American Journal of Occupational Therapy

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) had another successful year reaching our highest 2-yr impact factor in history (2.813) and regaining our position as the highest ranking occupational therapy journal in the world. Our expanded social media platforms and online resources continue to expand access and help occupational therapy practitioners translate research into practice. The journal’s goals moving forward include enhancing opportunities for student involvement, enhancing standards for rigor and reporting, and updating official AJOT documents and resources to reflect best practices for bias-free language and the use of race/ethnicity data in research publications.

In 2022, the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) reclaimed its position as the top-ranking occupational therapy journal in the world, according to Journal Impact Factor. Several new AJOT initiatives are improving user access to article topics and facilitating the translation of research into practice.

We are entering an environment in which health care and public health are integrating more than ever, and discipline-specific lines are transforming into large encroaching waves of gray. We must take charge of our own story so that we do not become obsolete, so that our distinct value remains the distinct value of occupational therapy. Occupational therapy is narrative. Our own narrative grows as we experience others’ narratives. To future-proof occupational therapy and continue our momentum forward, we must be intentional about intraprofessional collaboration. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has also committed not only to discussing JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) in principle, but to taking actions to realize it, placing the Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act as a high priority and advocating for its passage with Congress. From guiding academic programs toward more diverse and inclusive missions, to addressing the burnout and current mass exodus of occupational therapy practitioners, to engaging more with both AOTA members and nonmembers in open conversation within their practice settings, this Inaugural Presidential Address offers a message of the need to honor our past so that we can embrace our present to empower our future.

No one builds their lives on remediated weaknesses. No one. Who does a deficits-based approach benefit? Those we serve, or the professional community? Do our current models of practice support flourishing? Our professional biases make it hard for us to see not only how our practice may be getting it wrong today but is also perpetuating systems that prevent us from getting it right tomorrow. A paradigm shift to a strengths-based model that interrogates the educational, research, and practice systems we work in is proposed. It is a shift that we must see, speak, and act on. Our vulnerability and willingness to rethink is our strength, which will meet the changing needs of society. This lecture will draw on literature from positive psychology, disability justice, well-being, and research that centers the voice of self-advocates.

In this Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, Dr. Kristie Patten discusses the process of preparing for the Slagle, which focuses on using a strengths-based approach in occupational therapy practice.

Importance: Interventions to reduce anxiety are needed for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant– restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Weighted blankets are one such intervention.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of weighted blankets on anxiety for patients with AN and ARFID.

Design: Randomized controlled trial conducted between November 2018 and March 2019. Patients were randomized into the control group or the intervention group.

Setting: Inpatient setting; medical stabilization unit.

Participants: Patients (N = 23) diagnosed with AN or ARFID and experiencing moderate anxiety. The majority were female (91%), with a mean age of 26 yr (SD = 9.3), and the mean length of hospitalization was 22 days (SD = 17.3).

Interventions: Control group participants received usual care, which included occupational therapy services. Intervention group participants received a weighted blanket along with usual care.

Outcomes and Measures: Mixed-effects regression models were conducted. Primary outcomes included improvement in Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores by discharge.

Results: Intervention group patients had a greater, non–statistically significant decrease in BAI score over time (B = 1.16, p = .83) than control group patients.

Conclusions and Relevance: Weighted blankets may be an effective tool for reducing anxiety among patients with AN or ARFID.

What This Article Adds: The use of a weighted blanket, in conjunction with occupational therapy interventions, is potentially a beneficial non-pharmacological option for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant–restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The current study adds an additional modality to the multidisciplinary treatment approach for eating disorders.

The findings of this study support the use of weighted blankets, in conjunction with occupational therapy interventions, as potentially a beneficial non-pharmacological option for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant–restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).

Evidence Connection articles provide a clinical application of systematic reviews developed in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA’s) Evidence-Based Practice Program and illustrate how the research evidence from the reviews can be used to inform and guide clinical decision-making. Each article in this series summarizes evidence from published reviews on a given topic and presents the application of evidence to a related clinical case. In this Evidence Connection article, we describe a case report of a college-age student receiving supported education services and outline the occupational therapy evaluation and intervention that enhanced her academic engagement as well as her health and wellness. The findings from the systematic reviews on this topic were published in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and in AOTA’s Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults Living With Serious Mental Illness.

In this Evidence Connection article, the authors describe a case report of a college-age student receiving supported education services and outline the occupational therapy evaluation and intervention that enhanced her academic engagement as well as her health and wellness.