Impact of Occupation-Based Groups on Occupational Performance and Satisfaction Outcomes: Pilot Study

Abstract

Occupation-based groups can be used to improve occupational performance outcomes in the inpatient rehabilitation setting. It remains unclear whether they offer comparable outcomes to occupation-based interventions delivered individually. This study aims to pilot an occupation-based group intervention and compare occupational performance, satisfaction, and goal attainment outcomes with usual care. Twenty-one participants (15 women, 6 men, aged 34–85) were allocated to control ( n = 11) and intervention ( n = 10) groups. The control group received usual care (individual occupation-based interventions), while the intervention group received usual care plus an occupation-based group intervention. The method used a pilot quasi-experimental pre- to post-intervention design with a nonequivalent control group. The primary outcome measures were the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS). No significant between-group differences were found; both groups reported statistically significant improvements with medium to large effect sizes. Pilot data suggests that occupation-based groups offered comparable outcomes to individual treatment; a larger sample size is required to draw conclusions on their impact. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( https://uat.anzctr.org.au/Default.aspx ) was accessed on November 20, 2023. Registration number: ACTRN12623001196639.