Five years of mental health research in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2009-2013

Focus Group With Parents of Children With Mental and Behavioral Health Concerns

BACKGROUND

Scholars from multiple fields have shown that parents raising a child with mental and behavioral health concerns (MBHC) need additional support. We need parents to self-identify necessary supports as a basis for intervention planning.

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we examined what parents say they need from professionals to support their families.

METHODOLOGY

Occupational therapy faculty and students employed a strengths-based coaching approach to conduct a focus group with five parents. We conducted qualitative thematic analysis and used inductive coding to identify themes related to unmet self-identified needs of families. We refined themes through an iterative process and achieved 93% agreement after three rounds of coding.

RESULTS

Four themes emerged from the transcript analysis: External Control, Internal Competence, Relating to Others, and Role of Self-Care.

CONCLUSION

Professionals must consider the unique needs identified by parents who have children with MBHC when planning interventions within our education and health care systems.

Preparing for and Responding to the Current Mental Health Tsunami: Embracing Mary Reilly's Call to Action

Although occupational therapy has its roots in mental health practice, the profession has not been able to adequately and consistently address mental health issues that face society today. As we continue to experience both the protracted coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and political and social unrest, occupational therapy professionals must take action at individual, state, and national levels to assist in mitigating the current mental health tsunami and improving a fractured mental health care system. In this column, we define and explore issues facing the mental health care system and the different roles and perspectives that are relevant to occupational therapy professionals. Recommendations for the future are provided: actions that can be facilitated at the individual level, in practice, education, and research; at the state level, through state organizations and strategic partnerships; and at the national level, through the American Occupational Therapy Association and other means of advocacy. We want to honor Mary Reilly's vision that occupational therapy become one of the greatest ideas of our time.

Occupational Therapy Interventions to Address Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in the Physical Disability Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting: A Systematic Review

IMPORTANCE

Depressive and anxiety symptoms across physical disability inpatient rehabilitation (IPR) patient groups are well documented and negatively affect functional recovery. The strategies within the occupational therapy scope of practice to address these symptoms in IPR are unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To determine what interventions within the occupational therapy scope of practice have been used to address depressive and anxiety symptoms in IPR and to determine intervention efficacy.

DATA SOURCES

Nine databases for all publication years were searched (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, AgeLine, OTseeker, and CINAHL). Study Selection and Data Collection: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used for abstracting data and assessing quality. Included articles were peer reviewed, based in the United States, in English, controlled clinical trials or randomized controlled trials, in the IPR setting, and within the occupational therapy scope of practice. Two reviewers independently screened articles, with disagreements resolved by consensus.

FINDINGS

Five of 8,082 articles met inclusion criteria. Diagnoses included stroke (n = 1), traumatic brain injury (n = 1), spinal cord injury (n = 1), and musculoskeletal conditions (n = 2). Results are discussed among four categories: study design and outcome variables, intervention type, intervention intensity, and intervention efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Limited, moderate-quality evidence exists within the occupational therapy scope of practice for addressing depressive and anxiety symptoms in the physical disability IPR setting. Interventions primarily included cognitive and behavioral strategies. Further research among diverse patient populations is needed to support occupational therapy practitioners in facilitating client participation and functioning. What This Article Adds: This systematic review provides an evaluation of the evidence within the occupational therapy scope of practice to address depressive and anxiety symptoms within the physical disability IPR setting. This research can support occupational therapy practitioners to comprehensively address physical and mental health for participation in IPR.

Evolutionary Analysis of International Scientific Output in Occupational Therapy from 1917 to 2020

Published evidence on the progress of occupational therapy research from a broad perspective is limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze the international research productivity on occupational therapy from 1917 to 2020. This was a bibliometric study including articles indexed on MEDLINE, Scopus, and CINAHL. The literature search was conducted in June 2021 using the descriptor “occupational therapy” and the term “Ergotherap*”, and was limited to citable documents. Price’s law and Bradford’s law were applied to analyze a number of bibliometric indicators. Research on occupational therapy had an average annual growth rate of 26.4% and followed an exponential model. The top producing countries were the USA (21.52%) and the UK (6.07%). There is a high transience index of 74.81%. The top producing author was Kielhofner, G. (n = 132). Studies with the highest reported scientific evidence accounted for 1.13% (n = 638) of the total number of publications. More randomized controlled trials are necessary to increase the quality of the evidence base. Moreover, a greater collaboration between authors is needed for the professionalization of this research field.

Building Capacity of Occupational Therapy Practitioners to Address the Mental Health Needs of Children and Youth: A Mixed-Methods Study of Knowledge Translation

PURPOSE

We explored the meaning and outcomes of a 6-mo building capacity process designed to promote knowledge translation of a public health approach to mental health among pediatric occupational therapy practitioners participating in a Community of Practice.

METHOD

A one-group (N = 117) mixed-methods design using a pretest-posttest survey and qualitative analysis of written reflections was used to explore the meaning and outcomes of the building capacity process.

RESULTS

Statistically significant improvements (p < .02) in pretest-posttest scores of knowledge, beliefs, and actions related to a public health approach to mental health were found. Qualitative findings suggest that participation resulted in a renewed commitment to addressing children's mental health.

CONCLUSION

The building capacity process expanded practitioner knowledge, renewed energy, and promoted confidence, resulting in change leaders empowered to articulate, advocate for, and implement practice changes reflecting occupational therapy's role in addressing children's mental health.