‘Why are You doing That?’ A Project to Look for Evidence of Efficacy within Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Nine occupational therapists working with children agreed to participate in a project designed to extend their awareness of evidence of efficacy in their clinical practice. Successful procedures would be developed for use in other areas of the occupational therapy service in Southampton.

The occupational therapists divided themselves into three groups – those working with children whose needs were primarily physical, those working with children with emotional and behavioural problems and those working in mainstream schools with children with special needs – and used the following process to develop the project. They devised a statement related to their clinical practice. Electronic databases were used to search for relevant articles. Papers published during the past 10 years and available locally were distributed to the participating therapists. They reviewed the articles, using an agreed format. The articles were discussed by the therapists at regular meetings, culminating in a summary of the research findings, how they related to clinical practice and priorities for future research.

There is evidence of increased research-related activity beyond that required by the project. Requests have been made by occupational therapists in other clinical areas to be included in this process.