Effectiveness of an occupational self-analysis intervention through a mobile application (OcupApp) in people with anxiety or depression: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

The main objective of this protocol is to understand the effectiveness of the use of a mobile application (OcupApp) to generate a personal self-analysis about meaningful activities in a population of adults aged between 50 and 70 years with low or moderate depression/anxiety. A randomised study will be carried out comparing the effects of the use of the OcupApp application with a control intervention on health-related quality of life, mental health, frequency of participation on meaningful activities, and perceived occupational balance. This is the first study to use occupational self-analysis in m-health to improve occupational balance, mental health, frequency of participation in meaningful activities and health-related quality of life. The app was co-created with a population whose characteristics are similar to those of the target users, and it was tested in both the intervention itself and the presentation, thus it is expected to be effective.Trial Registration Number: Clinical Trial B1-2020_25.

This is the first study to evaluate the impact of an app on occupational participation in people older than 50 years with mild-moderate anxiety and/or depressionIntroducing an occupational self-analysis app that helps people become aware of their occupations can improve health-related quality of life, mental health, frequency of participation on meaningful activities, and perceived occupational balance.OcupApp will allow people to go under occupational self-analysis process from home or any other place, maintaining the principles of the original programme.

The contribution of participation in meaningful activities on mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in the Spanish population / Contribución de la participación en actividades significativas sobre la salud mental en población española durante el confinamiento por COVID-19

Introduction: During the lockdown caused by COVID-19 in Spain, citizens had to stop performing activities in the usual way, which could have had an impact on mental health. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of participating in meaningful activitieson mental health in the Spanish population during the COVID-19 lockdown. Method:A cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered, where mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), participation in meaningful activities (Engage-ment in Meaningful Activities Survey) and socio-demographic data were assessed. A hierarchical-linear-regression was used to identify key correla-tions. Results:The participants (N= 311) reported low mental health (M= 16.12/36) and a lower level of resilience (M = 25.48). The results of the re-gression revealed that 32.6% of the variance of the GHQ was significantly explained by the living space, including an outdoor space, resilience and participation in meaningful activities. The loss of meaningful activities was significantly related to mental health, with a significant contribution when controlling for the other variables (β = -.12). Conclusion:Although experi-mental studies are needed to determine causality, this study highlights the relationship between participation in meaningful activities and mental health during the lockdown.(AU)

Introduction: During the lockdown caused by COVID-19 in Spain, citizens had to stop performing activities in the usual way, which could have had an impact on mental health. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of participating in meaningful activities on mental health in the Spanish population during the COVID-19 lockdown. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered, where mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), participation in meaningful activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey) and socio-demographic data were assessed. A hierarchical-linear-regression was used to identify key correlations. Results: The participants (N = 311) reported low mental health (M = 16.12/36) and a lower level of resilience (M = 25.48). The results of the regression revealed that 32.6% of the variance of the GHQ was significantly explained by the living space, including an outdoor space, resilience and participation in meaningful activities. The loss of meaningful activities was significantly related to mental health, with a significant contribution when controlling for the other variables (β = -.12). Conclusion: Although experimental studies are needed to determine causality, this study highlights the relationship between participation in meaningful activities and mental health during the lockdown.(AU)

Study protocol for a non-randomised controlled trial: Community-based occupational therapy intervention on mental health for people with acquired brain injury (COT-MHABI).

INTRODUCTION: The sequelae of moderate-severe acquired brain injury (ABI) encompass motor, cognitive, sensory, emotional and behavioural areas that affect meaningful occupational participation and quality of life, with a high prevalence of associated mental disorders. When the patient returns to community life after discharge from the hospital, specialised care is generally insufficient due to the lack of consideration of the dual condition of mental disorder and ABI. Since there is a negative impact on competence and thus on occupational participation, occupational therapy represents a convenient way of intervention. On these assumptions, a community-based occupational therapy protocol on mental health for people with moderate/severe acquired brain injury (COT-MHABI) is presented. It is focused on meaningful occupational participation and looks for improvement in the quality of life. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study aims: (i) to design a protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of a community occupational therapy intervention based on MOHO for patients with a dual (mental health/ABI) for improving quality of life and self-perceived occupational performance; (ii) to analyse the outcomes of occupational and social variables (occupational balance, participation level, satisfaction with occupation and performed roles and community integration) after the COT-MHABI process; (iii) to analyse the impact of quality of life on satisfaction with occupations performed by this population. A non-randomised controlled clinical trial will be performed. Patients assigned to the experimental group will receive over one year of on-site and telematic occupational therapy sessions, 16 sessions on average. Variables such as quality of life, community integration or satisfaction with occupational performance will be collected at baseline, 6, and 12 months. DISCUSSION: The needs for the dual mental/ABI population in their reintegration into the community are related to the associated deficits and to the absence of specialised services for the complexity of this patient profile. Few studies consider the coexistence of mental health and ABI issues. The COT-MHABI protocol is proposed to provide continuity to the community needs of this population, conceptualised from occupational participation, person-centred and focused on meaningful activities. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial identifier and registry name ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04586842 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04586842?term=252136&draw=2&rank=1; Pre-results; Community-based Occupational Therapy Intervention on Mental Health for People With Acquired Brain Injury (COT-MHABI).

Los efectos de tejer en grupo sobre el bienestar psicológico. Una visión desde la salud pública / The effects of group knitting on the psychological well-being. A vision from public health

Objetivos:explorar la contribución al bienestar psicológico de tejer en grupo frente a tejer individualmente y profundizar en las causas que llevan a las personas a tejer en grupo.Método: Se trata de un estudio observacional, descriptivo y retrospectivo. Un comité experto diseñó un cuestionario ad hoc para este estudio.Resultados:El cuestionario lo respondieron 644 personas tejedoras. Los resultados mostraron que la mayoría de las variables de bienestar psicológico fueron significativamente mayores en las personas que, además de tejer solas, tejían en grupo, en comparación con las que solo tejían de manera individual. Las principales causas de tejer en grupo fueron la oportunidad de obtener ideas del grupo y de enseñar y aprender de las demás personas. Conclusiones: Respaldando los beneficios de la prescripción social, tejer en grupo parece ser una fuente adicional de bienestar psicológico. (AU)

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the contribution to psychological well-being of knitting in a group versus doing it alone. Likewise looking into the different reasons why people knit in a group.Method: It is a retrospective descriptive observational study. A questionnaire ad hoc was designed by a group of experts.Results: the questionnaire was answered by 644 knitters. The results showed that most of the psychological well-being variables were significantly higher in people who were knitting alone as well as they knitted in a group, compared to those who only knitted alone. The opportunity to share ideas as to teach and learn from others were been the main causes for group knitting.Conclusions: Supporting the benefits of social prescribing, group knitting seems to be additional sources of psychological well-being. (AU)

From Clinical Practice to the Classroom. Advantages and Disadvantages of Video and Paper Cases on the Motivation and Clinical Reasoning of Occupational Therapy Students.

Case-based learning enables the application of theory to practice using real-life patient cases. The present study aims to compare the effect between video cases and paper cases on motivation for learning and knowledge acquisition to perform a clinical reasoning case exercise by occupational therapy students. A mixed-methods design was used with 120 students randomized into two groups. All students conducted a clinical reasoning case exercise on the same case, although in different presentation formats: paper case and video case. The quantitative measures of this study were the scores of motivation for learning from the Instructional Material Motivation Survey and the grades of a clinical reasoning case exercise. The qualitative part was based on the positive and negative aspects perceived by the participants. The results showed that the motivation for learning was significantly higher for the video case compared to the paper case, although there were no differences in the grades of the clinical reasoning case exercise between the two groups. The video cases were perceived as more relevant to professional practice and more informative in terms of non-verbal communication and context. In light of the results, teachers could use these two formats of presentation of cases with different objectives.

Meaningful activities during COVID-19 lockdown and association with mental health in Belgian adults.

BACKGROUND: The spread of COVID-19 has affected people's daily lives, and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people's mental health. AIM: To identify correlates of adults' mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular. METHODS: A cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey), and demographics was conducted during the first Belgian lockdown between April 24 and May 4, 2020. The lockdown consisted of closing schools, non-essential shops, and recreational settings, employees worked from home or were technically unemployed, and it was forbidden to undertake social activities. Every adult who had access to the internet and lived in Belgium could participate in the survey; respondents were recruited online through social media and e-mails. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates. RESULTS: Participants (N = 1781) reported low mental health (M = 14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (ß = -.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (ß = -.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R2 change = .092, p < .001) above control variables. CONCLUSIONS: The extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium was positively related to adults' mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.

Results of an occupational self-analysis program in people with acquired brain injury. A pilot study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of an occupational self-analysis program in people with acquired brain injury (ABI) in the areas of subjective health perception and occupational participation.Material and Method: This study explored the benefits of an occupational self-analysis program in people with ABI. The intervention group comprised 7 participants; the control group included 5 participants. Outcomes were measured using the SF-36 Health Survey and the Role Checklist. The contents of solicited participant diaries and a focus group discussion were also analyzed.Results: Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed statistically significant improvements in the SF-36 energy/fatigue subscale. The qualitative analysis revealed that participants in the intervention group increased their occupational participation in activities of daily living (ADL), social involvement, and leisure.Conclusion: The program helped participants improve their health perception and increase their occupational participation through learning about their supports and barriers for engaging in meaningful activities.