The effect of keeping an end-product on intrinsic motivation

‘Baking Gives You Confidence’: Users' Views of Engaging in the Occupation of Baking

The quality of care in acute inpatient areas has been identified as unacceptable and, in some areas, as counter-therapeutic (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health 1998). Occupational therapy continues to make a significant contribution within this practice area. However, specific research that has addressed the acute service user's perspective of engagement in occupation is limited.

This qualitative study explored 12 mental health service users' perspectives of engagement in the occupation of baking through a semi-structured interview. The findings identified that the opportunity to acquire new skills and, importantly, confidence while producing an end product stimulated the participants to attend the treatment session. The engagement in baking was also influenced by the participants' desire to add structure to their daily routine.

The study concludes that the physical and social environment in which the therapy takes place is a powerful motivating factor in facilitating individuals to participate in an occupation. The findings emphasise the importance of engagement in occupations, in conducive settings that meet the individual's needs. The study highlights that baking has many recognisable benefits for service users, offering a flexible and valued occupation.

Degree of Preference and Its Influence on Motor Control When Reaching for Most Preferred, Neutrally Preferred, and Least Preferred Candy

The objective of this study was to determine whether reaching for objects with varying levels of preference associated with them elicited influenced motor control in a reaching task. Forty healthy adults were asked to reach for seven different types of candy, which they ranked by personal preference from being the most preferred to the least preferred. In this repeated measures design, data were analyzed on 39 participants who tended to demonstrate greater movement efficiency in movement time and movement units when reaching for candy in which they associated with greater preference (p < .0 167). Although no differences were found between conditions with peak velocity and percentage of movement time to peak velocity (p > .0167), these dependent variables appeared to trend in the direction of similar movement efficiency. Therapists can use this knowledge to help guide clinical reasoning when designing treatment plans and approaches. Future research is needed to further examine intensity along the continuum of preference and its implications for occupational therapy practice.

The benefits of and challenges to the use of occupation in hand therapy

ABSTRACT This mixed methods survey examines the perceptions of occupational therapists working in hand therapy in the United States regarding the benefits of and barriers to occupation-based hand therapy. Electronic questionnaires containing open- and closed-ended questions were answered by 105 occupational therapists working in hand therapy and analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitatively according to themes. Participants reported that occupation-based interventions benefit clients by facilitating functional activity, meaningful therapeutic experiences, and holistic approach to treatment. Reported barriers to occupation-based interventions include logistic issues, reimbursement issues, the limitations imposed by the client's medical condition or the treatment protocol, and credibility of occupation-based interventions. Overcoming the challenges to occupation-based practice in hand therapy requires research in the efficiacy of occupation-based hand therapy and education of the public as well as health professionals and occupational therapists working in hand therapy.

Retired People's Experience of Participation in Art Classes

The role that different activities play in contributing to retired people's wellbeing is not well understood, a situation that needs to be addressed now that a long period of retirement is becoming the norm for millions of people in western societies. Research carried out over the last decade has explored some aspects of participation in various activities, such as exercise, but only a few studies have explored retirees' own perspectives. This qualitative research used phenomenological methods to explore art class activity as experienced by six retired people living in the community. The participants' perspectives were explored using unstructured interviews. The data were analysed using a phenomenological approach, as outlined by Van Kaam (1959, and described by Streubert and Carpenter 1995), and the participants then confirmed the findings.

Painting added a special dimension to the particpants' retirement: it gave satisfaction, challenge, time transformation, a sense of achievement, productivity and a boost to confidence. These results confirm and extend previous studies that link creative activities to wellbeing, including those that reveal how positive emotions contribute to health. Actual attendance at an art class was also seen as valuable, because working in a group was experienced as an inspiration and an opportunity to be encouraged by and to learn from others. The activity and the socialising seemed to be equally important aspects of attending an art class, which supports Wilcock's (2007) latest theories of the benefits of belonging. This research may contribute to the justification for participation in art or craft activity within the community, in occupational therapy practice or in settings such as residential homes, by providing further understanding of its meaning and value for retirees and its potential for promoting their health.

Cardiovascular and Electroencephalographic Response to Purposeful vs. Nonpurposeful Activity in Adults (†)

eEffects of purposefulness on heart rate, blood pressure, and electroencephalographic recordings were examined in 32 adults performing purposeful and nonpurposeful activities of equal cardiopulmonary workload. Blood pressure increased from resting during purposeful and nonpurposeful activity (all p < .02); the level of increase was similar for purposeful and nonpurposeful activity [systolic (p = .44); diastolic (p = .25)]. No significant differences in heart rate (p = .42) or electroencephalographic beta wave activity (p = .39) were noted between purposeful and nonpurposeful activities. These findings suggest that the degree of purposefulness of the activity did not influence the cardiovascular response.

Cardiovascular and electroencephalographic responses to purposeful versus nonpurposeful activities in children

To discern effects of purposefulness on cardiovascular and neural responses, heart rate and electroencephalographic recordings were taken in 31 children performing purposeful and nonpurposeful activities of equal duration and cardiopulmonary workload. Heart rate increased from resting levels during both purposeful (p = .001) and nonpurposeful (p = .01) activities, but the level of increase was the same for both (p = .30). Similarities in heart rate during purposeful and nonpurposeful activities suggest that purposefulness might not influence heart rate response in children. Encephalographic recordings did not show a higher beta-wave activity quotient during purposeful activity (p = .33).