South Africa has the highest reported prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) worldwide. The high prevalence is aggravated by limited remedial and rehabilitative services in the rural Northern Cape. Parents requested guidance to facilitate the development of their children with FASD. Understanding their needs and strengths will inform intervention programmes to create the stable environments children with FASD require for optimal life outcomes. The aim of the study is to explore the way that mothers facilitate the occupational engagement of their children with FASD as well as the challenges they face. Using a qualitative descriptive study design, the author purposively selected mothers to reveal three turning points in the lives of their children. Semi structured- and photo-elicitation interviews highlighted mothers’ experiences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductively analysed with content analysis. Two themes emerged, namely, “Doing together” and “Varying access to engagement”. The findings of this study highlight the important role mothers play to facilitate the occupational engagement of children with FASD. Recognising mothers as agents of change and including them in intervention will enhance occupational therapy practice in the area of FASD.

Rationale: Consumers of the mental health system with serious mental illness have been deprived of meaningful occupations since de-institutionalization began in the late 20th century.Community mental health policy has failed to focus on the meaningful occupational lives of this group of service users. Given the disparity in activity and meaningful time use for people with serious mental illness when compared to the general population, it is clear that a treatment that draws attention to occupational balance and engagement is needed. As balanced time use has been shown to increase community adjustment and life satisfaction, it is an important area of focus. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to pilot test the efficacy of a new occupational time use intervention, provisionally titled “Action over Inertia,” designed to increase occupational balance and engagement in the lives of people with serious mental illness living in the community. Methods: A prospective, multi-centre randomized controlled trial of the intervention, involving 5 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams in southeastern Ontario,ran in Fall 2007/Winter 2008. 18 ACT clients took part in the 12 week intervention, which was delivered by the ACT team occupational therapists. Results: Time use, used as a measure of occupational balance, shifted away from sleep to increased general activity in the treatment group(p=0.05). Treatment and control groups did not differ on occupational engagement measures after the completion of the trial. Feedback on the clinical utility of the intervention was very positive from both therapists and treatment participants. Conclusions: This pilot test revealed initially positive data on the efficacy and clinical utility of the intervention.Further study of the “Action over Inertia” intervention is needed on a larger scale, potentially with a longer treatment timeline to further investigate its usefulness. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-22 14:36:47.279

Syftet med studien var att kartlägga hur mindfulness kan användas inom arbetsterapi. Stress, depression, ångest och långvarig smärta är klientgrupper som stadigt ökar. I denna litteraturstudie var det av relevans att undersöka hur mindfulness kan användas inom arbetsterapi, då det visat ha goda effekter inom bland annat psykiatri och kognitiv beteendeterapi. Mindfulness med dess fokus på medveten närvaro, ökad insikt och med ett objektivt och accepterande förhållningssätt kan bidra till ökad delaktighet och med ett större engagemang för klienten i aktivitet. Dataanalysen utgjordes av åtta vetenskapliga artiklar med anknytning till mindfulness och arbetsterapi och mynnade ut i kategorierna Mindfulness som intervention, Resultat av mindfulness som intervention och Begräsningar med mindfulness som intervention. I resultatet framkom att mindfulness som intervention visade på positiva effekter där hantering av svåra situationer blev lättare och symtom för ohälsa inom stress, långvarig smärta, depression och ångest upplevdes ha mindre negativ inverkan på hälsan. En artikel visade att mindfulness inte hade någon effekt för klienter med depression och ångest. Majoriteten av de analyserade artiklarna visade på god effekt både för stressrelaterad ohälsa, depression, ångest, långvarig smärta och för föräldrar till barn med Autism Spektrum Tillstånd. Sammanfattningsvis skulle mindfulness som intervention kunna ge fördelar inom arbetsterapi då ett gemensamt fokus ligger kring delaktighet och engagemang i aktivitet. Mindfulness kan utifrån resultatet bidra till ökad livskvalitet där klientens vardag består av meningsfulla aktiviteter. Med mindfulness integrerat i de vardagliga aktiviteterna eller som meditation kan flertalet klientgrupper gynnas. / The purpose of this study was to examine how mindfulness could be used in occupational therapy. Stress, depression, anxiety and chronic pain are common diseases in the Swedish population. In this literature review it was of relevance to examine how mindfulness could be used in occupational therapy since research in other areas such as psychiatry and cognitive behaviour therapy have shown positive effects using mindfulness. Mindfulness is primarily focused on awareness, insight, ability to obtain an objective perspective and to hold acceptance which for the client can lead to increased participation and a greater engagement in occupations. A number of databases were used in order to find articles which responded to the purpose of this study. A total amount of eight articles were found and analyzed. The articles resulted in the categories Mindfulness as an intervention, Results of mindfulness as an intervention and Limits using mindfulness. The results showed positive effects using mindfulness as an intervention for clients having stressrelated illness, chronic pain, depression and anxiety. Difficult and challenging situations became easier to handle and with less negative effect on the clients health. One article showed that mindfulness had no effects for clients with depression and anxiety. The majority of the articles which were analyzed showed that mindfulness had positive effects for stressrelated illness, depression, anxiety, chronic pain and for parents to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The conclusion came out in a way that occupational therapy could benefit by using mindfulness as an intervention with its primarily focus on participation and engagement in occupations. According to the results in this study mindfulness could bring a higher quality of life for the client by participating in meaningful occupations in their daily lives. With mindfulness integrated in the clients daily occupations or to meditate for mindfulness practice, several client groups could benefit from this form of intervention.

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / Health risk behaviors are public health problems which are of concern in occupational therapy because they tend to be the causes of disability and death among adolescents and youths in the world. Identifying risk factors related to health risk behaviors is therefore an important part of health promotion. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the prevalence of health risk behaviors and the association with leisure boredom among high school adolescents in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Mindfulness, characterized with present-moment awareness, non-judgment, and non-reactivity, has demonstrated its potential in contemporary counseling psychology as a cultivatable coping mechanism for healing against negative emotions and symptomology. Researchers have identified health benefits for those who possess higher levels of this trait without practice. Limited research has explored the potential benefits of mindfulness in contributing to the cultivation of adaptive career decision-making. In particular, there is no study investigating the the role of mindfulness on college students' coping with career indecision stemming from emotional and personality concerns, or its influence on their occupational engagement. This study was a survey-based investigation of the relations among dispositional mindfulness, occupational engagement, and emotional career indecision in a diverse sample of college participants (N = 166). The results from analysis indicate that dispositional mindfulness is significantly related to emotional career indecision and occupational engagement, with multiple facets of mindfulness contributing a significant amount of variance in emotional career indecision. Future research and clinical implications are also discussed.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the implementation of sensory integration interventions by occupational therapists in international schools. It gives insight into the conditions for the implementation of sensory integration, outlining some of the challenges and benefits faced by the occupational therapists working in international schools. Method: A descriptive qualitative design was used to collect data using a digital survey composed of both open-ended and multiple-choice questions. Seven occupational therapists working in international schools in different countries completed the survey. The data was analyzed using a content analysis.  Results: Results reveal that the conditions for implementing sensory integration in the different schools vary. The aim are, however, similar; to enable participation and engagement of the student in the school. The challenges were grouped under four subcategories: school context, collaboration, cultural backgrounds and legal framework and policies. Implementing sensory integration was regarded as being beneficial for the schools, teachers, and students. The international schools were also generally regarded as being supportive to the implementation of sensory integration.  Conclusion:  By implementing sensory integration interventions, the occupational therapists address the person and environment (social and cultural) to enable the student’s occupational engagement. This in turn leads to benefits, identified by the occupational therapists, for the student, teachers, and school. The physical, social, cultural, and institutional environment of the schools vary and can limit the types of sensory integration interventions provided, leading to challenges identified by the occupational therapists.