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

Abstract

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.