Occupational therapy and dysphagy among the elderly in Japan:

A literature review

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the 25 occupational therapy case reports of the elderly with dysphagy and discussed improving occupational therapy in this field. An abstract table was constructed and the contents of interventions were shown in order of appearance frequency and classified by ICF. As a result, 17 types of mind and body functions and structures, 8 types of activities and participation, and 5 types of environmental factors were classified into intervention contents. However, there was no clear OT practice for personal factors. These results suggest that the future occupational therapy should not overly focus on body function and structure, but should emphasize practices which consider personal factors.