)

Ensuring competence in research methods

Both students and faculty members highlighted that student’s needed competence in research methods. The students emphasized the need for more competence and skills regarding quantitative methods and statistics, to enable them to read and understand research articles. Several students stated that, while they had some knowledge about qualitative methods, they had not learned much about quantitative methods. The importance of competence in research methods was highlighted in one of the focus group interviews with students:

“If you have competence in [research] methods, then it might be easier to read and understand a research article. Often when I try to read a research article about something medical, I skip the methods section because I don’t understand it.” (Student, Focus group 2)

Students believed that reading research articles prepared them for clinical work. In fact, one participant was very aware of a lack of competence in research methods during a clinical placement and expressed this as follows:

“I experienced that clinical instructor said in the beginning of the placement “you [as a student] can use research, as you are good at it”. “This is perhaps a bit unfortunate, since we haven`t been sufficiently introduced to how to find and interpret research, and not early enough. As such, we didn’t used it [research] in the placement, because we haven’t been confident enough.” (Student, Focus group 3)

Competence in research methods was also discussed in relation to students’ bachelor’s projects. Students expressed that it was too late to start learning about research methods in the final year. If research methods were not introduced at an earlier stage, students felt unprepared for their bachelor’s project. Students stated that expectations regarding research use only took place in one exam, and they wished that they had been challenged more regarding the use of research throughout the programme. Benefits from reading research articles compared with regular textbooks were highlighted, such as learning more about the results from interventions within different patient groups. Faculty members also felt that teaching methods and the philosophy of science was not sufficiently integrated in the programme. They noted that a consequence of this was a lack of competence in research methods among students, which in turn was a challenge regarding student participation in research projects initiated by faculty members. As one participant explained:

“What I think now is that of course they have received too little teaching related to research methods to be able to contribute. I have a bad conscience that they have received too little basic knowledge to get started doing it.” (Faculty member, Focus group 5)

Having role models

Some of the students experienced working alongside role models who used research evidence, both on campus and in clinical placements. With regards to clinical instructors acting as role models, one of the students stated:

“The clinical instructors used a lot of research, so I felt that I also had to [use research evidence] to keep on track.” (Student, Focus group 2)

A student from another focus group also experienced clinical instructors as expecting students to use research, although this varied from placement to placement:

“If I had treated a patient, I had to justify this with research, but it was mostly when I had placements in hospitals, so it depended very much on the clinical placement site.” (Student, Focus group 4)

Some of the students encountered the expectation that nearly all treatments performed during their placements should be justified with research evidence, especially in hospital-based services. For example one particular student described:

“In my final clinical placement in occupational health services, it was only research that mattered. At this placement you were expected not to say anything without reading up on legislation and the latest knowledge.” (Student, Focus group 4)

In contrast to this, however, several other participants had the impression that their clinical instructors did not use much research but instead emphasized experienced-based knowledge and placed more emphasis on the students’ interaction skills. These students perceived that their clinical instructor’s decision-making was based on experience-based knowledge. One participant experienced this lack of emphasis on research in clinical placements as follows:

“My clinical instructor in my last clinical placement, started to say “I am probably not going to test you on use of research evidence, because there you are superior to me, since it has been so long since I have done that. Rather, I will keep an eye on your communication skills and how you appear.” (Student, Focus group 2)

Later in the focus group interview, the same participant stated:

“I wasn’t surprised, because this experience was similar to earlier experiences from other clinical placements: that we are not challenged on research-based stuff by the clinical instructor.” (Student, Focus group 2)

This is similar to the view of another participant who expressed that research use was not visible in any of the clinical placements. Despite or perhaps because of this experience, this participant saw the need to use research to keep-up-to date in future clinical practice.

Faculty members across the focus group interviews noted a variation regarding clinical instructors’ engagement in research evidence; however, one participant highlighted an increasing focus on research among clinicians:

“I always address [research] during clinical placement visits when clinical instructors are present, and I experience that the practice field is much more focused on research now than before. Many say that this is thanks to the students.” (Faculty member, Focus group 1)

As such, students could also influence the use of research evidence during clinical education. One of the faculty members confirmed this when noting that the students requested justifications based on research after lectures on making orthoses. This faculty member recalled that students had stated that they wished the clinician lecturer had used research evidence to better justify this type of intervention. The faculty member believed that students developed their critical thinking skills during the programme and became increasingly interested in how research supported clinical decisions. Some of the faculty members highlighted that they made an effort to stimulate students’ critical thinking skills, and that they were focused on educating students that could integrate critical thinking into their professional practice.

Students also experienced faculty members as role models in terms of using research in various ways. Some of the students described a difference between younger and more experienced faculty members. They found that younger faculty members who held a PhD and were recently hired, were more focused on research than faculty members with more clinical experience. The students described this as a generational shift that has possible led to an increased focus on research in the programme recently. Overall, the students’ impression of their teachers as active researchers varied. Some students had the impression that some of their teachers did not conduct much research, and others had the impression that all of the faculty members conducted research, that they invited students to participate in their projects, and that their research was visible both in their teaching and in reading lists:

“They talk about their research projects, so everyone as far as I know is involved in research in some way. I also see their names on research articles.” (Student, Focus group 3)

Furthermore, none of the students in the three focus group interviews remembered that teachers had focused on research during students’ clinical placements visits:

“I didn’t get any questions about research from the teacher during my placement visit. In a way I feel that everybody says that research is so important, but it feels like it is mostly experience-based.” (Student, Focus group 2)

In one of the focus group interviews with students, some participants described their uncertainly regarding whether their teachers were basing their lectures on research, as the Power Point presentations often lacked references. One student remarked:

“Since [the teachers] refer to theory using old sources, I don’t trust that they have searched for new research.” (Student, Focus group 3)

Providing future best practice

Across the focus group interviews, participants perceived that research in occupational therapy bachelor’s programmes was important with regard to helping students achieve the necessary competence to provide future best practice. Both students and faculty members expressed a need to use research as an information source to justify their professional practice to other professions and collaborators. From the students’ perspective, research can provide professional credibility and drive the profession forward. One student expressed the following:

“You… desire that the intervention or the treatment or what you provide is the most professionally credible option, and that this option will have the best possible effect.” (Student, Focus group 2)

This participant described the importance of incorporating research in training and clinical placements, to ensure that graduates integrate research in future clinical practice. Furthermore, the participant expressed a responsibility to keep-up-to date with research. One of the other participants in this focus group agreed, and emphasized that when working with patients, it is important to be familiar with the latest research evidence in a particular field.

Faculty members emphasized that graduates should have the necessary competence to be able to justify treatment choices to meet the demands of society. One of the faculty members stated that emphasis on research in the programme would probably increase the focus on research after graduation, when students would be less exposed to research than they were during their training. Another stated explicitly that being able to justify treatments using research, as opposed to using intuition only, could empower students in their future practice:

“When you work in hospital-based services, if you suggest an intervention, then you will be asked why you would do that and then you can justify it with research. And that is something I believe, the benefits of empowering our students to meet the demands of society, especially in hospital-based services.” (Faculty member, Focus group 1)

Our aim was to explore how occupational therapy students and faculty members experienced and perceived research-based education. We found that students were engaged in learning about research and they considered research to be important. Both students and faculty members perceived that research in bachelor’s programmes was important with regards to helping students achieve the necessary competence to provide future best practice in occupational therapy. Students expressed a need to be introduced to research in the early stages of the programme, and for higher expectations regarding the use of research during their education. Both students and faculty members acknowledged the need for students to gain competence in research methods, as this would enable them to read research articles and participate in research projects. Students maintained that both clinical instructors and faculty members were important role models in the use of research evidence.

In this study, students expressed that they would have preferred to learn about research earlier in their programme, and some of the faculty members highlighted that integrating research at an early stage was important for academic development. Early integration of research and enquiry has also been emphasized by Healey and Jenkins [ 15 ] and Jenkins and Healey [ 46 ]. Jenkins and Healey [ 46 ] have suggested that institutions and departments develop courses that engage students in research and enquiry from the beginning of their first year. They used the term “enquiry” to highlight the importance of curiosity, as well as critical thinking. An argument for early integration of research and enquiry is to enhance the linkage between teaching and discipline-based research [ 15 ]. Walkington et al. [ 47 ] have argued that all undergraduate geography students would benefit from early attempts to develop skills in enquiry and research. They found that students felt more prepared to undertake research independently when they were given the opportunity to practise research skills in advance [ 47 ]. This is relevant to our study findings, as the bachelor’s project in the final year in the occupational therapy programmes involves research-related tasks, but learning research methods takes time. Accordingly the students who participated in our study reported that they would have liked to learn about research methods earlier, as this would have better prepared them for undertaking their bachelor’s project.

Some of the faculty members in our study believed an early introduction to the use of research is a part of academic development and the importance of progressing in this area throughout the programme was underlined. In contrast, however, one of the faculty members expressed that, in the early stages of the programme, some students seemed to be more focused on understanding the role of the occupational therapist than learning about research. This contrasting view coincides with the findings of Wilson et al. [ 32 ], who found that some academics appear to have a hierarchical understanding of research, in which disciplinary content must be learned before engaging in research. Nevertheless, students and faculty member alike explicitly articulated the need for students to develop and learn critical thinking skills at an early stage in their programme, such as how to read an article critically. Critical thinking skills were highlighted as being both important for professional practice and research-based education. However, integrating the use of research evidence early also comes with challenges. Kyvik et al. [ 48 ] found that undergraduate professional students developed only limited understanding of research. This speak to the importance of integrating the use of research as early as possible in students’ training, as these are competences that students need in order to engage in evidence-based practice as professionals.

Most of the students experienced a lack of expectations regarding the use of research in assignments and during clinical placements, whereas some of the faculty members wondered whether the expectations were too high. Some faculty members feared that the increased demand for research-based education could widen the gap between education and professional practice. Interestingly, it appears that engaging in research and professional practice may be perceived as two separate domains, with some ambiguity concerning the role of research in the occupational therapy profession. This provides further support to Kyvik’s [ 21 , p. 142] argument that research-based education in bachelor programmes in health care should place an emphasis not just on enquiry-based learning but its relevance for professional practice.

Both students and faculty members in our study described competence in research methods among students as important. Students reported a need for competence in research methods, including quantitative methods, to be able to understand research articles. Moreover, faculty members reported that the lack of students’ competence in research methods could represent a challenge when including students in their own research projects. However, Decleene Huber et al. [ 31 ] found that students lacked confidence in using statistical procedures and statistical tests to interpret study results. Kyvik et al. [ 48 ] and Brew and Mantai [ 33 ] found that undergraduates lacked the research skills needed to be involved in faculty projects. This represent a potential challenge, as most students in our study reported that they wanting to know more about their teachers’ research and to be involved in their research projects. Students also highlighted that involvement in faculty research might be a way to inspire them to continue with research in the future. Healey and Jenkins [ 15 ] have argued that students seemed more motivated if they were integrated in their teachers’ research projects at an early stage in their studies. Moreover, Smyth et al. [ 49 ] claimed that students value research experience and experienced benefits from engaging in research such as an improved understanding of the research process, increased critical thinking and professional and practical skills. This supports the view that learning about research methods, including quantitative and statistical methods, should be integrated throughout the programme.

In our study, students highlighted the importance of role models with regards to using research, especially during clinical placements. Students reported that they were positively influenced by clinical instructors who used research in their work, and as a result, they felt obliged to use research to maintain their own professional development. Students who had experienced the opposite still reported that they had searched for and used research evidence to keep-up-to date. The importance of role models in promoting EBP and the use of research evidence has been reported in several studies [ 28 – 30 , 50 , 51 ]. Olsen et al. [ 50 ] and McCluskey [ 51 ] found that clinical instructors were important role models regarding EBP for students in clinical placements. Stube and Jedlicka [ 28 ] have suggested that educators have a role in assisting students to become scholarly consumers of evidence. In our study, most of the students had the overall impression that faculty members used research in their teaching, but the degree to which students were involved in research projects varied. In one focus group interview, students highlighted that all the faculty members were active researchers and published articles. However, students found that faculty members visiting students during placements were less inclined to focus on research. Some students also reported a focus on experienced-based knowledge more than on research-based knowledge among some clinical instructors. Closer cooperation between education and practice might be a way to increase the emphasis on research during clinical placements. Role models for use of research is of importance.

Experience with research and development work during training may enhance interest in applying research in one’s future working life [ 48 ]. Future quality health care delivery is often a main argument for integrating research in bachelors’ programme in health care education, such as occupational therapy education. In our study, both faculty members and students highlighted the importance of focusing on research in training to ensure that graduates have the necessary competence to provide future best practice. Previous research findings also indicated that students have a strong belief in the value of research for their future clinical practice [ 25 ] and desire to keep up-to-date in their field [ 23 ]. To achieve this, it is important that students start as early as possible and ideally during their formal education [ 2 ]. Deicke et al. [ 52 ] have highlighted that students need to work with actual research literature, develop research designs and undertake empirical research to increase their interest in research. Findings from our study indicate that emphasis should be placed on introducing the use of research at an early stage in the programme and higher expectations should be set for students regarding the use of research, both on campus and during clinical placements, to ensure that students achieve competence in research methods and that they are exposed to role models who use research evidence.

Occupational therapists have positive attitudes towards research, but infrequently implement research evidence in their daily practice [ 1 ]. This may be due to barriers such as lack of time to read research, insufficient facilities and difficulty understanding statistical analyses [ 53 ]. Results from our study indicate that a link between research and profession-specific knowledge is necessary for research-based education in bachelor’s programmes in health care education. Research should be integrated in teaching. Along this lines, Huet [ 14 ] has argued that faculty members need to be engaged in a scholarly manner within their disciplinary field, and has highlighted the importance of raising a culture of research and teaching as two integrated activities. Learning in a research-based education environment may ensure that students enriches the knowledge in their discipline [ 14 ]. Students need to be socialized into a culture of research. Ideally, the learning of research-specific skills should be integrated into all fields of learning in a programmes curricula and include skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, EBP and research, as emphasized by WFOT [ 8 ]. Increasing focus on research in curricula and improving the students’ formal training in research-specific skills could be a starting point towards increased use of research in the occupational therapy profession.

Limitations

This study explored the experiences and perceptions of occupational therapy students and faculty members regarding research-based education in three different occupational therapy programs in Norway. Conducting focus group interviews with both students and faculty members enabled us to explore and compare differences in perceptions and experiences. Focus groups compared to individual interviews can potentially create a synergy that is not possible in individual interviews [ 54 , p. 18]. The challenge with this method, is that there is a possibility that dominant participants can influence the results and participants tend to intellectualize [ 45 , p. 22, 13]. In our study, we did not experience dominant participants, although one of the participants in one of the focus group interviews contributed very little. We made efforts to include this participant more directly in the conversation.

This study was conducted in the early phase of third-year students’ bachelor’s projects. There is a possibility that the students were more focused on research during this phase of their training. It is also possibly that students who participated in this study could have been more interested in research-based education than students who chose not to participate. While a specific interest in research-based education may also have been the case for the faculty members who chose to participate in the study, we note that only three of the participating faculty members held a PhD or equivalent, and the majority of their experience originated from clinical practice. Thus, when considering the faculty’s views as expressed in this study, the characteristics of the group should be considered. In addition, one of the focus groups, made up of faculty members consisted of only two participants. A strenght of our study, is that two authors conducted the analysis. We considered using member checking, but decided against it, as, according to Thorne [ 43 p. 175], member checking can lead to false confidence if the participants confirm what you thought or potentially derail you from good analytic interpretations if they do not. With regards to the participants, however, we feel that including both students and faculty members as study participants represents a strength of the study. A corresponding limitations is that we are unable to assess the extent to which the study sample is representative of the population of faculty and students in occupational therapy education in Norway. However, as establishing representativity is generally not an aim of qualitative studies, and according to Thorne [ 43 , p. 105], there is no definitive rule regarding the correct sample size for an interpretive description study, we believe our findings still offer important insights for the field.

This study explored the experiences and perceptions of occupational therapy students and faculty members from three occupational therapy bachelor’s programmes in Norway regarding research-based education. Students in these programmes are expected to be competent in using research evidence. Findings from our study show that both students and faculty members perceive the use of research during training as important in order for students to provide future best practice. Furthermore, findings indicate that setting high expectations regarding the use of research early on, may be important in a bachelor’s programme in health care such as occupational therapy. Ensuring competence in research methods seems to be essential for achieving success in terms of research-based education. Moreover, clinical instructors and faculty members were highlighted as important role models in the use of research evidence. Future research is needed that focuses on the use of research by clinical instructors and their expectations of students regarding using research in clinical placements. Quantitative studies are also needed, so that a wider population can be reached, as are more focus groups among students and faculty members in other professional education programmes.

Supporting information

S1 checklist, funding statement.

The author(s) received no soecific funding for this work.

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2020; 15(12): e0243544.

Decision Letter 0

22 Jul 2020

PONE-D-20-09978

Research-based occupational therapy education: an exploration of students` and faculty members` experiences and perceptions

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Reviewer #1: Thank you for the opportunity to review this paper, which explores students’ and faculty members’ experiences with and perceptions of research-based occupational therapy education. The study method was described in detail and the analysis was conducted in line with the interpretative description methodology. I particularly enjoyed reading the quotes, which further demonstrated the depths of the research finding.

I have some concern with the way that ‘research-based education’ is conceptualised in the manuscript. Research-based teaching refers to teaching practice “…when academics plan, deliver and assess students’ work through their involvement in research or inquiry-based activities” (p.728, Huet, 2018 – Research-based education as a model to change the teaching and learning environment in STEM disciplines, published in the European Journal of Engineering Education, 43:5, 725-740). A similar term – ‘research-lead teaching’ – occurs when academics use their expertise as active researcher or use the research of others to inform teaching. Without knowing how the occupational therapy curriculum is structured, I find it difficult to accept that it is indeed research based. It would have been beneficial for the authors to give more detail about how the curriculum is designed and delivered and to provide a few examples of research-based learning activities. Why is occupational therapy education considered as a short professional education programme, given that it is a bachelor degree? What are the expectations placed on the lecturers teaching in the occupation therapy programme, in terms of their engagement with research? Are they all clinicians? Again, providing more information about the course structure might help reduce the confusion here.

I would have liked to see more rationale given to using interpretive description as the study methodology. What’s the advance of this approach and why is it most suitable for the current study?

Participants commented on the fear that “… the increased demand for research-based education could cause a distance to professional practice”. It would be important to discuss whether comments like this fits the overall research-based model and to provide solutions to reduce such fears. I personally think that research and teaching should not be competing against each other and that the whole premise of research-based education is to incorporate research into teaching, as a means to facilitate active inquiry and critical thinking.

Reviewer #2: 1) 1. The qualitative research in the care activities is interesting, related to the management of good health science education in explaining the views, phenomena and perceptions of both the instructor and the learner.

2. The method should be improved to give details of the research methodology to understand more clearly how to do, what to do and how to analyze in order to get reliable research results Due to a small sample number

3) 3) Summary of themes is good but should make the diagram interesting In order for readers to understand the elements discovered in quality research more clearly, will make this research suitable for dissemination that useful in occupational therapy for the publication of world-renowned journals. Should adjust the diagram to be clear

In my opinion, this paper is good for occuaptional therapy education and health science education. It can share in PLoS ONE journal to contribute around the world. I’m Ok accpet thay Minor Revision,

Best Regards

Supat Chupradit, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy, Depaertment of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Reviewer #3: Exploring the perceptions of OT students and faculty regarding their experiences with receiving education about research is an important topic related to encouraging evidence-based practice in the field of OT. See attached review for detailed comments and recommendations for revision.

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Reviewer #1:  Yes:  Yan Chen

Reviewer #2:  Yes:  Supat Chupradit

Reviewer #3: No

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Submitted filename: PLOSOne review 07 2020.docx

Author response to Decision Letter 0

29 Oct 2020

Dear Editor and Reviewers: I have incorporated all of your suggestions into my revision. They were very helpful. Thank you. Please find them adressed in a separate document.

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 1

24 Nov 2020

PONE-D-20-09978R1

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Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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Reviewer #1: Thank you for addressing all my concerns. The revised paper reads well and I have no further comments to make.

Reviewer #2: The Occupational Therapy Education research work is extensive and quite comprehensive, this is impressive manuscript. I accept the manuscript.

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Reviewer #2:  Yes:  Assistant Professor Dr. Supat Chupradit

Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.

Email: [email protected]

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8596-2991

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10 Dec 2020

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Occupational Therapy: Home

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Evidence Based Practice - What is evidence based practice (EBP)

Sackett et al. (1996) defined evidence-based practice (EBP) as "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient" (p. 71).  Sackett, D. L., Rosenberg, W. M., Gray, J. A., Haynes, R. B., & Richardson, W. S. (1996). Evidence-based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t.  BMJ : British Medical Journal ,  312 (7023), 71–72.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71

Dang, D., Dearholt, S., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2022). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model and guidelines. 4th ed. Sigma Theta Tau International

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Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ research and development strategy 2019–2024

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ research and development strategy 2019–2024 is intended to inform, guide and direct the development of research capability and capacity in the occupational therapy profession in the UK and the quality and impact of the associated research outputs.

It builds on the research and development strategies that have preceded it and takes account of contemporary drivers for the research-engaged culture within the profession that RCOT seeks to cultivate. Highlighting the benefits for those accessing occupational therapy services, departments and organisations, individual occupational therapists and the profession as a whole, the Strategy promotes a spectrum of engagement, from working actively with existing research evidence, to participating in the development of the evidence base. Ten key principles underpin the Strategy and, recognising that achieving the Strategy’s aims is a shared endeavour between RCOT and its members, actions are identified for both. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ research and development strategy 2019–2024 is of relevance to all occupational therapy personnel, regardless of the context within which they work, departmental and organisational leads and managers, service commissioners, providers of pre and post-registration education and funders of research.

• Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ Research and Development Strategy 2019-2024 (PDF, 1.25MB)
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• Strategaeth ymchwil a datblygu 2019–2024 RCOT (Welsh language version) (PDF, 1.84MB)
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Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Autistic People Across the Lifespan

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Kristie K. Patten , Kavitha Murthi , Dora D. Onwumere , Emily C. Skaletski , Lauren M. Little , Scott D. Tomchek; Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Autistic People Across the Lifespan. Am J Occup Ther May/June 2024, Vol. 78(3), 7803397010. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2024.078301

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Importance: Occupational therapy practitioners need evidence to support interventions that promote subjective well-being among autistic people and their families through optimal engagement and participation in occupations.

Objective: These Practice Guidelines are informed by systematic reviews to expand knowledge of interventions that promote access, inclusion, engagement, and optimal participation in occupations that are meaningful to autistic people. Our intent was to foster occupational therapy practitioners’ clinical decision-making and reasoning when working with autistic people and their care partners.

Method: These Practice Guidelines were developed on the basis of four systematic reviews, supporting evidence and literature, along with continued revisions and integration through an iterative and collaborative process.

Results: A total of 98 articles were included in the systematic reviews, which are the foundation for practice recommendations in these guidelines. Forty-eight of the systematic review articles were used to inform the clinical recommendations included in these Practice Guidelines.

Conclusions and Recommendations: Strong to moderate evidence indicates the need for multidisciplinary, goal-oriented interventions to support autistic people in different contexts. Although there is only emerging evidence in the inclusion of autistic people’s strengths, interests, and perspectives to guide occupational therapy interventions, such practices can enhance the delivery of neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed practices. In addition, evidence is needed to support participation in activities of daily living (ADLs) for autistic youths. We recommend the use of strengths-based language to describe autistic people and the use of environmental adaptations, care partner education, and coaching to enhance occupational therapy service delivery.

Plain-Language Summary: The literature is sparse regarding neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed practices for autistic youths, as well as for participation in activities of daily living (ADLs). These Practice Guidelines provide new information on positive mental health development; self-determination; ADLs, instrumental ADLs, play, and leisure occupations for children, adolescents, and adults; person-centered planning for adolescents and adults; and rest and sleep. Information on health management is also provided.

Positionality Statement: This article uses the identity-first language autistic people. This nonableist language describes their strengths and abilities and is a conscious decision. This language is favored by autistic communities and self-advocates and has been adopted by health care professionals and researchers ( Bottema-Beutel et al., 2021 ; Kenny et al., 2016 ). However, we respect the use of person-first language and have made a conscious decision to include research articles that have used this language.

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