Introduction: Occupational therapy is emerging as a profession within the context of emergency care, specifically within emergency departments. Emerging professional practice should be underpinned by an evidence base supported by research. As such, this critical review examines, analyses and summarises published and unpublished research concerning occupational therapy in Emergency Departments in order to support emerging practice. Method: Research evidence was sought from database platforms, the Internet and grey sources by searching using key words and search terms. Critical analysis of each piece of evidence was undertaken and the analyses were synthesised into a critical review of the literature. Results: Twenty-three potentially relevant papers were found, 16 met the criteria for further inclusion and seven were critically analysed. The quality of the papers varied and often lacked sufficient methodological detail for robust review. Although not all study sample sizes were small, variable methodological quality means findings can only be taken into professional practice with caution. Conclusion: Based on current evidence, there can only be a limited understanding of occupational therapy, including practice models and efficacy, within emergency departments at this time. There is a need for large-scale, well-designed research studies of occupational therapy within emergency departments.

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The literature on academic writing in higher education contains a wealth of research and theory on students' writing, but much less on academics' writing. In performative higher education cultures, discussions of academics' writing mainly concern outputs, rather than the process of producing them. This key component of academic work remains under-theorized, and the exact nature of the challenge of academic writing is understated at best and misunderstood at worst. This paper offers a new approach to academic writing, based on a transactional and a systems model, which aims to understand academic writing practices. This paper offers a new explanation of the challenge of academic writing, defining factors that enable and inhibit academics' writing. ARTICLE HISTORY

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While the benefits of breastfeeding are well established, few Scottish women exclusively breastfeed, as recommended nationally and internationally. Breastfeeding peer support can help mothers to breastfeed for longer, but the training peer supporters receive is variable and few studies have measured the effectiveness of peer supporter training. This study aimed to compare mothers' attitudes towards and knowledge of breastfeeding before and after undertaking Breastfeeding Network (BfN) peer supporter training. This study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate levels of breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes in 28 women, immediately before and after the BfN peer supporter (Helper) training programme. Data were collected using the Infant Feeding Questionnaire. Mothers had high baseline scores for attitude (88.8%) and knowledge (76.4%). After training 78% of mothers improved their attitude scores. The mean difference in attitude scores was 4.9%, which was statistically significant (t = 4.44, P < 0.001). Ninety-six per cent of mothers had increased their knowledge scores. The mean difference in knowledge scores was 10.4%, which was statistically significant (t = 6.25, P < 0.001). This study provides evidence that the BfN's accredited peer support training can improve both breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of breastfeeding mothers. Peer supporters who have undertaken this training are therefore suitably qualified to provide mothers with the support and information required to make informed choices in breastfeeding and to contribute to effective support and promotion of breastfeeding as suggested in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline on maternal and infant nutrition (PH11) and Scottish Government's Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action (2011).