Development and Content of a School-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention for Promoting Emotional Well-Being in Children

Abstract

The development and content of an occupational therapy intervention promoting emotional wellbeing, for children with subclinical anxiety, is described. Development and trialling followed a four-step process: (1) reviewing theory; (2) reviewing evidence; (3) incorporating expert opinion; (4) trialling. The intervention consists of eight group sessions, led by an occupational therapist, over 8 weeks of an academic term. It is proposed outcomes will be achieved by providing children with knowledge about health promoting occupations and how to participate in, balance and sustain these. This paper offers a guideline for the development and description of similar interventions to facilitate more robust evaluation of clinical practice.

Developing and trialling a school-based ovulatory-menstrual health literacy programme for adolescent girls: a quasi-experimental mixed-method protocol

“…The panel’s first task will be to inform the development of the intervention by collecting their feedback on how the intervention can:Be mapped to the mandated Health & Physical Education curriculum for Grades 9 and 10 (ages 13–16 years) in Western Australia 27Incorporate the whole-person framework for the following dimensions of a human being: spiritual, physical, intellectual, social and emotional.Address the needs of:The primary target group (such as materials and the format, number and length of class sessions, which the literature for school-based menstrual health and well-being promotional interventions will have preliminarily indicated) 50–52The secondary target group (such as material guides and a professional support and development plan).…”

“…Address the needs of:The primary target group (such as materials and the format, number and length of class sessions, which the literature for school-based menstrual health and well-being promotional interventions will have preliminarily indicated) 50–52The secondary target group (such as material guides and a professional support and development plan).…”

“…The primary target group (such as materials and the format, number and length of class sessions, which the literature for school-based menstrual health and well-being promotional interventions will have preliminarily indicated) 50–52…”

Cluster‐randomised controlled trial of an occupational therapy intervention for children aged 11–13 years, designed to increase participation to prevent symptoms of mental illness

“…The intervention is a manualised, occupational therapy group intervention: Kia Piki te Hauora: Uplifting our Health and Wellbeing (Tokolahi et al., ). The intervention is designed to use engagement in developmentally appropriate activities to promote mental health and wellbeing by enabling students to understand the relationship between what they do and how they feel/think; to understand how activities in which they engage influence their identity, self‐concept, health and wellbeing; to practice and develop strategies for overcoming difficult emotions; and to apply this knowledge in building and designing healthy routines, behaviours and habits in their day‐to‐day life that support self‐esteem and participation.…”

“…The occupational therapy intervention evaluated in this study is named Kia Piki te Hauora, which loosely translates from Māori to English as ‘Uplifting our Health and Wellbeing’. The intervention is focused on increasing participation in daily occupations to prevent symptoms of mental illness, in the context of this study this specifically refers to symptoms of anxiety, depression, low self‐esteem and poor participation (described in more detail in Tokolahi, Hocking, and Kersten ()). The intervention was delivered by an occupational therapist with groups of 7–12 children from Years 7 and 8 (ages 11–13 years): this is a discrete age bracket in the Aotearoa New Zealand educational system known as ‘intermediate’.…”