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Background/aim Engagement in desired occupations can promote health and wellbeing in older adults. Assessments of engagement often measure frequency, amount or importance of specific activities. This study aimed to develop a scale to measure older adults' evaluation of the extent to which their everyday activities are contributing to their health and wellness. Methods Eighteen items, each scored with a seven-point rating scale, were initially developed by content experts, covering perceptions of how daily activities contribute to physical and mental health, as well as satisfaction and activity participation in the last six months. Rasch analysis methods were used to refine the scale using the pencil and paper responses of 460 community-living older adults. Results Initial Rasch analysis indicated three unlabelled rating scale categories were seldom used, reducing measurement precision. Five items were conceptually different by misfit statistics and principal component analysis. Subsequently, those items were removed and the number of rating scale steps reduced to 4. The remaining 13-item, 4-step scale, termed the Activity Significance Personal Evaluation ( ASPEn), formed a unidimensional hierarchy with good fit statistics and targeting. Person separation reliability (2.7) and internal consistency (.91) indicated the tool is appropriate for individual person measurement. Relative validity indicated equivalence between Rasch measures and total raw scores. Conclusions ASPEn is a brief, easily administered assessment of older adults' perception of the contribution of everyday activities to personal health and wellness. ASPEn may facilitate occupational therapy practice by enabling clinicians to assess change in meaning of an older adult's activity over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: Task‐specific repetitive training, a usual care in occupational therapy practice, and robotic‐aided rehabilitation with bilateral practice are used to improve upper limb motor and task performance. The difference in effects of two strategies requires exploration. This study compared the impact of robotic‐assisted therapy with bilateral practice (RTBP) and usual task‐specific training facilitated by therapists on task and motor performance for stroke survivors. Methods: Forty‐three community‐dwelling stroke survivors (20 males; 23 females; 53.3 ± 13.1 years; post‐stroke duration 14.2 ± 10.9 months) were randomised into RTBP and usual care. All participants received a 10‐minute per‐protocol sensorimotor stimulation session prior to interventions as part of usual care. Primary outcome was different in the amount of use (AOU) and quality of movement (QOM) on the Motor Activity Log (MAL) scale at endpoint. Secondary outcomes were AOU and QOM scores at follow‐up, and pre‐post and follow‐up score differences on the Fugl‐Meyer Assessment (FMA) and surface electromyography (sEMG). Friedman and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to calculate difference. Results: There were no baseline differences between groups. Both conditions demonstrated significant within‐group improvements in AOU‐MAL and FMA scores following treatment (P < 0.05) and improvements in FMA scores at follow‐up (P < 0.05). The training‐induced improvement in AOU (30.0%) following treatment was greater than the minimal detectable change (16.8%) in the RTBP group. RTBP demonstrated better outcomes in FMA wrist score (P = 0.003) and sEMG of wrist extensor (P = 0.043) following treatment and in AOU (P < 0.001), FMA total score (P = 0.006), FMA wrist score (P < 0.001) and sEMG of wrist extensor (P = 0.017) at follow‐up compared to the control group. Control group boost more beneficial effects on FMA hand score (P = 0.049) following treatment. Conclusions: RTBP demonstrated superior upper limb motor and task performance outcomes compared to therapists‐facilitated task training when both were preceded by a 10‐minute sensorimotor stimulation session. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03847103. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Professional practise placements in occupational therapy education are critical to ensuring graduate competence. Australian occupational therapy accreditation standards allow up to 200 of a mandated 1000 placement hours to include simulation‐based learning. There is, however, minimal evidence about the effectiveness of simulation‐based placements compared to traditional placements in occupational therapy. We evaluated whether occupational therapy students completing a 40 hour (one week block) Simulated Clinical Placement (SCP) attained non‐inferior learning outcomes to students attending a 40 hour Traditional Clinical Placement (TCP). Methods: A pragmatic, non‐inferiority, assessor‐blinded, multicentre, randomised controlled trial involving students from six Australian universities was conducted. Statistical power analysis estimated a required sample of 425. Concealed random allocation was undertaken with a 1:1 ratio within each university. Students were assigned to SCP or TCP in one of three settings: vocational rehabilitation, mental health or physical rehabilitation. SCP materials were developed, manualised and staff training provided. TCPs were in equivalent practice areas. Outcomes were assessed using a standardised examination, unit grades, the Student Practice Evaluation Form‐Revised and student confidence survey. A generalised estimating equation approach was used to assess non‐inferiority of the SCP to the TCP. Results: Of 570 randomised students (84% female), 275 attended the SCP and 265 the TCP (n = 540, 94.7% retention). There were no significant differences between the TCP and SCP on (i) examination results (marginal mean difference 1.85, 95% CI: 0.46–3.24; P = 0.087); (ii) unit score (mean (SD) SCP: 71.9 (8.8), TCP: 70.34 (9.1); P = 0.066); or (iii) placement fail rate, assessed using the Student Practice Evaluation Form‐Revised (100% passed both groups). Conclusion: Students can achieve equivalent learning outcomes in a 40 hour simulated placement to those achieved in a 40 hour traditional placement. These findings provide assurance to students, educators and professional accreditation bodies that simulation can be embedded in occupational therapy education with good effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim Day centres for people with psychiatric disabilities need to be evaluated for effectiveness in order to provide the best possible support. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of a tailor-made intervention to improve day centre services for people with psychiatric disabilities. Methods The intervention was devised to bridge identified gaps in the services and lasted for 14 months. Eight centres were allotted to the intervention (55 attendees) or comparison condition (51 attendees). Fidelity to the intervention and major events in the day centres were assessed. The outcomes were degree of meaningfulness found in the day centre occupations, satisfaction with the rehabilitation received, satisfaction with everyday occupations and quality of life. Results The fidelity to the intervention was good, but more positive events, such as new occupational opportunities, had taken place in the comparison units. No differences were identified between the intervention and the comparison group regarding changes from baseline to the 14-month follow-up in perceived meaningfulness among day centre occupations, satisfaction with everyday occupations or quality of life. Conclusions The intervention seemed ineffective, but the positive events in the comparison group resembled the measures included in the tailor-made interventions. This first intervention study in the day centre context has hopefully helped to generate hypotheses and methods for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]