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Introduction: Previous research indicates that children with Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) experience sensory reactivity differences that impact occupational performance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in sensory reactivity in these children across two different time points; during exacerbation and during remission, using the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) Home-Form. The study also sought to investigate whether children with PANS experience sensory differences during remission periods, when compared with SPM Home-Form norms., Methods: A two-period bidirectional case-crossover design was used, and an online assessment was conducted to measure sensory reactivity. Parents of children aged 4.6 to 13.1 years with a diagnosis of PANS were recruited from various sites across Australia, USA, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and New Zealand. The SPM Home-Form was used to measure sensory reactivity at two time points, when PANS was in remission (T-R) and in exacerbation (T-E). Study entry was permitted at either T-E or T-R. Participant exacerbation status was monitored over a maximum 12-month period, and a follow-up SPM Home-Form was sent when a change in exacerbation status was indicated. A linear mixed model was used to assess the difference between SPM Home-Form norm-referenced scores during exacerbation and remission., Results: The study included 82 participants, with 80 providing data at study entry, and 27 providing data at follow-up. Results showed a statistically significant decline in performance across the SPM Home-Form domains of Hearing, Social Participation, Planning and Ideas, and Total Sensory Systems T-scores during exacerbation when compared with remission data. Results also demonstrated atypical sensory reactivity across Vision, Hearing, Touch, Balance and Motion, and Total Sensory Systems domains during periods of remission compared with SPM Home-Form norms., Conclusion: This study found that children with PANS experience significant sensory reactivity differences during exacerbation and remission across multiple sensory domains, with a decline in performance during exacerbation. Where there are occupational performance challenges, occupational therapists should consider administering sensory assessments so that effective intervention plans addressing the unique sensory reactivity needs of children with PANS can be developed., (© 2024 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Introduction: Recovery-oriented practice policies and occupational therapy education accreditation standards require that consumers are engaged in the design, delivery and evaluation of curricula. This consumer involvement (sometimes referred to as service-user involvement or patient involvement in other contexts) should go beyond consumers simply 'telling their stories' to more meaningful collaboration in curricula. This study was designed to map the current patterns of consumer involvement in occupational therapy programs across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand., Method: A survey was distributed to all occupational therapy programs across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The survey included questions related to: (a) perceived enablers and barriers to consumer involvement in education; (b) organisational structures and support; (c) ways in which consumer are involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of curricula; (d) access to remuneration for consumers; (e) overall ratings of the level of consumer involvement in curricula; and (f) academic confidence in working with consumers., Results: Usable responses were received for 23 programs from 19 universities (83% response rate). Every program reported some consumer involvement in the curriculum. Consumer participation tended to be mainly focussed on curriculum delivery with less frequent involvement in curriculum design or evaluation. The most common barrier to consumer involvement in curricula was 'funding/remuneration for consumers' and the most common enabler of consumer involvement was 'positive attitudes of teaching staff'., Conclusion: In comparison to previous reports, consumer involvement in occupational therapy curricula has increased over the past decade. However, ongoing effort is required to support true collaboration in all aspects of curriculum design, delivery and evaluation. While this will require attention and effort from academic teams, changes at a university level to establish systems to engage and effectively remunerate consumers for their involvement (especially in design and evaluation elements) are also required., (© 2019 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Background: Individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness have higher rates of obesity than the general population due to a range of factors, including: medication side effects, poor nutrition and reduced physical activity. Obesity is associated with increased mortality and reduced quality of life. Evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions can be effective in addressing this issue. While such interventions would appear to fit within the scope of practice of occupational therapy, there is no publication synthesising the existing literature regarding occupational therapy interventions addressing lifestyle factors associated with obesity., Aim: To determine what is known from the existing literature about occupational therapy interventions addressing weight gain and obesity in adults diagnosed with severe mental illness., Methods: A scoping review was conducted. Searches were performed in online databases, occupational therapy journals and grey literature databases. Thematic analysis occurred across all articles included in the review., Results: A total of 14 articles were included in the review. Analysis revealed a central theme of supporting occupational performance and participation in health promoting occupations. This central theme consisted of four categories; facilitating client-centred practice, addressing personal performance issues, addressing environmental barriers and providing the 'just right' challenge., Conclusion/significance: These findings suggest occupational therapists are providing occupation focused interventions that are aligned with current clinical guidelines. However, more research is required to strengthen evidence-based occupational therapy practice in this important area., (© 2019 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Background/aim: Occupational therapy programs must prepare graduates for work in mental health. However, this area of practice is complex and rapidly changing. This study explored the alignment between educational priorities identified by occupational therapists practising in mental health and level of coverage of these topics in occupational therapy programs in Australia and New Zealand., Methods: Surveys were distributed to heads of all occupational therapy programs across Australia and New Zealand. The survey included educational priorities identified by occupational therapists in mental health from a previous study. Respondents were requested to identify the level of coverage given to each of these priorities within their curriculum. These data were analysed to determine a ranking of educational topics in terms of level of coverage in university programs., Results: Responses were received for 19 programs from 16 universities. Thirty-four topics were given 'High-level coverage' in university programs, and these were compared against the 29 topics classified as 'Essential priorities' by clinicians. Twenty topics were included in both the 'Essential priorities' and 'High-level coverage' categories. Topics considered to be 'Essential priorities' by clinicians which were not given 'High-level coverage' in university programs included the following: mental health fieldwork experiences; risk assessment and management; professional self-care resilience and sensory approaches., Conclusion: While there appears to be overall good alignment between mental health curricula and priorities identified by practising occupational therapists, there are some discrepancies. These discrepancies are described and establish a strong foundation for further discussion between clinicians, academics and university administration to support curriculum review and revision., (© 2017 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Background: The effective preparation of occupational therapy students for mental health practice is critical to facilitate positive consumer outcomes, underpin optimal practice and support new graduates' professional identity. This project was established to determine a set of 'educational priorities' for occupational therapy students to prepare them for current (and future) entry-level practice in mental health, from the perspective of mental health occupational therapists in Australia and New Zealand., Methods: The study included two phases. In Phase One, participants identified what they considered to be important educational priorities for occupational therapy students to prepare them for practice in mental health. For Phase Two, an 'expert panel' was assembled to review and rank these using a Policy Delphi approach., Results: Eighty-five participants provided educational priorities in Phase One. These were grouped into a total of 149 educational themes. In Phase Two, the expert panel (consisting of 37 occupational therapists from diverse locations and practice settings) prioritised these themes across three Delphi rounds. A final priority list was generated dividing educational themes into three prioritised categories: 29 'Essential', 25 'Important' and 44 'Optional' priorities. Highest-ranked priorities were: clinical reasoning, client-centred practice, therapeutic use of self, functional implications of mental illness, therapeutic use of occupation and mental health fieldwork experience., Conclusion: The priority list developed as part of this project provides additional information to support the review of occupational therapy curricula across Australia and New Zealand to ensure that new graduates are optimally prepared for mental health practice., (© 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Background/aim: Obesity is a significant public health concern globally. It is associated with poor physical health, mental health and subjective well-being and limitations on occupational participation. With its focus on the relationship between occupation, health and well-being, occupational therapy would appear to be well placed to address both the causes and consequences of obesity. The aim of this review was to explore the scope of the role of occupational therapy practice in this field and the supporting evidence base., Methods: Searches were conducted in four online databases and nine occupational therapy journals. Articles were included if they were theoretical, quantitative or qualitative research, explicitly related to occupational therapy and obesity, published in peer-reviewed journals, in English between 2002 and 2012. All research articles were critically reviewed and thematic analysis was conducted across all of the articles in the review., Results: Eight theoretical articles, 12 quantitative and two qualitative research studies were included. Only three were outcome studies. Thematic analysis identified four categories of focus of occupational therapy intervention: health promotion and prevention, increasing physical activity participation, modifying dietary intake and reducing the impact of obesity. Four categories of intervention strategies were also identified; assessment, modifying the environment, education and introducing and adapting occupations., Conclusion and Significance: The findings of this review suggest a comprehensive role for occupational therapy in addressing obesity. However, the paucity of outcome studies mean that significantly more research is required to further define and provide a strong evidence base for occupational therapy practice in this emerging field., (© 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Background: Poor diet is a contributing factor to the high rates of obesity and related comorbidities in people with severe mental illness, and dietary change is a key treatment strategy. Providing healthy lifestyle interventions is a recognised role for occupational therapists. However, the existing literature fails to elucidate boundaries of this role. To begin to address this gap in the literature, this study explored the attitudes, actions and beliefs of mental health occupational therapists about providing diet-related interventions., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health occupational therapists working in one Area Health Service in New South Wales. Purposive sampling was used. Data were analysed using Constructivist Grounded Theory methods, where meaning is co-constructed by, and the theory ultimately grounded in the experiences of, the participant and researcher., Results: The participants felt confident providing clients with interventions to promote diet-related skill development and providing general healthy eating education to support this development. However, they were not comfortable providing clients with specific dietary advice. Participants identified a need for further training and support to enhance their effectiveness in providing healthy eating education and highlighted the need for more dietitians in mental health services., Conclusions: The occupational therapists in this study identified clear boundaries of their role in providing diet-related interventions for people with severe mental illness. Suggestions for improvement in this area included further training for occupational therapists as well as increased access to dietitians for those services that lie outside the occupational therapy role., (© 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.)

Introduction Methods Consumer and Community Involvement Findings Conclusion Plain Language Summary Occupational therapists support children with self‐regulation needs to engage in meaningful occupations at home, school, and in the community. However, little is known about how Australian practitioners perceive their role working with children with self‐regulation needs in the Australian healthcare context. Therefore, we explored the contemporary practice experiences of Australian occupational therapists working with children 4–12 years referred for self‐regulation support, to better understand elements constituting efficacious service delivery to enhance occupational engagement.A qualitative descriptive design, underpinned by constructivism and relativism, was implemented to address the research aim. Occupational therapists were recruited online to participate in audio‐recorded focus groups and interviews. The audio recordings were anonymised, transcribed verbatim, and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.No consumers were involved in the study design or analysis.Four themes were generated, encapsulating the experience of 13 occupational therapists working with children with self‐regulation needs: (1) navigating the complexities of self‐regulation, (2) intervening to support the child and surrounding systems, (3) bringing the occupational therapy perspective to the self‐regulation puzzle, and (4) working within an evolving practice context. Themes 1–3 describe specific processes that all occurred within the context of Theme 4. Overall, participants detailed successful practice to support children with self‐regulation needs to participate in meaningful occupations that required person‐centredness, collaboration, coaching, and adaptability of therapists responding to different stakeholder demands.Self‐regulation is a complex area of practice, and occupational therapists have a key role in supporting occupational engagement by balancing the child's needs with those of family, other stakeholders, and funding bodies. Findings support occupational therapists and decision‐makers advocating for the unique role of occupational therapy in supporting self‐regulation in childhood as part of a collaborative, multi‐disciplinary approach. Specific consideration must also be given to ways that current funding schemes in Australia enable occupational therapy services for children with self‐regulation needs.Controlling emotions and behaviours is sometimes called ‘self‐regulation’. Some children find this hard and need help from an occupational therapist, who knows a lot about the body and the systems within it. A lot of occupational therapists in Australia help children with their self‐regulation. There is not much known about how these therapists see their role in working with these children. We wanted to understand what it is like for occupational therapists who help children, between 4 and 12 years old, with their self‐regulation. We interviewed 13 occupational therapists from across Australia and analysed what they said. The data showed four main points: (1) understanding the challenges of self‐regulation, (2) helping the child and their environment, (3) using an occupational therapy approach to solve self‐regulation issues, and (4) working in a changing practice environment. The therapists described how important it is to focus on the child, work together with many people like caregivers and teachers, and being flexible. They talked about how they balance the needs of the child, family, and funding bodies, which could sometimes be tricky. The study shows the things that therapists are doing when working with children who need help with their self‐regulation and the things that therapists find hard working in this space. The results of the study can be used by people who advocate for services that help children and by people who make decisions about Australia's healthcare. One way the study can be used is to think about how current funding schemes do or do not allow different people and professions to work together to support children's self‐regulation. Even though there were some limitations, such as a low response rate due to the stress of the COVID‐19 pandemic, we did interview therapists from different parts of Australia who work in different settings to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of role-play simulation (RPS) education rests on its ability to comprehensively reflect real-life situations. The goal is to create immersive events or situations that enable a student to spontaneously respond in a controlled environment that nevertheless reflects their anticipated work experience. While an extensive body of literature exists that reports on the aims, working methods and outcomes of RPS across empirically based disciplines such as medicine and health, law, business, social work, engineering, management, and education, very little research has been published on appropriate or possible training models for the 'actors' in RPS. Reporting on a multi-part, interdisciplinary action research project based at the University of Newcastle, Australia, across the subject areas of drama and pharmacy (2012), and later occupational therapy (2013–18), this article examines an actor-training method that reimagines approaches to developing 'role' and 'character' in RPS and evaluates the outcomes for student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]