Occupation-based groups can be used to improve occupational performance outcomes in the inpatient rehabilitation setting. It remains unclear whether they offer comparable outcomes to occupation-based interventions delivered individually. This study aims to pilot an occupation-based group intervention and compare occupational performance, satisfaction, and goal attainment outcomes with usual care. Twenty-one participants (15 women, 6 men, aged 34-85) were allocated to control (n = 11) and intervention (n = 10) groups. The control group received usual care (individual occupation-based interventions), while the intervention group received usual care plus an occupation-based group intervention. The method used a pilot quasi-experimental pre- to post-intervention design with a nonequivalent control group. The primary outcome measures were the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS). No significant between-group differences were found; both groups reported statistically significant improvements with medium to large effect sizes. Pilot data suggests that occupation-based groups offered comparable outcomes to individual treatment; a larger sample size is required to draw conclusions on their impact. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (https://uat.anzctr.org.au/Default.aspx) was accessed on November 20, 2023. Registration number: ACTRN12623001196639.
Keywords: occupation; occupational performance; rehabilitation.
Do People Improve in their Everyday Activities in Hospital Rehabilitation When Practicing in a Group with Others?When in hospital for rehabilitation, people may practice some of their everyday activities with their occupational therapist. For example, they might practice preparing a meal, doing their laundry, or washing dishes. We wanted to know if practicing in a group with others had the same effect as practicing these everyday activities with just their occupational therapist.This research took place in a rehabilitation hospital in metropolitan Australia. Patients were aged 34 to 85 years and had a range of health conditions, which required an admission to a rehabilitation hospital to support their recovery and return home. Results from this study suggest that regardless of how this practice occurred (individual or group-based), patients improved their ability to perform their everyday activities. This study included a small number of participants (21 in total). Further studies with larger numbers of patients would be required to have greater confidence in the results observed. This study contributes to the growing evidence for practicing daily activities in a group with others.