A Review of the Literature in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1989–1996

1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 430-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail A Mountain
Keyword(s):  
British Journal ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Research Orientation ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Material Policy ◽  
Health And Social Care

This article describes an analysis of the content of papers in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy over an 8-year period, from 1989 to 1996. The analysis is underpinned by research questions concerned with extent of published research, evidence of responsiveness to recent health and social care policy implementation and demonstrations of clinical effectiveness. The results of the analysis show that the majority of published papers over the 8 years were descriptive in nature. Of the papers with a research orientation, the most reported area of interest was physical disability. However, much of this research was small scale and there was a notable absence of funded projects. Nevertheless, the number of papers describing research activity increased markedly during the latter years, as did the application of evidence-based material. Policy-related material was poorly represented overall, as were papers concerned with evidence of effectiveness. These results suggest that occupational therapists are developing a research base. However, this needs to extend across a range of clinical interests. There is also a need to demonstrate a greater understanding of roles and responsibilities within the current policy framework.

scholarly journals Recent research into healthcare professions regulation: a rapid evidence assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Browne ◽  
Alison Bullock ◽  
Chiara Poletti ◽  
Dorottya Cserző
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
List Type ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background and aims Over the last decade, regulators have taken significant steps towards tackling perceptions that regulatory systems are burdensome. There has been much international research activity in the regulation of health and care professionals. This article reports a review of studies on health professions regulation between January 2011 and March 2020. Its chief object was to provide robust and up-to-date evidence to assist regulators in policy development and implementation. The main objectives of this study were to: Identify and retrieve research in the field of health and care professions regulation in English since 2011; Evaluate the published research, exploring its utility to regulators and practitioners, and drawing out any key messages; Draw conclusions concerning the scope and limitations of the research literature and identify areas for further research. Methods We undertook a rapid evidence assessment (REA) of the international literature on health and care professions regulation, including reviewing ten UK regulators’ websites to identify issues of concern and strategic priorities. We retrieved 3833 references, using a four-stage screening process to select the 81 most relevant. Results Results are reported within six key themes: harm prevention and patient safety; fitness to practise; quality assurance of education and training; registration including maintenance of registers; guidelines and standards and relations with regulatory bodies. Conclusions Regulation of professionals in health and care is comparatively undeveloped as a field of academic study. Consequently, the published evidence is diffuse and small-scale. Most work presents relatively weak data of low relevance to regulators, mainly reporting or describing the current position. Few studies are able to show the impact of regulation or demonstrate a causal link between regulation and its effects. To inform their research and policy agendas health and social care regulators need to commission, interpret and apply the scholarly literature more effectively; academics need to engage with regulators to ensure that their research provides high-quality evidence with practical relevance to the regulators’ agendas. Further study is needed to explore how effective academic collaborations between regulators and researchers may be created and sustained.

scholarly journals Occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport

2020 ◽  
pp. 030802262097394
Author(s):  
Deborah Bullen ◽  
Channine Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health And Social Care

Introduction In response to growing demands on health and social care services there is an emphasis on communities addressing the needs of local populations to improve lives and reduce inequalities. Occupational therapists are responding to these demands by expanding their scope of practice into innovative settings, such as working with refugees, the homeless and residents of nursing homes, and within sport and leisure environments. The benefits of sport are widely acknowledged, and this paper argues that occupational therapists could play a pivotal role in enabling people to participate. Method This qualitative study drew on a phenomenological approach and used interviews and thematic analysis to explore five occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport. Findings Findings revealed that participants demonstrated the uniqueness of occupational therapy when enabling people to participate in sport and practised according to their professional philosophy. There were opportunities to reach wider communities and promote the value of occupational therapy by collaborating with organisations, but there were also challenges when working outside of traditional settings. Conclusion The study emphasises the unique skills occupational therapists can bring to this setting. It highlights opportunities to expand their practice, to forge new partnerships in sports and leisure environments, and to address the national inactivity crisis.

scholarly journals Explaining participation in undeclared work in France: lessons for policy evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Windebank ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Policy Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
French Population ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work

Purpose France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate the competing explanations of why people engage in undeclared work which underpin such policy, namely, the dominant rational-economic-actor approach and the more recent social-actor approach. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate these approaches, the results of 1,027 interviews undertaken in 2013 with a representative sample of the French population are analysed. Findings The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work in France. In contrast, the level of tax morale has a significant impact on engagement in the activity: the higher the tax morale, the lower is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy. Higher penalties and risks of detection only decrease the likelihood of participation in undeclared work amongst the small minority of the French population with very low tax morale. Practical implications Current policy in France to counter undeclared work is informed principally by the rational-economic-actor approach based on a highly developed infrastructure for detection and significant penalties alongside incentives to declare small-scale own-account work. The present analysis suggests that this approach needs to be supplemented with measures to improve citizens’ commitment to compliance by enhancing tax morale. Originality/value This case study of a country with a well-developed policy framework to combat undeclared work provides evidence to support the social-actor approach for informing policy change.

The Case for Generic Working in Mental Health Occupational Therapy

2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 110-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
British Journal ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Opinion Piece ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Future Practice

There has been a lively exchange of views in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy about the role of occupational therapy in mental health. This opinion piece presents an argument that occupational therapy must be more flexible and develop generic working. Suggestions are made for future practice, research and education.

Micro Solar Thermal Collector Glazing for Enhanced Thermal Energy Harvesting

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ogbonnaya ◽  
L. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Capture Efficiency ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Collector Plate ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Solar Thermal Collector

Increasing focus on alternative energy sources has produced significant progress across a wide variety of research areas. One particular area of interest has been solar energy. This has been true on both large and small-scale applications. Research in this paper presents investigations into a small-scale solar thermal collector. This approach is divergent from traditional micro solar photovoltaic devices, relying on transforming incoming solar energy to heat for use by devices like thermoelectrics. The Solar Thermal Collector (STC) is constructed using a copper collector plate with electroplated tin-nickel selective coating atop the collector surface. Further, a unique top piece is added to trap thermal energy and reduce convective, conductive, and radiative losses to the surrounding environment. Results show a capture efficiency of 92% for a collector plate alone when exposed to a 1000 W/m2 simulated solar source. The addition of the top “glazing” piece improves capture efficiency to 97%. Future work will integrate these unique devices with thermoelectric generators for electric power production. This will yield a fully autonomous system, capable of powering small sensors or other devices in remote locations or supplementing existing devices with renewable energy.

Drilling Riser VIV Tests With Prototype Reynolds Numbers

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halvor Lie ◽  
Henning Braaten ◽  
Jamison Szwalek ◽  
Massimiliano Russo ◽  
Rolf Baarholm
Keyword(s):  
Cross Flow ◽  
Effect Study ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scaling Effects ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Forced Motion ◽  
Auxiliary Lines ◽  
Viv Suppression

For deep-water riser systems, Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) may cause significant fatigue damage. It appears that the knowledge gap of this phenomenon is considerable and this has caused a high level of research activity over the last decades. Small scale model tests are often used to investigate VIV behaviour. However, one substantial uncertainty in applying such results is scaling effects, i.e. differences in VIV response in full scale flow and small scale flow. To (partly) overcome this obstacle, a new innovative VIV test rig was designed and built at MARINTEK to test a rigid full scale riser model. The rigid riser model is mounted vertically and can either be elastically mounted or be given a forced motion. In the present version, the cylinder can only move in the cross-flow (CF) direction and is restricted in the in-line (IL) direction. The paper reports results from a drilling riser VIV experiment where the new rest rig has been used. The overall objective of the work is to study possible VIV suppression to improve operability of retrievable riser systems with auxiliary lines by adding riser fins. These fins are normally used as devices for protection of the auxiliary lines. The test program has recently been completed and analysis is an on-going activity. However, some results can be reported at this stage and more results are planned to be published. A bare riser model was used in a Reynolds number (Rn) scaling effect study. The riser model was elastically mounted and towed over a reduced velocity range around 4 – 10 in two different Rn ranges, 75 000 – 192 000 (subcritical regime) and 347 000 – 553 000 (critical regime). The difference in the displacement amplitude to diameter ratio, A/D, is found to be significant. The elastically mounted riser was also towed with various drilling riser configurations in order to study VIV/galloping responses. One configuration included a slick joint riser model with 6 kill & choke lines; another has added riser fins too. The riser model is based on a specific drilling riser and the kill and choke lines have various diameters and have a non-symmetrical layout. The various riser configurations have also been used in forced motion tests where the towed model has been given a sinusoidal CF motion. Forces have been measured. Determination of the force coefficients is still in progress and is planned to be reported later. Scaling effects appear to be a significant uncertainty and further research on the subject is recommended. The slick joint drilling riser configuration generally increased the displacements compared to displacements of the bare riser model. The drilling riser configuration with protection fins, kill and choke lines generally reduced the displacements compared to displacements of the bare riser model. For both riser systems, tests showed that the response is sensitive to the heading of the current.

scholarly journals Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for recurrent depressive disorder

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S272-S272
Author(s):  
James McLoughlin ◽  
Paula Martin ◽  
Geraldine McCarthy ◽  
Chee Lin Piong
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Qualitative Feedback

AimsMindfulness-based therapies have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing anxiety, stress and depressive symptoms in adults. Depression is a chronic relapsing condition. Major depressive disorder is one of the most common causes of ill health and functional impairment.Our goal was to assess the real world clinical effectiveness of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Recurrent Depressive Disorder in three domains:-Depression, anxiety and stress levels-Mindfulness level-Self-compassion levelMethodPatients with a diagnosis of Recurrent Depressive Disorder (primary or secondary diagnosis) were referred by their community mental health team to participate in an 8-week educational MBCT programme. Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS), 5-Facet Mindfulness and Self Compassion self-rated scales prior to commencing and at the end of the course. They were also invited to give qualitative feedback at the end of the course.Data were collected from four groups who completed the course over a period of twelve months. A paired samples test was used to compare pre and post intervention scores to determine effect size.ResultWe had complete data for 19 participants out of a cohort of 34. Pre intervention scores were similar for both groups.The mean age of the cohort was 47 years (SD of 10 years), 3 male, 16 female.Patients showed a clinically significant reduction of symptoms in depression, anxiety and stress, with respective reductions of 48%, 26% and 43% post intervention. Results were statistically significant for depressaion and stress p <0.001 but not for anxiety p = 0.130.Positive trends were seen in all domains of the 5-Fact Mindfulness and Self Compassions scales, with mean improvements of 28.2% and 35.3% respectively. All results were statistically significant.We also collected anonymized qualitative feedback which highlighted themes of empowerment, skill acquisition and improved coping.ConclusionNumerous studies have demonstrated poor compliance with antidepressant treatments commonly prescribed in Recurrent Depressive Disorder. This small scale study demonstrates a statistical and clinical benefit of MBCT for these patients, supporting greater use of such novel non-pharmacological therapeutic options as treatment strategies..

Impact of occupational therapy in an integrated adult social care service: Audit of Therapy Outcome Measure Findings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon J. Davenport
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Outcome Measure ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Sampling Bias ◽  
Therapy Outcome ◽  
Social Care Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care

PurposeHealth and social care services should demonstrate the quality of their interventions for commissioners, patients and carers, plus it is a requirement for occupational therapists to measure and record outcomes. Use of the “Therapy Outcome Measure” (TOMs) standardised tool was implemented by an occupational therapy adult social care service to demonstrate outcomes from April 2020, following integration to a community NHS Trust.Design/methodology/approachThe aim was to demonstrate occupational therapy outcomes in adult social care through a local audit of the TOMs. The objective was to determine if clients improved following occupational therapy intervention in the four domains of impairment, activity, participation and wellbeing/carer wellbeing. 70 cases were purposively sampled over a 2-month timeframe, extracting data from the local electronic recording system.FindingsOccupational therapy in adult social care clearly makes an impact with their client group and carers. Evidence from the dataset demonstrates clinically significant change, as 93% of clients seen by adult social care occupational therapy staff showed an improvement in at least one TOMs domain during their whole episode of care. 79% of activity scores, 20% of participation scores and 50% of wellbeing scores improved following intervention. 79% of carer wellbeing scores improved following occupational therapy.Research limitations/implicationsThe audit did not collect data on uptake from the separate teams (equipment, housing, STAR and adult social care work) in occupational therapy adult social care. Potential sampling bias occurred as cases with completed scores only were purposively sampled. Sampling was not random which prevented data gathering on uptake of TOMs across the separate teams. Additionally, the audit results can only be applied to the setting from which the data was collected, so has limited external validity.Originality/valueThese novel findings illustrate the valuable and unique impact of occupational therapy in this adult social care setting. The integration of adult social care into an NHS Community Trust has supported the service to measure outcomes, by utilising the same standardised tool in use by allied health professions across the Trust.

Educational Podcasts at University Campus Suffolk

2011 ◽  
pp. 187-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Goodchild ◽  
Sam Chenery-Morris
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evaluative Research

This chapter will explore the introduction and development of podcasts at University Campus Suffolk (UCS). The podcasts discussed in this chapter have all been developed in relation to pre-registration health and social care courses within the Faculty of Health at UCS. UCS is a relatively new university, and has a wide range of professional courses including nursing, midwifery, radiography, operating department practice and social work. The chapter will begin with a discussion of where podcasts sit in the paradigm of mobile learning and then a brief history of podcasting. The introduction of podcasts at UCS has been ad-hoc and mostly in response to ideas for developing the wider student learning experience. This ad-hoc approach has led to the development of a model for their educational use. Three case studies will be outlined, followed by presentation of the model. These case studies will show how podcasts came to be utilised, and the progression of our thoughts and experiences which have informed their current and future development at UCS. Small scale evaluations throughout the developmental period, and informal student feedback have helped inform the progression of podcasting at UCS. These evaluations have driven the increased use of podcasts at UCS, with students enjoying the experience of using podcasts, and also the ability to digest the podcasts at a time of their choosing. However, it should be noted that because of the nature of the developmental process, full scale evaluative research is only now being undertaken.

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