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Welcome to Volume 87 of BJOT . This month , we ’ ve grouped our research into themes and you can read all our peer-reviewed articles at https :// journals . sagepub . com / home / bjo or scan the QR code .
Practice-based placement learning
This first issue of 2024 kicks off with an editorial by Lisa Taylor , which emphasises the importance of practice-based placement learning and innovation for the professional identities of occupational therapists , and their need to support workforce development and preparing graduates for the future landscape of occupational therapy , while mitigating placement capacity challenges .
Bringing therapy home
The randomised clinical trial in this issue , by Hamid Dalvand et al , explores the effectiveness of home modifications on the risk of falling in older adults with dementia and found that modifications reduced the risk .
The study confirms the effect of home modifications on the risk of falling in older adults with dementia and emphasises the importance of using it as a complementary intervention to other rehabilitation services .
A further qualitative study on close relatives ’ perspectives of everyday activities at home for older adults repeatedly readmitted to hospital , by Marie Jönsson et al , found that social needs , are just as important to assess at discharge as medical and functional needs .
It concluded that close contact with relatives was important for the ability to perform everyday activities after discharge and that older readmitted adults were not always capable of maintaining social activities at home .
Editor ’ s choice
Janet L Poole et al , in their research , studied the strategies used by people with systemic sclerosis to perform valued occupations . It found that while those with systemic sclerosis use adaptive strategies to perform valued life activities , the strategies most frequently used , such as taking more time or limiting the frequency of performing some activities , may result in relinquishing other valued activities .
International research
A study exploring perceptions about positive mental health among university students from Southern India from an occupational perspective is published by Hasti Divecha and Vinita Acharya .
The findings suggest that students were mindful of the significance of the presence or absence of positive mental health , and they valued the role of daily habits and routines in maintaining it . It also suggested future intervention programs for positive mental health should be developed by integrating an occupational perspective .
The Role Checklist is used by occupational therapists to assess retirees ’ roles to identify their current roles ’ satisfaction and anticipation . In their study , Mohamad Qayum Mohamad Sabri et al , translated and cross-culturally validated the Role Checklist into the Malay version , as Malaysian culture and language differs from the origin of the Role Checklist .
So Sin Sim et al , studied caregiving occupations , health and wellbeing of Chinese mothers of children with disabilities living in Australia , Singapore and Taiwan , using an online survey .
The caregiving occupations of these mothers appeared to have influence on their health promoting occupations , mental health and well-being . A stronger influence from cultural similarities of mothers than the differences in their contextual environments on their occupations , health and well-being was noted . The importance of the cultural understanding of therapists when working cross-culturally was highlighted .
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February 2024 OTnews 13