Occupational therapists' understanding of supporting physical activity participation when working with children and adolescents: A national survey

Abstract

Introduction Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor to disease and mortality. Despite the recognised benefits of physical activity, over half of the Australian population are not sufficiently active. For individuals with a disability, inactivity rates are further increased placing them at a higher risk of the negative effects of physical inactivity. Developing healthy lifestyle habits such as physical activity participation in early childhood has been found to be supportive of health behaviours being maintained into adulthood. Physical activity is an occupation said to involve the complex interaction between psychological, social, environmental, and physical factors placing it within the scope of occupation therapy. However, limited research is available exploring what this role looks like in practice. Method An online, anonymous survey was developed to better understand how Australian occupational therapists understood physical activity participation, as well as their current and potential role in facilitating regular physical activity participation with their clients. All registered Australian occupational therapists were eligible to participate in this survey, which consisted of both closed and open answered questions. Results A total of 43 occupational therapists registered to practice within Australia completed the survey. All participants viewed physical activity as an important occupation for maintaining the health and well‐being of their clients. Participants described the holistic role occupational therapists could play supporting physical activity participation outside of motor skill development. Therapists identified several ways in which a family‐centred, occupation‐based approach could be used to support sustained engagement in physical activity. Conclusion The findings from this study contribute to our understanding of the role occupational therapy can play supporting physical activity participation for children and adolescents. This sparsely researched area requires more evaluation to ensure intervention is delivered in a way that is most effective.

Pattern of lifestyle behaviors and associated risk of being bullied at schools: A latent class analysis of 25,379 adolescents in Jiangsu Province of China

“…Such differentiation highlighted the necessity to establish targeting behavioral components in the anti‐bullying programs for adolescents to meet their needs in the real world. Multidimensional behavioral intervention strategies are encouraged, for example, integration of sustainable engagement in physical activity (Hill et al, 2022) and a school‐based sleep promotion program (John et al, 2016) to reduce bullying victimization.…”

Understanding the occupational role of dog ownership through the lens of attachment theory: A survey study

“…Instead, the quality of the perceived relationship with the pet dog was consistently linked with the level of care provided and perceived closeness to the dog. Although pet care has been found to sit in the scope of occupational therapy, limited information is available to therapists on how to best support clients within this occupational role (Hill et al, 2022). Understanding pet care through the lens of attachment theory may offer some guidance.…”

“…We are seeing animals being incorporated into therapy sessions (animal-assisted therapy) (Hill et al, 2019), as well as seeing an increase in occupational therapists supporting clients to access assistance dogs (Chan et al, 2021). Pet care has also been recognised as an instrumental activity of daily living (Hill et al, 2022). Despite research to better understand how occupational therapists might incorporate therapy/assistance dogs into their practice, little is understood about the potential occupational therapy role in supporting clients to care for their pet dogs.…”

“…Despite research to better understand how occupational therapists might incorporate therapy/assistance dogs into their practice, little is understood about the potential occupational therapy role in supporting clients to care for their pet dogs. In a study by Hill et al (2022), occupational therapists reported that they believed occupational therapy had a role in assessing clients' functional capacity to care for a dog and assisting clients to provide this care. Few, however, had personal experience of providing this support, and many were unclear what this role would look like in practice.…”

“…With increasing interest in the role occupational therapists can play in human-animal interaction, there is a need to better understand how occupational therapists might best support their clients to care for their pets (Hill et al, 2022). Developing an understanding of the human-dog relationship and successful owner-dog pairing may guide interventions to improve our clients' ability to care for their dog, thereby optimising the benefits of pet ownership.…”