Providing education on evidence-based practice improved knowledge but did not change behaviour: a before and after study
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1472-6920-5-40.pdf

Many health professionals lack the skills to find and appraise published research. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multifaceted intervention on the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior of allied health professionals. 114 self-selected occupational therapists were recruited. The intervention included a 2- day workshop combined with outreach support for eight months. Support involved email and telephone contact and a workplace visit. Evidence-based practice skills and knowledge improved markedly with a targeted education intervention and outreach support. However, changes in behavior were small, based on the frequency of searching and appraisal activities. This study suggests that allied health educators should focus more on post-workshop skill development, particularly appraisal, and help learners to establish new routines and priorities around evidence-based practice. Learners also need to know that behavior change of this nature may take months, even years.

Resident and therapist views of animal-assisted therapy: Implications for occupational therapy practice
http://www.halsansnatur.se/images/media/velde%20et%20al.pdf

Animal-assisted therapy is offered in a wide variety of settings, however, there are few studies investigating animal-assisted therapy from an occupational therapy perspective. More information is needed to describe the use of animals as a therapeutic modality in occupational therapy. Three qualitative case studies were analyzed to describe the perceptions of clients and therapists regarding animal-assisted therapy. This study found that animal-assisted therapy could be a beneficial modality for occupational therapy. The Lifestyle Performance Model provides a useful framework for analysis and interpretation of the positive outcomes of animal-assisted therapy in an occupational therapy context. Studies of the human-companion animal bond reveal many physiological and psychological benefits. For example, petting a dog with which one is bonded to promote relaxation, characterized by decreased blood pressure and increases in peripheral skin temperature.

Supervision in Occupational Therapy, Part 3: Accommodating the Supervisor and the Supervisee
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Webley/publication/233504276_Supervision_in_Occupational_TherapyPart_3_Accommodating_the_Supervisor_and_the_Supervisee/links/54db30e00cf2ba88a68f5f77.pdf

This study argues that there is some evidence that occupational therapy as a profession may have adopted supervision without adequate attention to the costs involved in the process, in terms of training, time, commitment and emotional consequences. This article describes possible steps that can be adopted by both supervisors and supervisees to facilitate the development of a more productive relationship within supervision. These include, the use of training, exposure to theories and models of supervision, and the use of agendas, contracts and feedback. Supervisor and supervisee recommendations are discussed within the wider framework of professional, cultural and organizational implications.

The professionalisation of occupational therapy: A continuing challenge
http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/professionalisation-occupational-therapy-continuing-challenge/185430597.html

Occupational therapists are challenged in two ways: first, to consider how they can accomplish their professional identity as a profession and, second, how that can be valued in terms of the society in which it is enacted. As occupational therapy is situated with the predominant medical model and its associated biological base in traditional work environments like health care, its standing as a profession is frequently measured against this standard. However, because of the contemporary changes occurring in health and social care, the concept of professionalism requires flexibility in adaptation and interpretation if professional groups are to survive in the unstable work environments and provides a potential opportunity for change.

Through the eyes of students: Ethical tensions in occupational therapy practice
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth_Kinsella/publication/5236634_Through_the_eyes_of_students_ethical_tensions_in_occupational_therapy_practice/links/0046351f6f9ffa69ed000000.pdf

Occupational therapy practitioners and students commonly experience ethical tensions. In a survey of 436 American occupational therapists, students, and assistants, respondents reported confrontations with ethical issues in the workplace at the following rates: 21% daily, 31% weekly, 32% monthly, 13% yearly, and 3% never. Of particular concern is that only 20% perceived themselves as knowledgeable about ethics, whereas 67% reported some knowledge, 7% were uncertain, and 5% indicated they were not knowledgeable. Researchers have identified ethical tensions that arise due to pressures for cost containment, unfair allocation of resources, insufficient time for quality practice, and the disparity between the resources an occupational therapist requires and the resources available. Participants commonly reported that healthcare systems constrained their work. Institutional roles for occupational therapists were often overly narrowed or expanded by their healthcare contexts. Therapists may feel forced to abandon holistic care because of constrained roles.

http://ajot.aota.org/article.aspx?articleid=1877119

Narrative reasoning is a central form of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy. Therapists reason narratively when they are concerned with disability as an illness and experience or how a physiological condition affects a person's life. This paper compares two types of narrative reasoning. The first is the use of narrative as a mode of speech that can be contrasted with biomedical discourse, in which disability is framed as physical pathology. The second involves the creation rather than the telling of stories. Therapists try to construct therapeutic encounters with patients, that is, to help create a therapeutic story that becomes a meaningful short story in the larger life story of the patient.

This article describes observations made in the AOTA clinical reasoning study, which is an ethnographic study of 14 occupational therapists working in a large teaching hospital. Concepts that frequently appeared in the literature of clinical reasoning in medicine are discussed and compared and contrasted. Observations and interpretations of the practice and clinical reasoning strategies of the occupational therapist participants in this study are described. Similarities in the reasoning strategies of medical professionals and occupational therapists are attributed to the use of the scientific reasoning model and differences are attributed to the particular focus, goals, and tasks of the two professions.

Fleming, M. (1991). Clinical Reasoning in Medicine Compared With Clinical Reasoning in Occupational Therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(11), 988-996. Retrieved August 16, 2015.

This study conducted an analysis of 60 interviews with family caregivers for community-based elderly persons. It suggests that ethical dilemmas are important to organizing guidelines for family caregiving. This study explores this idea as it relates to the practice of occupational therapy with older adults and their families. This article describes major themes relating to ethical dilemmas in family caregiving as derived from interview data. This study concludes that in the context of the family caregiver and the occupational therapist, the caregiver's ordinary ethics and the therapist's professional code of ethics are both distinctive and unified. Occupational therapists should seek understanding of their clients' ethical beliefs in order to maximize the potential for a therapeutic relationship built on mutual understanding and partnership

Hasselkus, B. (1991). Ethical Dilemmas in Family Caregiving for the Elderly: Implications for Occupational Therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(11), 206-212.

According to this article, professionalism has three interconnecting parts. These parts are described in metaphors and include the heart, mind, and soul of professionalism. Wood (2004) states that professionalism is an ideal that encompasses commonly held expectations and objective standards of evaluating any professional field. Nobel Peace Laureate Jane Addams (1990) wrote that those who give themselves to a greater good are those who develop their humanity and authenticity. Answering this call can be greatly attributed to the development of occupational therapy. According to this article, each individual has a unique contribution to make to occupational therapy's professionalism to ensure that success and sustainability of the profession. Not one person or any one group knows best how to enhance occupational therapy's professionalism alone. Therefor, it is important for everyone to contribute to the profession for it to grow.

Wood, W. (2004). The Heart, Mind, and Soul of Professionalism in Occupational Therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 249-257.

This study examines how occupational therapists in the United States access and use clinically relevant research results. Clinically practicing occupational therapists who were members of the American Occupational Therapy Association responded to a survey (58% response rate). According to the survey, the majority of respondents (57%) implemented between one and five new, research-based treatment plans in the past year. Respondents with 15 or more years of clinical experience tended to not believe that research conclusions usually translated into treatment plans for individual clients compared with respondents with less experience. Almost three fifths of respondents reported that time was provided on the job to attend continuing education; however, 45% strongly disagreed that time was available at work to access research information. Other reported barriers to research utilization included lack of time on the job, high continuing education costs, weak research analysis skills, and placing higher value on clinical experience than on research. These findings suggest that therapists are currently engaging in a modest amount of evidence-based practice. Removing the barriers identified in this study may increase research utilization among clinicians.

Dysart, A.M. & Tomlin, G.S. (2002). Factors Related to Evidence-Based Practice
Among U.S. Occupational Therapy Clinicians. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 56(3).

An increasing amount of evidence indicates the potential benefits of exercise with cancer patients. Research shows that patients participating in exercise programs, such as those provided in occupational or physical therapy, maintain a higher level of physical function and suffer less from psychological distress, fatigue and other treatment-related symptoms than control patients during chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In this study, a survey of oncology nurses in UK hospitals was conducted to determine the extent that exercise has a role in cancer care. The survey included a sample of 221 participants (62% response rate). Nineteen hospitals (9%) offered some kind of exercise program or class for patients. In seventeen hospitals (8%), opportunities for exercise available such as an exercise bicycle for inpatients. Sixty-five percent of nurses were in favor of providing an exercise rehabilitation service for patients. Barriers to implementation of such a program included limited resources and lack of awareness and expertise. Fifty-eight percent of nurses were unfamiliar with the published research on exercise for cancer rehabilitation and 33% reported receiving no training relating to exercise and health.
Stevinson, C., & Fox, K.R. (2005). Role of exercise for cancer rehabilitation in UK hospitals: a survey of oncology nurses. European Journal of Cancer Care. 14, 63-69.

According to this article, over 60 percent of Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy (CAOT) members regularly assign work to support personnel in the course of providing services to clients. This article states that supervisors need to have and demonstrate a range of leadership styles and approaches to address the differing personalities and responsibilities of the people they may supervise. To be most effective, supervision must be seen as an art. Supervision is an interactive process of educating, managing and supporting support personnel. Supervisors must foster communication and collaborative problem solving by providing clear and specific direction, sharing information and experiences and placing the work assigned to support personnel within a larger context.

Von Zweck, C. (2007). The art of supervision for occupational therapists. Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. http://www.caot.ca/otnow/nov%2007/supervision.pdf