Inpatients' perspectives of occupational therapy in acute mental health

Background:  Research into service users' views of occupational therapy in acute mental health is extremely limited. This collaborative study by the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust and the Brunel University (UK) obtained inpatients' perspectives of occupational therapy.
Methods:  Service users and occupational therapists were involved in designing a self-report questionnaire and, following training, in recruiting participants and collecting data.
Results:  Sixty-four (28.6%) inpatients responded and most had met an occupational therapist who had explained the purpose of the intervention. The most frequent group interventions were arts and crafts, relaxation, community meetings, cookery, sports and gym, with the latter two rated as the most beneficial. There was much less choice about individual goals and interventions. A highly significant and positive correlation was found between occupational therapy meeting the needs of individuals and it improving the inpatients' daily functioning and quality of their admission.
Conclusions:  Occupational therapists need to provide more individual interventions and more fully involve inpatients in deciding on individual goals. Group interventions, which are meaningful, relevant and with an occupational focus, are most beneficial. Further research examining the effectiveness of cookery and sport and gym and establishing the benefits of engaging in group and individual interventions in acute wards is warranted.