OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research

This study explores how 85 year olds in Sweden perceive participation and autonomy in their life situations in relation to health-related quality of life and gender. A postal questionnaire included questions on sociodemographics, social network, assistive technology, community assistance, and the EQ-5D. During a home visit, an occupational therapist evaluated perceived participation and autonomy using the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire. Most perceived their participation as sufficient. Women had greater limitations than men in indoor and outdoor autonomy. Only a few individuals reported many or severe problems with participation, mainly in mobility and leisure. Not having friends nearby, no close contact with neighbors, and living in community housing increased the risk of perceived problems. Sufficient participation was positively associated with higher health-related quality of life, and facilitating participation is an area of interest for occupational therapists.

The aim of this study was to determine the association of subjective well-being and correlates of successful aging among married older adults with disability through a secondary data analysis of the Disability and Use of Time Study. Data from 345 married independently living older adults with disabilities were analyzed to investigate relationships between health, cognitive, and physical functioning, as well as social engagement and subjective well-being. Demographic variables were not correlated to subjective well-being according to the multiple regression model. Most (84.9%) participants were satisfied with life. The most prevalent form of disability was difficulty walking. Cognitive functioning, physical functioning, active engagement, and health satisfaction were considered in the multivariate regression analysis. Only active engagement measured in terms of days worked and days socialized and health satisfaction contributed significantly to subjective well-being. The study suggests that improved self-perceived health, involvement in work, and socialization contribute to subjective well-being among community-dwelling older adults with disabilities. The findings of this study provide support for occupational therapy programs that address the above areas with the goal of facilitating health and well-being in this population.

The Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile—Screener (HELP-Screener) is a 15-item self-report questionnaire designed as a brief, easy-to-score screening tool for detecting health-risk behaviors in older adults. This study examined concurrent validity and construct-related validity of the HELP-Screener with a sample of 310 community-dwelling older adults. Concurrent validity was supported through a high correlation (r_s = .65; p < .0001) between the scores of the HELP-Screener and the original 56-item HELP. The construct-related validity was confirmed using the hypothesis-testing procedure. The first hypothesis was substantiated by a moderate negative correlation (r_s = −.47; p < .0001) between the test scores and the numbers of chronic illness reported by participants. The second hypothesis was validated by a moderate correlation (r _s = .58; p < .0001) between the test scores and self-ratings of health by participants. The HELP-Screener holds promise as a psychometrically sound tool for expediting detection of potential health-compromising lifestyles in older adults.

This study measured health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and their parents. A convenience sample of 369 children with DCD (144 girls; mean age: 11.2 ± 3.66 years) and 360 children with typical development (146 girls; mean age: 11.4 ± 4.09 years) was enrolled. The Bruininks—Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Edition was used to classify the DCD group into five levels of motor abilities. The HRQOL of the children was assessed with the Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form 50, and the HRQOL of the parents was assessed with the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Although the two groups had comparable physical health, the DCD group had significantly lower HRQOL in all psychosocial domains. The degree to which HRQOL is reduced is related to motor proficiency. Compared to parents of typically developing children, parents of children with DCD had significantly lower HRQOL (p < .05 for both SF-12 and BAI). HRQOL of the parents was unassociated with the motor proficiency of the children. DCD significantly affects multiple HRQOL domains in both the child with DCD and the parents.

Some therapeutic practices, and occupational therapy in particular, require heightened forms of engagement and involve jointly coordinated actions that are grounded in intersubjective processes. These interactional processes enable people to be together in particular ways, co-create and share experiences, and coordinate actions. Qualities of engagement in therapeutic practices are analyzed in terms of the interrelatedness of the social actors and the investment in the doing of the occupations. Interpretive examples are provided from an interdisciplinary, longitudinal, urban ethnographic study of a cohort of African-American children, their families, and the practitioners with whom they engage in healthcare encounters. Findings include the use of vehicles for engagement to enhance participation, transactional features of jointly constructed clinical activities, and experiential and developmental aspects of children's engagement in therapeutic practices. Engagement is discussed as a mediator of effectiveness and contributing factor to the “mattering” of therapy. Implications for clinical and research practices are provided.

Sensory processing differences are reported in a high proportion of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), but how these problems impact caregiver burden has not been investigated. Linear regression was used to examine the association between parenting stress and problems in sensory processing, along with other child and family characteristics, among 52 children aged 5 to 12 years with FASD. Participants also had clinically significant problem behaviors. Higher levels of child-related parenting stress were moderately correlated with more parent-reported sensory processing problems (r = −.60). Regression findings revealed that parent-reported problems in children's behavior regulation, an aspect of executive function, and sensory processing deficits were the strongest predictors of child-related parenting stress, together accounting for 62% of variance. Children's sensory processing deficits and executive function impairments affect the parent—child system and should be central considerations when developing family-centered supports for children with FASD.