AOTA and AOTF recently reaffirmed research priorities and
parameters for practice for the profession. These priorities
will serve to guide the research initiatives of AOTF and the
program initiatives of the Association through the first decade
of the 21st century. More than 200 occupational therapy clinicians,
educators and researchers contributed their insight and perspectives
in creating the research priorities and practice parameters.
As a final step in the profession-wide consensus process,
30 leaders from across the profession met to draft this document,
which was initially adopted by the governing bodies of both
the Foundation and Association in 1999 and 2000, respectively.
The Association and Foundation continue to use the research
priorities and practice parameters to guide internal funding
priorities and program development. Additionally, they provide
a useful tool to broaden the understanding of occupational
therapy and share the profession's perspective with external
funding sources, policy makers, and public information systems.
The research priorities and practice parameters for occupational
therapy are rooted in the World Health Organization's international
classification system for function and disability, known as
the International Classification of Function, or ICF. The
AOTA's Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and
Process (AJOT, November / December 2002, Volume 56, Number
6), an official document of the Association, moves practitioners
to language and terminology that is similarly grounded in
the ICF.
The exemplars that follow each priority describe the types
of research needed to advance the profession. Theses exemplars
will be updated continuously as new research efforts are identified
within the profession.
1. Are occupational therapy interventions effective in
achieving targeted activity and participation outcomes and
preventing/reducing secondary conditions?
Exemplars:
a. Does employment of persons with mental illness in a community-based
business lead to improved participation?
b. What effect does the development of a daily occupational
routine for a person with dementia have on the participation
of the client and the client's caregiver?
2. To what extent does occupation-based intervention promote
learning, adaptation, self-organization, adjustment to life
situations, and self-determination across the life span?
Exemplars:
a. Does engagement in meaningful activities foster development
of roles that facilitate participation?
b. Is there a set of occupational skills that facilitate
transition in roles secondary to spinal cord injury?
3. Are environmental interventions that support occupation
effective in preventing impairment and promoting activity
and participation at the individual, community, and societal
levels?
Exemplars:
a. What is the effectiveness of a training program designed
for supervisors in welfare-to-work programs?
b. What are the effects of specific classroom set-ups on
school performance and behavior in children with Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
4. Where, when, how, and at what level (Body Structure/Body
Function, Activity, Participation, and Environment) should
an occupational therapy intervention occur to maximize activity
and participation, as well as cost-effectiveness of services?
Exemplars:
a. What impact do recess clubs have on social participation
behaviors of children identified as having limited social
skills?
b. What impact does an occupational health program have
on maintaining employee productivity levels and decreasing
worker compensation?
5. What measures/measurement systems reflect the domain
of Occupational Therapy and identify factors (body structure/body
function, activity, participation, and environment) or document
the impact of occupational therapy on these factors?
Exemplars:
a. How do we determine what occupations are meaningful to
the client?
b. What measures/measurement systems identify environmental
variables and their impact on activity and participation?
6. How do activity patterns and choices (occupations),
both in everyday life and across the life span, influence
the health and participation of individuals?
Exemplars:
a. How do parents play with their children and how does
this influence the health and participation of children?
b. How do routines facilitate participation in every day
life for people with head injuries?
7. What is the impact of activity patterns and choices
(occupations), both in everyday life and across the life
span, on society?
Exemplars:
a. How does a parenting program for homeless mothers decrease
child abuse and the
tendency to violence?
b. Do personally designed activity programs for elderly
persons help improve their health and wellbeing and decrease
demands on their caregivers and social systems?
8. What are the conceptual models that explain the relationships
among body structure/body function, activity, environment,
and participation? What is the role of occupational therapy
within these models?
Exemplars:
a. Does occupational therapy at the impairment level result
in increased engagement in activities?
b. Under what circumstances does occupational therapy at
the participation level result in decreased impairment?
9. What factors contribute to effective partnerships between
consumers and practitioners that foster and enhance participation
of individuals with or at risk for disabling conditions?
Exemplars:
a. Does the use of client-centered assessment and goal setting
increase quality of life for clients?
b. Do culturally sensitive settings, materials, and language
affect the client's willingness to engage in and follow
through on recommended treatment interventions?
10. What factors support occupational therapy practitioners'
capacities to maximize the occupational performance of the
persons they serve?
Exemplars:
a. What is the nature of the clinical reasoning used by
the COTA?
b. In what ways does a client-centered occupation-based
curriculum influence intervention strategies a therapist
chooses to address in support of the occupational performance
needs of the client?
