Health Behavior Performance After a Personalized Occupational Therapy Intervention in Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Background:

Health behaviors significantly influence health outcomes after cancer. However, few studies have tested occupational therapy (OT) self-management training to catalyze health behavior change.

Objectives:

To establish proof of concept of a 12-week OT intervention designed to improve occupational performance and/or satisfaction in cancer survivors.

Methods:

This single-arm, prospective study used the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure to measure change in occupational performance and satisfaction related to health behaviors in a convenience sample of 20 cancer survivors.

Results:

Both occupational performance and occupational satisfaction scores increased for all participants (n = 20) post-intervention. A total of 18 participants (86%) demonstrated a clinically significant change in performance scores (≥2), and 19 participants (95%) demonstrated a clinically significant change in satisfaction scores (≥2).

Conclusion:

OT, when leveraged for a health self-management intervention, may result in improvements in both occupational performance and satisfaction related to health behavior in cancer survivors.

Plain Language Summary

Can an Occupational Therapy-Led Health Self-Management Intervention Impact Health Behavior Performance and Satisfaction in People with a History of Cancer?

This study describes outcomes of an occupational therapy self-management program to help cancer survivors improve their health behaviors. The program continued for 12 sessions and aimed to enhance how participants managed their everyday tasks related to their health. Twenty adult cancer survivors participated in the program. Using a standardized tool called the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the study found that most participants showed substantial improvement in both their ability to perform tasks related to lifestyle and their satisfaction with these activities. 86% of participants showed a meaningful improvement in performance, and 95% reported greater satisfaction with their health-related tasks. This suggests that testing is warranted to study whether an occupational therapy intervention could be a useful approach for cancer survivors in managing their health behaviors and improving their quality of life.