A review of research with elderly people as respondents reported in occupational therapy journals

Evolutionary Analysis of International Scientific Output in Occupational Therapy from 1917 to 2020

Published evidence on the progress of occupational therapy research from a broad perspective is limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze the international research productivity on occupational therapy from 1917 to 2020. This was a bibliometric study including articles indexed on MEDLINE, Scopus, and CINAHL. The literature search was conducted in June 2021 using the descriptor “occupational therapy” and the term “Ergotherap*”, and was limited to citable documents. Price’s law and Bradford’s law were applied to analyze a number of bibliometric indicators. Research on occupational therapy had an average annual growth rate of 26.4% and followed an exponential model. The top producing countries were the USA (21.52%) and the UK (6.07%). There is a high transience index of 74.81%. The top producing author was Kielhofner, G. (n = 132). Studies with the highest reported scientific evidence accounted for 1.13% (n = 638) of the total number of publications. More randomized controlled trials are necessary to increase the quality of the evidence base. Moreover, a greater collaboration between authors is needed for the professionalization of this research field.

Characteristics of research with older people (over 65 years) in occupational therapy journals, 2013-2017

Background: A growing population of older people will require different types of occupational therapy services in the future. For occupational therapists to provide effective services and to optimize care, their practice must rely on high-quality evidence. Research is one important pillar of evidence-based practice. Therefore, it is important to examine the research published in occupational therapy journals, which guides practitioners in their work with clients.Aim: The overall aim of this study was to review research characteristics in articles with older persons as participants, aged over 65 years, with or without illness, diseases or disabilities, reported in occupational therapy journals during the period 2013-2017.Materials and methods: Data was collected from peer-reviewed occupational therapy journals and categorized in relation to research characteristics using descriptive statistics.Results: The findings show that most articles presented basic research, using quantitative design where the sources of data were instruments.Conclusion: The findings suggest that both qualitative and quantitative articles use appropriate sample sizes. However, descriptions of the studied populations are frequently unclear, which may affect the transferability and generalization of the results.Significance: In order to support practice, efforts are needed to develop research aims and questions that develop knowledge to embrace more than just basic research.

Doing everyday life--experiences of the oldest old

The purpose of this article is to explore how a group of elderly people, living and managing on their own, describe and experience their everyday doings. Interviews and observations were conducted with 18 community-living people aged 85 and above. The experiences of 'Doing everyday life' are described in five overarching themes: 'Experiencing being old', 'Doings in everyday life', 'Patterns of the day', 'Altered doings', and 'The importance of time'. What is done during an ordinary day does not differ much from earlier in life, but how the doings are performed has changed. Being occupied and staying healthy and sound in mind was stressed as important in old age and even if reduced energy and functional constraints limited the doings, a strong volition to manage independently was expressed. The participants perceived society as regarding the elderly as useless and worthless. Knowledge emanating from the very old themselves is vital to diversify the image of elderly people and to offer interventions and support adapted to their needs and desires.