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The purpose of this paper is to feedback the results of a survey of paediatric occupational therapists completed by the Paediatric Advisory Group (PAG) regarding perceptions and practices of the assessment of need (AON) process. This survey was completed to gather feedback from occupational therapists about the impact of the AON process on paediatric occupational therapy practice in Ireland.

A questionnaire was developed by the authors, who were on the PAG committee, to specifically gather quantitative and qualitative information about the AON. A snowball sampling method was utilised. The results were grouped into themes related to the practices and recommendations from occupational therapists nationally.

Surveys were returned from 98 paediatric occupational therapists with a wide national geographical spread with the majority working in the HSE. The amount of time spent on AON assessments, as well as the length of reports, varied nationally. The process of how assessments were completed (unidisciplinary or multidisciplinary) and whether a diagnosis was provided was inconsistent. Concerns were raised about the negative ethical impact of the AON on service provision and intervention and the need for further training of staff along with more frequent assessment reviews. The respondents also highlighted concerns about the increasing age of the AON criteria, with no increase in resources, and they provided suggestions for improvements for the future.

The survey was sent to all AOTI and PAG members via gatekeepers and then forwarded to others, resulting in a snowball sampling technique; however, this does not represent all paediatric occupational therapists nationally as membership in these groups is voluntary.

The concerns and inequities raised in the survey regarding occupational therapy practices of completing the AON process need to be shared with relevant stakeholders both at the occupational therapy management level and in the HSE and Department of Health/Disability. The PAG will continue to highlight these concerns from their members to relevant parties and by disseminating findings in articles such as this.

Ethical concerns were raised by some members about the equity of access to interventions as a result of the AON process. The social implication of this for families and children is pertinent, particularly in the context of the increased age in the AON criteria without any increase in resources.

The PAG aims to support paediatric occupational therapists nationally and the committee often gathers feedback from members regarding concerns which affect day-to-day practice in paediatric OT. Sharing of this information with IJOT readers helps to highlight the challenges faced by paediatric occupational therapists nationally.

The assessment of fitness to drive after stroke is an emerging area of occupational therapy practice in Ireland. Despite this, little is known about occupational therapists’ evaluation practices, and there are no internationally agreed clinical guidelines to inform best practice. The purpose of this paper is to investigate occupational therapy evaluation practices for fitness to drive after stroke in Ireland.

This is a cross-sectional study design targeting occupational therapists working with people after stroke using an online survey. Summary and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the returned surveys.

In total, 47 occupational therapists participated. Off-road driving assessment was completed by 68 per cent of respondents. Functional assessment and non-driving-specific assessments were most widely used and perceived to be the most useful in informing the off-road assessment. A total of 89 per cent referred clients for on-road assessments; however, some referred without first completing an off-road assessment. The therapists who completed formal post graduate education/training in driving assessment reported greater confidence and competence in their skills and ability to assess fitness to drive. A vast majority of participants agreed that clinical guidelines regarding best practice in this area would be beneficial.

A majority of occupational therapists are assessing fitness to drive after stroke in Ireland with non-driving-specific assessments and functional observations; however, there are many gaps and wide variations between services. Education/training in evaluating fitness to drive after stroke is recommended. The development of clinical guidelines to inform practice would facilitate a consistent approach nationally.

This is the first study completed in Ireland to investigate occupational therapy evaluation practices for fitness to drive after stroke.

Reforms in the health-care system may impact how health-care professionals perceive and enact their roles. This study aims to examine the way in which occupational therapists experience and describe their roles in municipalities after the implementation of a health reform (the Coordination Act) in Norway.

This qualitative study was designed within the perspectives of social constructivism. Data was collected through focus group interviews with 10 community-working occupational therapists. A thematic framework analysis was used to examine the participants’ experiences.

The following four themes emerged: external factors that framed and shaped the occupational therapists’ roles in municipalities; the strengths and dilemmas of the generalist; the problematic generic position and the strengths; and dilemmas of the specialist.

The study suggests that occupational therapy practitioners should identify new opportunities and adapt to health reform changes. They also need to renegotiate their roles as the health reforms require more specialized competences. Greater emphasis must be placed on the core knowledge and competences of occupational therapists to strengthen their professional identity in the municipalities.

A recent paradigm-shift in patient care advocates for long-term recovery and quality of life in survivors of critical illness. Evidence suggests that occupational therapists in critical care can contribute to recovery in areas such as functional outcomes, length of stay and delirium, although poor role understanding can limit service-utilisation. The purpose of this study is to investigate current and future roles and practices of critical care occupational therapists in the UK.

Occupational therapists with clinical experience in adult critical care were invited to participate in a mixed-methods design using a locally developed online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, concurrently. Descriptive statistics were generated through SPSS. Qualitative data were analysed using the framework approach.

Twelve occupational therapists participated in the survey element, with five continuing to interview. Occupational therapists described a multifaceted role in critical care where the majority reported practice in upper limb function, seating/positioning, cognition, psychosocial sequelae and discharge planning. Role and internal characteristics impacted on service delivery. It is envisaged that earlier intervention in a greater percentage of patients, a greater evidence-base, raising awareness and adequate staffing will be features for future development.

This study provides new insight into the current role and practices of adult critical care occupational therapists in England and generates insights into their role in addressing physical and non-physical morbidity for this patient cohort. Findings are preliminary in nature; however, future research is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Role-emerging placements have been used internationally within occupational therapy education but are relatively new to Ireland. At times, there has been a debate in the profession regarding the use of this placement model. This paper aims to generate views from both occupational therapists and occupational therapy students on the use of role-emerging placements in the Republic of Ireland.

Electronic surveys were administered to occupational therapy students and occupational therapists in Ireland. Quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS Statistics software package and the content of the open question responses were analysed into themes.

Occupational therapists (n = 60) and occupational therapy students (n = 45) indicated that there were inconsistent views surrounding role-emerging placements. It is deemed as an effective method for student learning, but apprehension exists around inclusion within occupational therapy programmes in the Republic of Ireland. Preference was indicated towards inclusion of role-emerging placements on a part-time basis within formal occupational therapy education.

Both respondent groups viewed that role-emerging placements can positively influence new areas of occupational therapy practice and concern over the use of the placement model requires further exploration and debate. This study is from an Irish context, although there are similarities with other countries’ use of the placement model. There is a need for research through an in-depth exploration of the learning experience of undertaking role-emerging placements from the students’ perspective and identification of supports required to promote an optimal learning experience.

As one ages, the risk of experiencing a fall increases and poses a number of serious consequences; 30 per cent of individuals over 65 years of age fall each year. Evidence-based falls prevention programmes demonstrate efficacy in reducing the rate and risk of falls among older adults, but their use in Irish occupational therapy practice is unknown. This study aims to investigate the implementation of falls prevention programmes by occupational therapists working with older adults in Ireland.

A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data on the use of falls prevention programmes among occupational therapists working with older adults in any clinical setting across Ireland. Purposeful, convenience and snowball sampling methods were used. The Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland acted as a gatekeeper. Descriptive statistics and summative content analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

In all, 85 survey responses were analysed. Over 85 per cent of respondents reported “Never” using any of the evidence-based falls prevention programmes. The “OTAGO” Exercise Programme was the most “Frequently” used programme (9.5 per cent, n = 7); 29 respondents reported using “in-department” developed falls prevention programmes and 14 provided additional comments regarding current falls prevention practices in Ireland.

In the absence of Irish data on the subject, this study provides a benchmark to describe the use of evidence-based falls programmes by Irish occupational therapists with older adults.

Ireland’s ageing population has resulted in an increasing number of older adults living with frailty. Despite growing attention towards older adults’ and health professionals’ perspectives of frailty, occupational therapy research is limited. This study aims to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions of frailty and how their perceptions impact their approach to the assessment and management of frailty.

Using qualitative descriptive design, 19 occupational therapists working with older adults participated in online focus groups. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Perceptions of occupational therapists were constructed into three main themes: conceptualising frailty; management of frailty; and advancing frailty practice. Findings indicate that occupational therapists perceived frailty as a multidimensional concept but highlight a reluctance to use frailty terminology with patients. Findings also suggest that although occupational therapists are involved in provision of care for older adults living with frailty, the profession’s scope is not optimised in the assessment and management of frailty.

Findings provide insight into occupational therapists’ perceptions of frailty. Development of a shared understanding of frailty between clinicians and patients and enhancement of undergraduate frailty education are recommended to progress occupational therapy’s role in frailty management.

This study aims to explore which outcome measures are used by occupational therapy staff in adult social care settings in the UK, and the factors affecting use of outcome measures.

A quantitative descriptive research design was used, using a cross-sectional study to explore occupational therapy staff views on the use of outcome measures. A 38-question survey was developed on Microsoft Forms. Recruitment occurred online over a three-week period in 2021 via the social media platform “Twitter”. Results were analysed using Excel using descriptive statistics and qualitative results used thematic analysis.

Participants (n = 20) used a range of outcome measures (13) in adult social care settings in the previous 12 months. Standardised measures were used by half the sample in the previous 12 months. The Therapy Outcome Measure and Barthel Index were in most use. The breadth of adult social care practice and practical factors such as caseload and lack of a meaningful tool were found to be barriers to outcome measure use. Facilitators included service improvement, accountability, use of audit and professional occupational therapy leadership.

The overall use of outcome measures can be considered low in this setting, with manager support seen to be key to the use of outcome measures. Further research is needed to investigate nationwide use.

Training, time and manager support are key to use of standardised tests and outcome measures in the adult social care settings. The use of occupational performance measures should be considered to demonstrate unique professional impact.

This contemporary study reveals use of outcome measures within occupational therapy adult social care services in the UK, which is an under researched and under published area.

Discharge planning home visits (DPHVs) are a routine part of occupational therapy clinical practice. However, there is a dearth of evidence to support or refute their efficacy and limited policies or standards to guide clinical practice. This study aims to investigate current clinical practice during home visits and the value that occupational therapists’ attribute to home visits within an Irish context.

Data collection was carried out by using a survey questionnaire (postal and electronic options). The study population comprised occupational therapists across 52 sites including acute, rehabilitation and convalescence settings within the Republic of Ireland. In total, 122 occupational therapists that completed the survey questionnaire were recruited for the study.

Quantitative data identified time spent per visit, departmental size, hospital size, number of visits and report writing times. Information was gathered regarding clinical areas assessed during visits in a Likert scale format. Qualitative data identified benefits, risks, recommendations to improve home visit practice and clinical criteria for home visits. Findings conclude that DPHVs are routinely carried out by occupational therapists and that there is consistency in clinical practice within an Irish setting. Occupational therapists value home visits as clinical assessments and have identified risks during practice, benefits of visits and ways to improve practice.

This study has provided a reflection of clinical practice in the Republic of Ireland. It is the only study of its kind in an Irish setting, and it could be used as a knowledge base regarding current practice on DPHV and occupational therapists’ clinical reasoning regarding home visits. The information gathered in this study could influence policies regarding DPHV and could serve as a comparison to standardise practice and justify the need for DPHV.

Higher levels of participation in school are linked to greater academic performance, better health and well-being and positive long-term outcomes for young people. Evidence shows that for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), participation in school-based occupations is often restricted in comparison to their peers. Given the recent advancements towards introducing a new model of school-based occupational therapy in Ireland, this paper aims to discuss how occupational therapy can support students with EBD to increase their participation within the post-primary school context. The opinions in this paper are derived from the authors’ experience in the development of this practice in the Republic of Ireland.

The authors reviewed current literature and reflected on current practice to describe the unique role of occupational therapy in supporting students with EBD in the school environment.

Occupational therapists have potential to play a key role in school-based support for students with EBD. The authors describe how occupational therapists can promote whole school understanding of EBD and enable skill development, self-regulation, participation and school belonging, among youths with EBD. There is a significant lack of literature guiding practice in this area. Further research is required to explore professional issues and identify best practice.

This paper aims to provoke consideration of how school-based occupational therapists can play a crucial role in supporting students with EBD who are otherwise at risk of occupational injustice.