This research investigated safe driving for post–stroke/brain injury patients who had tried to resume driving. Using a questionnaire, we obtained 80 responses from patients who had passed the real driving test; 59 drove without incidents, while 21 experienced accidents and/or violations. No statistically significant data comparing the neurocognitive performances between these 2 groups were collected, retrospectively. However, only the non–incident group showed a significantly shorter driving time per week after resuming driving compared to before onset of disease (p<0.05). We conclude that driving without incidents after cerebral stroke or brain injury can be sustained with appropriate adaptation to a lifestyle with automobiles. It is important for occupational therapists to advise patients to limit driving before the onset of brain fatigue and to consider transportation alternatives in order to prevent long drive and excessive frequent short–time driving.

The purpose of this study was to clarify predictive factors associated with home discharge in terminal cancer patients, thus providing a useful perspective in rehabilitation settings. The demographic and clinical data, and the Functional Independence Measure and Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI） were collected from the medical records

of 102 terminal patients. The factors of home discharge were investigated using logistic regression analysis based on admission variables, and the cutoff value was estimated. The PPI and the presence of other family members besides a primary family caregiver were found to be the significant contributing factors of home discharge. The optimal cutoff value for the PPI was 4. These findings support that change in ADL based on life prognosis is important in rehabilitation for home discharge, and that PPI score and family structure could be useful information when addressing the prompt discharge support for terminal cancer patients.

This study conducted a scoping review to identify the content and outcomes of occupational therapy interventions for people with mental disorders from the early stages of their hospitalization in Japan. Ten case reports and four interventional studies were identified by both database and hand search. Early occupational therapy for people with mental disorders often began in the second or third week of hospitalization and lasted from two to three months, and most of the assessments were related to psychiatric symptoms, occupational performance, and interpersonal interactions. Interventions aimed at improving cognitive psychological functioning, health management skills, activities of daily living, and social adjustment skills were implemented–most of them as individual interventions. The main outcomes were improvements in psychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, functional independence, and motivation, but the purpose of the group program was unclear, and there was a lack of reports on the outcomes of the occupation. Future studies should clarify the purpose of the group program and verify the effect on the occupation.

This study aimed to conduct a scoping review on occupational therapy practice in both critical and intensive care environments in Japan, clarify the actual situation of occupational therapy, and obtain suggestions. We performed a search by Journal of Health Care and Society, CiNii, a hand search by Google, and screened according to the selection criteria. Eight documents were extracted. The evaluation index used by occupational therapists consisted of four items: physical function, cognitive function, psychological function, and ADL. In addition, I did OT practice for the above items, as well as IADL and Environmental adjustment. In recent years, occupational therapy reports have been on the rise. It is expected that the number of occupational therapy reports will continue to increase and their usefulness will be verified.

This study aimed to clarify the differences in ratings performed by protectors and supporters of children with and without autism spectrum disorder who attended rehabilitation and investigate how they focused on characteristics for the development of handicapped children. The participating children were evaluated by both protectors and supporters using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient for Children, and the results showed significant rating differences between protectors and supporters in the social skills scores. Therefore, it is possible that protectors and supporters perceive the children from different viewpoints, suggesting that information exchange between the two groups is necessary, including social skills that are differentially rated in children with autism spectrum disorder.

In this prospective study, we investigated whether 130 patients (105 females, mean age 82.1±7.8 years) admitted to our hospital after hip fracture surgery were independent in nighttime excretion-related activities at the time of discharge from the hospital and the factors associated with such independence. The results of this study showed that 96 patients (73.8%) were independent in nighttime excretion-related activities at the time of hospital discharge. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the degree of independence, and the following factors were identified as significant: higher score of activities of daily living, higher cognitive function, higher balance function, and no incontinence. Prediction of the patients’ independence in nighttime excretion-related activities at the time of hospitalization enables us to consider not only functional recovery, but also the necessity and timing of care guidance and support for smooth home transition from the early stage.

Background: EBP knowledge and skills are needed to provide effective occupational therapy to efficiently and effectively achieve meaningful work for clients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a new EBP self-assessment (EBPSA) for occupational therapists in Japan. Methods: A questionnaire was sent out by mail to 1,216 occupational therapists working in convalescent rehabilitation wards in Japan. Results: A total of 531 occupational therapists (43.7% response rate) responded, which included 515 valid responses. Factor analysis was conducted, and 14 items with 4 factors were extracted. The model goodness of fit was CFI=.972, TLI=.965, and RMSEA=.048. Cronbach’s α for the subscales and the overall scale were all greater than .80. Other analyses using item response theory and examinations of discriminant validity and convergent validity were also generally favorable. Conclusion: The EBPSA was conducted with good scale characteristics, and future studies will examine the test-retest reliability of the EBPSA and to study its transferability to new participants, domains, and occupations, as well as the reproducibility of the factor structure.

This research reveals how occupational therapists (OTs) think and how OTs perceive their specialty when considering home adaptation (HA) for older persons through interviews with 8 OTs. Interview data were analyzed using Parse’s phenomenological study. We found that OTs regard IADL, leisure activities, and support for social participation as OT’s specialty in addition to ADL and mobility. On the other hand, it became clear that there are various restrictions and issues that make it difficult for OTs to demonstrate the expertise that OTs perceive in housing renovation, and that OTs are seeking a feasible method under such circumstances. Our results suggest that in order to support IADLs, leisure activities, and social activities among the elderly, it is necessary to indicate the relationships between these elements and health, as well as to indicate the special relationship between the OT and health. It is necessary to clarify the OTs’ specialty and how to demonstrate their specialty.

Recent studies indicate that rest reduces joint pain in rheumatic hands. The effectiveness of the darts throw motion has also been reported as an exercise therapy for contracted hands. Thus, we devised a new artificial muscle-type dynamic traction splint (DTSaM) that has both fixation and correction functions. The DTSaM incorporates the McKibben-type pneumatic rubber artificial muscle, whose excellent tension has been used as the power source for the orthotic part until now and coexists with the darts throw motion. Therefore, the authors used this splint on patients with rheumatism. In the current case, the range of motion, pain, and grip strength were significantly improved 8 weeks after the patient started wearing the splint. This splint may be an effective assistive device for pain relief.

A tactile pressure discrimination task was used in combination with a goal-sharing approach for a patient who presented with somatosensory abnormalities after artificial knee joint replacement (TKA). After about five weeks of intervention, the degree of somatosensory abnormalities improved and pain intensity decreased. The intervention in this case suggests that it may be useful to combine appropriate therapeutic interventions based on the results of the evaluation based on a complex evaluation after TKA.

The case was a third-grade elementary school student with difficulty reading and writing, especially Kanji. Rehabilitation prioritized the environmental improvement approach utilizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which resulted in less refusal to write. Using an adaptive approach tailored to the cognitive characteristics of this case, she learned kanji writing skills. In addition, with two years of continuous support, she became able to summarize her own characteristics and the support she wanted by inputting Roman characters using a personal computer. However, no concrete cooperation was reached on the school side, and there remained a problem in cooperation between medical care and education.

A 3D printer-fabricated writing aid was provided to a stroke patient who infrequently used his paralyzed hand in daily life. Gradual modifications were made according to the improvement of paralyzed hand function. The patient was encouraged to keep a diary with his paralyzed hand using a self-help device. As a result, improvement beyond the minimum clinically meaningful change in upper extremity function assessment was achieved. In addition, the satisfaction evaluation of the welfare equipment showed high satisfaction with the 3D printer self-help device with modifications according to the improvement of the upper-limb function of the case. These results suggest that the strategy of changing the shape of self-help devices in response to changes in upper-limb function is a useful tool in upper-limb function training.

This study aimed to evaluate the operating skills of a mobility scooter using observation and operation logs from a drive recorder and clarify the usefulness of the operation logs by comparing the evaluation methods. The operating skills of seven older adults were assessed by observation and operation logs during test course driving. The results revealed that the observation provided a comprehensive assessment of the task difficulty and the number of failures, while the operation logs provided a quantitative assessment of the characteristics of steering wheel and speed adjustment operations. In addition, the operation log suggested the possibility of detecting dangerous driving that could lead to an accident. The evaluation system using observation and operation logs is considered an effective method that complements both types in the evaluation of operation skills. This result can be applied to develop an evaluation system that is used in real-life environments.