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Introduction: Evidence‐based practice supports clinical decision‐making by using multiple sources of evidence arising from research and practice. Research evidence develops through empirical study while practice evidence arises through clinical experience, client preferences, and the practice context. Although occupational therapists have embraced the paradigm of evidence‐based practice, some studies have identified limits in the availability and use of research, which can lead to reliance on other forms of evidence. This study aimed to understand how Australian occupational therapists use practice evidence, manage potential bias, and enhance trustworthiness. Potential use of a critical appraisal tool for practice evidence was also explored. Methods: A 42‐item questionnaire was developed to address the study aims. It consisted of a 7‐point Likert scale, ordinal and free text questions. Likert scales were collapsed into binary scales and analysed using SPSS. Ordinal data were graphed and free text responses were analysed using manifest content analysis. Results: Most respondents (82%) indicated that practice evidence was an important informant of practice and is used alongside research evidence. Almost all respondents (98%) expressed confusion when reconciling discrepancies between research and practice evidence. There was general acknowledgement that practice evidence is prone to bias (82%), yet 92% were confident in trusting their own practice evidence. Most respondents (74.5%) undertook some measures to appraise practice evidence, and almost all respondents (90%) agreed they would refer to a critical appraisal tool that helped them evaluate practice evidence. Conclusion: Occupational therapists in this study routinely use practice evidence arising from their own experience, client perspectives, and their practice context to inform clinical decision‐making. While they agreed that practice evidence was prone to bias and misinterpretation, they generally trusted their own practice evidence. Participants indicated they needed guidance to critically appraise their practice evidence and supported the development of a critical appraisal tool for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the formation of Occupational Therapy Australia Limited and its role in advocacy and policy influence. Topics include the association's efforts in lobbying against the introduction of independent assessments for NDIS funding, advocating for increased fees for occupational therapy services to veterans, and addressing the societal issue of loneliness among older adults through submissions to the Royal Commission in Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Introduction: Allied health has a valuable role in providing services to people living in residential aged care. The recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety included several important recommendations relating to the nursing, personal care, and allied health workforce and the care that they provide. The purpose of this paper is to review these recommendations and the Australian Government's policy responses and explore the emerging changes in allied health service provision in residential aged care. Methods: Data from the four available Quarterly Financial Reports from the 2022–2023 financial year were extracted and analysed in relation to staff costs and time per person per day across personal care, nursing, and allied health workers. Supplementary data sources including the 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census were accessed to provide contextual data relating to individual allied health professions, including occupational therapy. Results: The analysis shows a modest increase in median registered nurse minutes per person per day, and cost per person per day, from the first to second quarter, and again in the third and fourth. By contrast, median time and cost for allied health declined. From 5.6 minutes per person per day in the first quarter, reported allied health minutes fell to 4.6 minutes per person per day in the second quarter, an 18% decrease, and by the fourth quarter was 4.3 minutes per person per day. This is just over half the Australian average of 8 minutes reported to the RCACQS in 2019. Conclusion: Under recent residential aged care reforms, aged care providers have regulatory incentives to concentrate their financial resources on meeting the mandated care hours for registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers, and assistants in nursing. These same reforms do not mandate minutes of allied health services. Although providers of residential aged care in Australia continue to employ and value allied health, we argue that mandating care minutes for personal and nursing care without mandating the provision of allied health creates a perverse incentive whereby access to allied health services is unintentionally reduced. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Allied health has a valuable role in providing services to people living in residential aged care. The recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety included several important recommendations relating to the nursing, personal care, and allied health workforce and the care that they provide. In this paper, we argue that despite the positive intentions of some of the reforms following the Royal Commission, there have been unintended consequences that have reduced the spending on allied health in residential aged care and reduced the minutes residents receive of allied health. Consideration to mandating allied health care minutes in residential aged care should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Collaborating with consumers in designing, delivering, and evaluating curricula is an ongoing initiative within occupational therapy tertiary courses in Australia. Within the Australian educational context, consumers are involved in on‐campus educational activities. Student occupational therapists must complete 1000 hours of practice placements as part of their education. To date, no research has explored how consumers could contribute to student occupational therapists' learning during practice placements. This study aimed to explore Australian occupational therapists' perceptions of consumers providing feedback to students during practice placements. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted to engage with the diversity of practice contexts and gain a rich dataset from the occupational therapy profession. A qualitative questionnaire was developed and distributed using snowballing techniques. The questionnaire asked recipients to reflect on the risks, challenges, and benefits of consumers providing feedback to student occupational therapists from all stakeholders' perspectives. Demographic data were collated, and reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct themes. Findings: Responses were received from 81 participants. Most respondents identified as experienced occupational therapists from metropolitan locations across Australia. Reflective thematic analysis was used to construct three themes: Personal capability of consumers and students will enable, inhibit, and be developed by engaging in a feedback process; an educator‐controlled process to ensure safety for all stakeholders is required for time‐poor practice contexts; and us versus them: Shifting control to consumers can disempower practice educators. Conclusion: Engaging with consumers throughout all aspects of student occupational therapists' educational programme is required, including practice placements. New educational initiatives need to consider all stakeholders' concerns to ensure that authentic contribution from consumers is made within the various practice contexts. A co‐design approach that involves all stakeholders to develop a feedback process may result in high‐quality learning experiences that assist students to become safer, consumer‐centred health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on process of reflection about diversity, equity, and inclusion in publishing. Topics include recognising the systemic racism, biases, injustices, and prejudices experienced by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples in research; and current journal processes support bias, assumptions, injustices, and prejudices.

Introduction: In many countries, the COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in sudden changes to the delivery of health professions education in response to local and national lockdowns. Within occupational therapy, university education programs traditionally delivered in face‐to‐face classroom, and clinical settings, the transition to online learning presented unique issues and challenges for faculty and students. This study compared the experiences and perceptions of learning in two groups of occupational therapy students during the pandemic: one group converted to online learning only and the other had a blended approach that combined face‐to‐face on‐campus learning with some online lecture content delivery. Methods: Two hundred and eight (n = 208) undergraduate occupational therapy students from three Australian universities completed an online self‐report demographic questionnaire and two standardised instruments: the Student Engagement in the e‐Learning Environment Scale and the Distance Education Learning Environment Scale. An independent‐samples t test with bootstrapping was completed to examine differences in students' scores. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between the online and blended learning groups across a range of the SELES and DELES subscales. The strongest findings related to psychological motivation (p = 0.001), personal relevance (p = 0.001), interactions with instructors (p = 0.002), instructor support (p = 0.001), student interaction & collaboration (p = 0.001), and cognitive problem solving (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Occupational therapy students who transitioned to online‐only learning experienced higher levels of motivation, interactions with instructors and peers, and self‐directed learning than students who experienced a blended education delivery approach of face‐to‐face and online learning. The findings extend educators' understanding of the matrix of factors that have impacted students' education during COVID‐19 and support the development of contemporary and pedagogically sound online and traditional modes of occupational therapy instruction. The results provide evidence of the importance of well‐structured programs that facilitate active and flexible learning, provide meaningful and positive experiences, and promote initiatives safeguarding social and personal well‐being. Further research in this area is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a need for integrated and effective reablement programs to promote the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers. Method: The Sustainable Personalised Interventions for Cognition, Care, and Engagement (SPICE) Program is currently being evaluated in Canberra, Australia. SPICE is a multicomponent active therapeutic intervention delivered by allied health professionals over twelve weeks. The five components are: 1) cognitive stimulation therapy (CST); 2) carer education, support and capacity building; 3) physical activity; 4) Care of People with dementia in their Environments (COPE) program; and 5) dietary assessment and advice. Six people with dementia and their six carers participate in a small group twice per week for the CST, carer, and physical activity components, while COPE and dietary assessment and advice are completed as a dyad. Pre‐ and post‐intervention outcome measures on quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, and physical function are being collected, in addition to a program evaluation interview. After four groups have completed the protocol, the SPICE waiting‐list pilot trial will finish data collection in early 2024. Here we report on the first group to complete the program. Result: Attendance to the in‐person components of the program were 94% for people with dementia and 92% for carers. All participants completed the COPE program, and compliance with the dietary appointments was 94%. Quantitative outcome measures suggest benefits, but inferences cannot be drawn due to small sample size. Both people with dementia and carers reported high program satisfaction and perceived benefits, supporting the feasibility of the intervention. The program was rewarding for all participants, and carers felt the strategies and lessons learned had immediate benefits. The social aspects, inclusiveness, and group cohesiveness were key drivers of their satisfaction with the program. Conclusion: The results from the first group to complete the SPICE program shows that an intensive, multicomponent active therapeutic program is feasible and considered valuable for people with dementia and their carers. Findings from the pilot trial are required to confirm the results from the first group to potentially support a randomised controlled trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing body of evidence demonstrates the importance of comprehensive multicomponent, person‐centred interventions, including education and support for people living with dementia and their carers following a diagnosis of dementia. However, in Australia, people with dementia and carers frequently face challenges accessing appropriate information, care and support services to support living in the community with different stages of dementia. Method: The Sustainable Personalised Interventions for Cognition, Care, and Engagement (SPICE) program consists of evidence‐based therapeutic activities for people with dementia and carers. The project aims to recruit 24 dyads (24 people with dementia and 24 carers; four groups of six) to participate in a twelve‐week, twice per week support program using a randomised waiting‐list study design. The SPICE program intervention is delivered by allied health professionals and includes physical activity, cognitive stimulation therapy, and nutrition assessment for the person with dementia. Carers will receive support aimed to promote capacity building and self‐care, including practical strategies to manage behavioural changes. The dyad will also receive the Care of People with Dementia in their Environments (COPE) program which focuses on problem solving and goal setting in the home. Result: The primary outcome for the intervention is quality of life of the person with dementia using the health‐related quality of life (DEMQOL) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will assess cognition (Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination (ACE‐III)), neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI), health and functional ability (WHODAS 2.0), physical function assessments, carer quality of life (C‐DEMQOL), and program satisfaction of the dyad. Categorical data will be summarised using frequency statistics and visualisation. Continuous and other numerical data will be visually explored and summarised using sample descriptive statistics, selected as appropriate based on apparent distributions. Conclusion: The SPICE program has the potential to promote quality of life of people with dementia and potentially delay cognitive decline while also providing a toolkit for carers to reduce carer burden. If successful, the outcomes of the study have the potential to improve post‐diagnostic care and clinical practice for people with dementia and their carers in Australia and inform services worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Practice education is a fundamental component of health professional students' education and many personal, social and professional factors impact on students' performance. This study investigated the relationship between measures of resilience and practice education performance in occupational therapy students. Methods: A quantitative cross‐sectional study was used to collect the data. In all, 149 occupational therapy students completed a self‐report questionnaire comprised of demographic questions and two standardised scales: Resilience at University (RAU) and Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). Students' practice education performance was measured by the Student Practice Evaluation Form–Revised (SPEF–R). Multi‐linear regression analyses with bootstrapping were completed to identify resilience factors that were predictive of occupational therapy students' practice performance. Results: Overall, occupational therapy students reported high levels of resilience based on the RAU and RSA subscale scores. "Managing Stress," "Find Your Calling" and "Living Authentically" were strong predictors of a range of key fieldwork performance SPEF–R factors, including "Professional Behaviours," "Self‐management Skills," "Co‐worker Communication" and "Communication Skills." Conclusion: The resilience factors identified as being significant predictors of practice education performance outcomes in occupational therapy students represent notable findings. They suggest that students' capabilities in managing their stress levels, finding meaning in their chosen profession, and engaging self‐care daily activities outside of the work environment that are meaningful, authentic and fit with one's personal values and beliefs can act as buffers against the challenges experienced by students who are completing practice education placements. The findings will assist academic and practice educators in identifying and targeting vulnerable students and strengthening resilience strategies through proactive pre‐practice placement initiatives. Qualitative studies are recommended to further explore the relationship between resilience and practice education performance in occupational therapy students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Occupation and an occupational perspective of health and wellbeing are required to be taught in accredited occupational therapy programmes internationally. Current research into occupational therapy education has commonly focused on curriculum design and the experience of students and their developing skills for practice. Little research has focused on the perspectives of educators and in particular their own reflections and beliefs on the use of occupation in occupational therapy education. The aim of this study was to uncover Australian educator perspectives of occupation in occupational therapy education. Method: This study utilised a qualitative research framework. Eight occupational therapy educators and practice education coordinators completed semi‐structured interviews. Educators ranged in experience from two to over 20 years in the university sector. The interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim, forming the data for analysis. Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis was used to analyse the dataset. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: occupation is our framework; the balance between practice education and occupation‐centred education; and educators changing the focus. Overall, educators believed that the 'occupation for health' philosophy and its application are important foundations for education. However, educators provided varied responses on how to teach these concepts to students. Conclusion: Gaining educators' opinions on the importance of occupation in education is beneficial for ensuring consistency throughout occupational therapy curricula. Theoretical models were endorsed by educators to foster occupation‐based practice. Educators must continue to innovate within the profession for occupation‐based approaches in practice and education to be strengthened in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Academic integrity is the moral code of academia. Students who demonstrate trustworthiness in an academic setting are more likely to be dependable in a clinical setting. It is, therefore, important for occupational therapy academic and fieldwork educators to know the academic integrity profile of their students and to address any areas of academic dishonesty in curriculum design and delivery. To date, there has been no baseline description of the academic honesty profile of Australian occupational therapy students. Aim: To establish a baseline of academic integrity and academic dishonesty among occupational therapy undergraduate and graduate‐entry masters students in a cohort of Australian students. Methods: Seven hundred and one students from five Australian universities completed a self‐report questionnaire comprising demographic questions and six standardised scales measuring academic integrity. Results: Overall, occupational therapy students reported high levels of academic and fieldwork integrity; however, some areas of concerns exist. Students report copying material without citations at least once during their studies (55%), obtaining test questions at least once during their studies (42.6%) or padding out a bibliography (39.5%). Conclusion: Occupational therapy education needs to continue to emphasise the importance of academic and fieldwork integrity. Students need to be explicitly taught what academic honesty and dishonesty is and be provided with the resources and time to complete academic work to reduce the risk of academic dishonesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim The World Federation of Occupational Therapists' minimum standards state occupation and its relationship with health must be concepts covered in occupational therapy education. Therefore, it is assumed that Australian graduates have sound knowledge of the principles of occupation-based practice. In some practice settings, the link to occupation may not be explicit and graduates could face challenges to being occupation-based. The aims of this pilot study were to explore graduates' perceptions of occupation in their practice and to investigate whether graduates felt sufficiently prepared for occupation-based practice. Methods Two focus groups with eight therapists in total were employed to uncover experiences and perceptions of occupation. Themes were synthesised using Braun and Clarke's method of thematic analysis, where line by line coding was employed to inductively build themes. Results Participants believed that occupation-based practice was important but did not necessarily need to be implemented as a means of intervention. From the participants' perspective, simply striving for occupation as the end goal of therapy was acceptable. A strong focus on impairment-based practice hindered some therapists from exploring the use of occupation-based practice. For recent graduates, workplace culture was pervasive and inhibited the use of occupation. In addition, participants felt university educators did not provide an integrated or consistent approach when teaching how to apply occupation in practice. Conclusion Workplace expectations and limited power to influence practice are impeding graduates from authentically applying occupation in practice. Insights from recently graduated therapists about occupation have the potential to inform future directions of occupation-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on contribution of professor Sylvia Rodger on professional issues, opportunities identification and challenges faced by occupational therapists and discusses process of clinical decision-making. Topics discussed include Australian Competency Standards for Entry Level Occupational Therapists; evidence-based process helps to guide clinical decision-making; and effective teamwork enhances the quality of care.

Introduction Methods Results Conclusions Consumer and community involvement PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY Consumer contribution to occupational therapy student learning is mandated for Australian educational programs. However, there is limited research about how consumers contribute to student learning during practice placements. A scoping review was completed to explore the concepts of existing feedback systems for consumers to authentically contribute to student learning during practice placements.Five databases were searched for all articles up to and including July 2023. All publications were included if they described and investigated authentic contribution to student learning during a practice placement experience. Data from the results and discussion sections of the papers were transformed into qualitative data and thematically analysed to develop a conceptual understanding of consumer feedback systems.Forty‐six papers met the eligibility criteria. Most articles originated from Medicine (30%) and Nursing (45%) education. Feedback systems were primarily designed to critique student communication and professional behaviours using a variety of standardised and non‐standardised methods. Five interconnected themes were created that addressed the concepts of consumer feedback systems. The themes were (1) creating value specific for each stakeholder is essential, (2) preparation is required and nuanced; (3) consumers do engage and provide critical feedback when the system is supportive of all stakeholders; (4) gathering approaches need to be responsive to the diversity of practice and learning; (5) processing feedback with a trusted mentor is critical for learning.Consumers, academics, practice educators, and students recognised that consumers have an important role in contributing to student learning during practice placements. Future consumer feedback systems need to be co‐produced to create an optimal mode for consumers to authentically contribute to student learning constructively and safely.A consumer consultant was a member of the advisory panel for the larger research project that this review is part of and provided advice to the research team at all stages of the project.In Australia, occupational therapy training programs require input from consumers to help students learn. However, there is not much research on how consumers help occupational therapy students during their practical training. We did a review to see how existing feedback systems let consumers genuinely help students during their training. We searched five databases for research up to July 2023. We included research that talked about how consumers help all health students learn during practical training. We found 46 articles, mostly from Medicine and Nursing education. We analysed them to understand how consumer feedback systems work and found five main themes: (1) making sure everyone involved gets value out of it, (2) being prepared is important, (3) consumers give useful feedback when the system supports everyone involved, (4) different approaches are needed because practices and learning vary, and (5) discussing feedback with other people helps students learn. Current feedback systems mostly focused on how students communicate and behave professionally. Consumers, educators, and students all agree that consumers play a vital role in helping students learn during practical training. In the future, we need to work together to make feedback systems that let consumers help students in the best way possible, making sure it is constructive and safe for everyone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Findings Conclusion Occupation‐based interventions use engagement in a person's daily activities to achieve change. There is growing research into the use of occupation‐based group interventions in the inpatient rehabilitation setting. It remains unclear whether occupation‐based groups offer comparable outcomes to occupation‐based interventions delivered individually; this research will precede a clinical trial aimed at comparing these two approaches for improving occupational performance outcomes. This study details the process of co‐designing the intervention. Partnering with clinicians and patients in the design of healthcare interventions can promote patient‐centred care, enhance uptake, and improve applicability and sustainability of the intervention to that setting.A modified nominal group technique (NGT) design was applied to facilitate two meetings and an electronic survey with an expert panel of clinicians and patients. Twelve participants (n = 4 occupational therapists, n = 1 registered nurse, n = 1 physiotherapist, n = 1 occupational therapy assistant, n = 1 occupational therapy manager, and n = 4 patients) were purposively recruited. A modified approach to the technique's four stages was used: silent generation, round robin, clarification, and voting. Consensus was set at >50%. Qualitative data from group discussions were analysed thematically.All participants agreed the intervention should include patient‐centred, goal‐directed, practice of daily activities, including breakfast and lunch preparation, domestic tasks, and laundry. Other components that were agreed included where the groups could run, group size, eligibility criteria, and frequency. Key themes from clinicians included needing a goal‐directed intervention, focused on progressing towards hospital discharge; time and resource requirements were also discussed. Patients emphasised the importance of building social connections, opportunity to engage in meaningful activity, and the importance of linking participation to patient goals.Through collaboration with clinicians and patients, an occupation‐based group intervention considering the available evidence, alongside clinical, experiential, and contextual sources of knowledge was developed; this resulted in an evidence‐based, patient‐centred, and contextually relevant intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]