The meanings of craft to an occupational therapist

Aim:   Craft was the first therapeutic occupation of occupational therapy. Since the early days of the profession, the value of craft in practice is a topic that has been discussed with fluctuating interest. Recent discussions by occupational therapists have reinforced that although craft is relevant to occupational therapy, there are uncertainties about its place in contemporary practice. Presently, scholars have identified that occupation is both the center of human experience and the core of our profession. Therefore, this study aimed to begin to clarify the meaning of craft to practice today by gaining a deep understanding of the meanings that one occupational therapist attributes to craft.
Methods:   Using narrative inquiry, data were gathered through a conversation held between the research participant and myself. A reflexive journal was also kept to support this data gathering process. Narrative analysis enabled intimate engagement with the data and the emergence of themes and sub-themes.
Results:   The findings, in the form of an interpretive story, suggest first, that craft-making has therapeutic value; second, that reasoning about the therapeutic use of craft is similar to reasoning about other therapeutic activities; and third, that personal experience with craft-making can influence the selection of craft as therapeutic media.
Conclusions:   From this study, further research into the impact personal and professional experiences can have on choice of therapeutic media and an analysis of the sociopolitical context of the meanings that occupational therapists attribute to craft-making is suggested.     

Use of creative activities in occupational therapy practice in sweden

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of creative activities in occupational therapy in Sweden and how often Swedish occupational therapists use creative activities as a means of intervention. A web‐mail survey was sent to 2975 Swedish occupational therapists working in health care at regional, county council or primary health care level, and those working in vocational rehabilitation. A total of 1867 (63%) answered the questionnaire and showed that 44% did use creative activities as a means of intervention and most often by practitioners working in psychiatric health care. The most commonly used form of creative activity was arts and crafts followed by gardening. This web‐mail survey was based on a limited amount of items regarding creative activities. Further research should focus on in‐depth inquiries about how occupational therapists and their patients perceive the use of creative activities as a means of treatment in occupational therapy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Workers' compensation insurance agents' satisfaction with occupational therapy activities of daily living assessments

Background and Aim:  Little is known about insurance agents' (insurers) satisfaction with the services provided by occupational therapists when they assess injured workers' activities of daily living (ADL). Demonstration of accountability and provision of high-quality services are important to the occupational therapy profession. The aim of this study was to evaluate insurers' overall satisfaction with occupational therapy ADL assessments for injured workers, including communication, timeliness of reports, equipment provision, knowledge of insurers' requirements and the workers' compensation process, and provision of a professional opinion. Relationships between insurers' overall satisfaction with ADL assessments, degree of experience in their job, formal qualifications and roles within their organisation were also investigated.
Method:  A telephone survey was developed and administered to a sample of 40 claims officers and injury management advisors from 10 Victorian Work Cover Authority authorised agents.
Results:  Insurers were generally satisfied with occupational therapy ADL assessments. They were less satisfied with occupational therapists' knowledge of workers' compensation system requirements and how occupational therapists made decisions when recommending household services.
Conclusion:  To improve services to the insurance industry, occupational therapists need to better understand relevant legislative frameworks.     

Historical research: The first decade of occupational therapy in Israel: 1946–1956

The present study examined the first decade of the development of occupational therapy in Israel: 1946–1956. The structural-functional approach to the study of professions, which provided the theoretical framework for this study, identifies three formal organisations in the professions: the practice, the educational system, and the association. The purpose of this article was to follow the development of occupational therapy and to examine the interrelations of the profession's three formal organisations in the reviewed period. The methodology of the study was based on qualitative historical methods. Data collection included oral histories, and published and unpublished written material. Data organisation and analysis were within the framework of the structural-functional approach. Data analysis indicated that ‘expansion’ was a major theme affecting the development of occupational therapy, the reason for which lies within the historical background of the period under investigation. In addition, data indicated that the practice was the strongest and most active organisation in occupational therapy and that expansion in practice was beyond the capacity of both the educational system and the professional association. The interrelations of the three formal organisations, and the rapid expansion of occupational therapy practice, had a lasting effect on the development of occupational therapy in Israel.     

基于加拿大作业表现量表的作业治疗方案对全面性发育迟缓儿童作业表现及日常生活能力的影响

目的 观察基于加拿大作业表现量表(COPM)评估结果开展的作业治疗方案对全面性发育迟缓(GDD)儿童作业活动表现、满意度以及日常生活能力的影响,为GDD儿童作业治疗方案的制定提供临床实践参考。方法 选取2021年3月—2022年3月在唐山市妇幼保健院儿童康复科门诊接受康复治疗的GDD儿童69例,采用随机数字表法将其随机分对照组(n=35)和观察组(n=34),对照组给予常规康复治疗,观察组在此基础上将作业治疗替换为基于COPM结果的目标导向性的作业治疗方案,治疗时间持续3个月。分别于治疗前和治疗3个月后采用COPM评估儿童目标任务的作业表现及满意度,儿童功能独立性评定量表(WeeFIM)评估儿童日常生活能力。结果 治疗后,观察组和对照组COPM表现分均较治疗前显著改善,差异有统计学意义(t=21.845、7.533,P<0.05),且观察组优于对照组(t=2.551,P<0.05);观察组和对照组COPM满意度分较治疗前显著改善(t=22.240、8.329,P<0.05),且观察组优于对照组(t=2.300,P<0.05);观察组较对照组的COPM表现分有效性...     

Application of occupational therapy in the treatment of depression

Depression as a major social and public health problem is a challenge for clinicians and occupational therapists throughout the world. This theoretical paper is based on a literature review and the author's experience as an occupational therapist in mental health in Finland, working with severely long-term depressed patients. The basic concepts of a cognitive–behavioural model are introduced and evaluated. The relationship of depression, mourning and suicide is discussed and a model for occupational therapy intervention acting.     

Diversity and inclusion within an occupational therapy curriculum

Occupational therapy professionals and users of occupational therapy services are becoming increasingly aware of the issues of diversity encompassing their lived experiences, values and meaning systems. This paper situates a discussion of diversity and curriculum development in terms of inclusiveness of people's diverse lived experiences, which include complex combinations of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status and other factors. A pedagogical context is provided based on understandings of culture, inclusiveness and diversity in the healthcare literature. The experience of one occupational therapy department's efforts to create a learning environment that is inclusive of all its participants is used to illustrate effective educational and structural strategies. Despite noble aspirations, much remains to be accomplished regarding how the profession defines competencies in terms of transcultural evaluation standards, outcomes and indicators.     

Diversity and inclusion within an occupational therapy curriculum

Occupational therapy professionals and users of occupational therapy services are becoming increasingly aware of the issues of diversity encompassing their lived experiences, values and meaning systems. This paper situates a discussion of diversity and curriculum development in terms of inclusiveness of people's diverse lived experiences, which include complex combinations of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status and other factors. A pedagogical context is provided based on understandings of culture, inclusiveness and diversity in the healthcare literature. The experience of one occupational therapy department's efforts to create a learning environment that is inclusive of all its participants is used to illustrate effective educational and structural strategies. Despite noble aspirations, much remains to be accomplished regarding how the profession defines competencies in terms of transcultural evaluation standards, outcomes and indicators.     

The values of occupational therapy: Perceptions of occupational therapists in Quebec

Objective: Recently, there has been increasing interest in the values of occupational therapy and the values held by occupational therapists. A wide range of values has been reported in the literature. Furthermore, despite the fact that values are an important part of professional identity, empirical studies have demonstrated that several occupational therapists possess an ambiguous professional identity. This study was undertaken to explore the values of Canadian occupational therapists, specifically French-speaking occupational therapists in Quebec. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 occupational therapists. Their narratives were subject to hermeneutic analysis, a method of textual analysis common in philosophical research. Results: A total of 16 values were identified in the discourses of the occupational therapists interviewed: autonomy; human dignity; occupational participation; social justice and equity; professionalism; holism; partnership, environment, or ecological approach; quality of life; solicitude; honesty; integrity; health; creativity; professional autonomy; effectiveness; and spirituality. Conclusions: The results of this study are, in general, consistent with those reported in the few other empirical studies that have documented the values perceptions of occupational therapists. Finally, the explanation of the values of occupational therapists may reinforce their professional identity and favour best, or at least desirable, professional practices related to ethics and culture.     

The application of concept analysis in the occupational therapy treatment process in mental health

The objective of this study was to construct a coding schema for analysing the occupational therapy process, often described as formulating the treatment goal, implementing treatment and evaluating the effect of treatment. The concepts underlying the terms treatment goal, treatment intervention and effect or outcome of treatment, as used in occupational therapy, were defined and an analytical template of questions was constructed, using the analysis method designed by Walker and Avant (1995). The method included a third part; definitions of the three concepts were formulated on the basis of excerpts from occupational therapy textbooks in mental health that are well known in Sweden. The results showed that the concept of treatment goal included the attributive components planning goals, step-by-step goal, and group goal; the concept of treatment intervention included the components planning process, available resources and level; and the concept of effect or outcome of treatment included type and measurement. The excerpts for each of the components were then summarized as statements. These statements were converted into the questions that constituted the template. Third, these questions were used to test the usefulness of the template in analysing the occupational therapy content of 10 scientific reports on individuals with psychosis. All but two questions served to identify attributes of the three concepts. The template was useful for analysing the content of 10 research studies relevant to the occupational therapy process in mental health. Copyright © 1998 Whurr Publishers Ltd.     

Multiple authorship in published occupational therapy reports

This study aimed at evaluating the extent of multiple authorship in published occupational therapy reports. Multiple authorship is the listing of more than one author for a paper. A review of the original articles of five English-language occupational therapy journals published during the last 10 years (1989–1998) was carried out. The total number of articles examined was 2131. There was no statistically significant change over time in the number of authors in the five journals when combined together. However, when each journal was studied individually, there was a significant change in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy ( P  < 0.001, Kruscal–Wallis test) and the Occupational Therapy Journal of Research ( P  < 0.05, Kruscal–Wallis test). The maximum number of authors from a single department was significantly higher in the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal . There was a significant correlation between the number of authors per article and the maximum number of authors from a single department ( R  = 0.70, F  = 2106, P  < 0.0001) and a significant correlation between the number of authors per article and the number of departments involved in the study ( R  = 0.68, F  = 1822, P  < 0.0001). This study shows that multiple authorship is not a major problem in the published occupational therapy reports.     

The quality of occupational therapy evaluated in six outpatients

The purpose of the study was to analyse the content and evaluate the quality of clinical occupational therapy in outpatients as reported by their respective therapists. An inductive and interpretive technique with special study protocols was developed in Sweden for the study of six patients. Each therapist kept a protocol of the patient's 2–3 months' participation in occupational therapy. The protocols were subsequently interpreted independently by another occupational therapist and a physician. At the end of the study, function and ability had improved in four cases and quality of life in five out of six cases as demonstrated by their ability in activities of daily living.     

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – an occupational therapy programme

The cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is as yet undetermined; therefore, precise definitions for diagnosis and research have been developed. The most accepted diagnostic criteria are detailed below. It has been suggested that there are 150 000 cases of CFS in the UK, with a 2:1 predominance of females to males, and that prognosis without treatment is poor. The patterns of illness seen in CFS are identified and the development of an occupational therapy programme for the management of CFS is described. Copyright © 1999 Whurr Publishers Ltd.