Objectives: to examine the effectiveness of occupational therapy in the interventions of different diagnoses and age groups, and to provide evidence of occupational therapy’s contribution to healthcare system.

Methods: PICO method was used. A thorough review was conducted to identify most relevant evidence-based research related to the effectiveness of occupational therapy and its contribution to healthcare.

Results: occupational therapy has been applied in a variety of clinical and research settings and has proven to be effective in many therapeutic approaches and rehabilitative fields, such as but not limited to: neurorehabilitation approach, biomechanical approach, mental and behavioral health, geriatrics, and pediatrics.

Conclusion: occupational therapy has proven to be useful and effective and contributes significantly in managing symptoms of a variety of disorders and enhancing and/or maintaining functional performance for persons with disabilities and health-related problems. The inclusion of occupational therapy professionals to the existing interdisciplinary medical and rehabilitation team would foster collaboration and integrated intervention planning.

Keywords: occupational therapy, function, rehabilitation, healthcare, neurorehabilitation, biomechanics, mental health, geriatrics, pediatrics

Occupational therapy (OT) is recognized by the World Health Organization as a health profession which is represented by the World Federation of Occupational Therapy.¹ The WFOT was established in 1952 and is the official international organization that supports and promotes occupational therapy profession.² As members of health teams, occupational therapists work with other health professionals and share the occupational therapy’s unique body of knowledge on occupation. Occupations are those purposeful and meaningful functional activities of everyday living. The occupational therapists knowledge and practice embrace a client-centered, holistic, and dynamic perspective of the person, the occupation, and the environment. This integrated practice approach makes occupational therapy’s contribution to rehabilitation, recovery and health so effective.³ The primary goal of OT is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this goal by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.⁴ OT has been used along with other medical treatments in treating patients with different diagnoses and age groups and proven to be useful and effective in managing symptoms and enhancing and/or maintaining functional performance for persons with disabilities.⁵ When working with a person with disability and a health condition, occupational therapists apply a variety of evidence-based assessments and interventions.⁶ Once a thorough assessment has been conducted and adequate information has been obtained, the therapist creates a personalized occupational profile. This profile is used for goal-setting, treatment planning, and implementation of treatment.⁷

OT is a vital part of the interdisciplinary approach of evidence-based practice. OT has been integrating the individual clinical expertise with the best available research evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients while highlighting the individual risks and benefits of potential interventions and keeping into consideration the client’s preferences and values.⁸

This review article provides an overview of the role of occupational therapy in the interdisciplinary rehabilitative and medical team and highlights evidence of occupational therapy’s contribution to healthcare. The PICO question (population, intervention, comparison, and outcome) formed for the purpose of our study is as follows:

(P): For persons from different age groups and different diagnoses and health-related conditions

(I): Is occupational therapy

(C): Compared to other medical treatments

(O): Effective in managing symptoms and enhancing and/or maintaining functional performance?

For the purpose of this study, we created a research PICO question, a key to evidence-based decision.⁹ A thorough review was conducted to identify most relevant evidence-based research studies related to the effectiveness of OT and its contribution to healthcare. Evidence study design and study level were determined based on the hierarchy of levels of evidence in evidence based practice.⁸

Search strategies and selected articles

The following electronic databases were searched to identify literature relevant to this study: PubMed, Ovid (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and Global Health), and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Search terms (keywords) used were occupational therapy combined with function, rehabilitation, healthcare, neurorehabilitation, biomechanics, mental health, geriatrics, and pediatrics. Fifty four potential relevant research studies were identified and screened for the literature review (Figure 1). Research studies were selected and included in the literature review if they were written in the English language and published between 1999 and 2017 in peer-reviewed journals. Based on these criteria, 41 studies out of the 54 were identified and reviewed and 13 studies were excluded. Furthermore, studies were screened again for more detailed evaluation and were included if they involved occupational therapy assessments and interventions, comparisons between occupational therapy interventions and other interventions. In addition, previous studies that addressed functional performance among persons with disabilities from different age groups were also included. Studies were excluded if they included one intervention only and did not compare between different interventions, or because the dependent variables were not well defined in terms of functional capacity or performance based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) (WHO, 2001). This yielded a total of 18 studies that were included in the literature review and 36 studies were excluded.

Figure 1 Flow Diagram of the Literature Review.

A summary of studies identified in relation to the evidence of OT’s contribution to healthcare is represented in Table 1.

Our evidence-based review provided an overview and summarized evidence of occupational therapy’s contribution to healthcare. This study revealed that occupational therapy has been applied in a variety of clinical and research settings and has proven to be effective in many therapeutic approaches and rehabilitative fields , such as but not limited to: neurorehabilitation approach, biomechanical approach, mental and behavioral health, geriatrics, and pediatrics. Occupational therapy complements other rehabilitative and medical treatments and has proven to be useful and effective in managing symptoms of a variety of disorders and enhancing and/or maintaining functional performance for persons with disabilities and health-related problems.

Occupational therapy services provided to persons with disabilities contribute significantly in improving satisfaction and empowering their functional perform ance and everyday living skills in terms of independence, safety, and quality. The inclusion of occupational therapy professionals to the existing interdisciplinary medical and rehabilitation team would foster collaboration and integrated intervention planning which would have a positive significant impact on patients and overall healthcare system.

None.

No funding was required

Author declares that there is no conflicts of interest.

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