Occupational Therapy Research Publications From 2001 to 2020 in PubMed: Trends and Comparative Analysis with Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

Abstract

A limited understanding of trends in occupational therapy (OT) research publications exists. This study aimed to evaluate trends in OT research publications, in PubMed (2001–2020), compared to physiotherapy and rehabilitation. A method of secondary analysis of publication trends in the PubMed database was used. Medical subject headings for OT, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation were combined with search filters (e.g., population age, study design, and OT practice area). Linear regressions were computed to analyze changes in yearly growth. OT research publications increased by 5.86 per year and comprised less than 2.5% of rehabilitation research publications yearly. Knowledge synthesis was the predominant OT study design (2.94% yearly increase; p < .001). Intellectual/cognitive conditions and emergent practice areas in OT research publications increased over time (both p = .007). OT research publications were relatively evenly distributed across population age. OT research publications are increasing over time but lag relative to physiotherapy and rehabilitation broadly. Our findings may inform future OT research priorities.