OBJECTIVE. The Western Neuro Sensory Stimulation Profile (WNSSP) presents a hierarchy of items suggestive of a sequence of recovery. The aim of this study was to understand the sequence of recovery of neurobehavioral function in patients with brain injury and determine whether this sequence was consistent with the WNSSP test item order. METHOD. We conducted a retrospective clinical chart audit of 37 adult inpatients (mean age = 29 yr; 31 men, 6 women) with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury and a minimum of two medical record entries on the WNSSP. The sequence of recovery was statistically derived from the content and structure of the WNSSP. RESULTS. Our analysis did not support the current item ordering of the WNSSP as a function of the sequence of recovery from coma, with the exception of the Arousal/Attention subscale. CONCLUSION. WNSSP item performance suggested a sequence of recovery; clinicians may consider a revised item order that reflects this observed order.

Occupational therapy home programs are a common approach used to provide interventions for children with cerebral palsy, but there is little evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of such programs. This single-group pretest–posttest design pilot study evaluated the impact of an occupational therapy home program implemented with 20 children who had spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (ages 2–7 years, mean 3.8). We measured impact using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST). We measured participation amount through a parent self-report log. Significant changes following intervention occured in scores on the GAS, the PEDI Functional Skills and Caregiver Assistance Scales, and the QUEST, but has found no relationship between participation amount and outcome using the same measures. These promising results suggest that further investigation of the impact of occupational therapy home programs is warranted.

OBJECTIVE. To evaluate factors associated with randomized controlled trial patient recruitment by therapists. METHOD. Survey of 18 (of a possible 26) therapists who had agreed to recruit patients for a randomized controlled trial (78% response rate). RESULTS. Sixteen respondents had enrolled at least one patient. The site at which the therapist worked neither influenced the likelihood that a therapist would contact the researcher nor influenced the recruitment rate. Seventeen respondents reported that they contacted the researcher to discuss one or more of their patients for potential inclusion in the trial. Factors reported by therapists as reasons why they did not recommend the trial to eligible patients were not specific to study inclusion or exclusion criteria, rather were linked to personal judgments about patient suitability for the study. Regression analysis indicated that being enrolled or having completed master’s level postgraduate studies, and choosing not to refer patients because of concern for their poor medical prognosis were the only factors that significantly influenced recruitment rate (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION. Recruitment practices vary amongst therapists. Selection of therapists with postgraduate qualifications as recruiters may be an effective way to enhance recruitment rate.

This study examined the experience of occupational therapy clinicians who do research to illuminate factors that influenced their research, the processes involved, and the outcomes. The qualitative approach of grounded theory was used. Purposive sampling of all research-productive clinicians in acute care hospitals in one Australian city occurred. Fifteen clinicians participated in in-depth interviews that explored their experiences of research. Results were analyzed with the constant comparative method, and six conceptual categories were developed. These categories were further analyzed in terms of their relationships, and a core category that explained and synthesized the data was identified—becoming a clinician-researcher. This category encompassed a process of role change during which the person changed from clinician to clinician-researcher. Conditions for this change were identified, and three key concepts were derived to elaborate the core category. In becoming a clinician-researcher, the person was active in (a) identifying research as significant, (b) constructing actions in relation to research, and (c) evaluating the experience. The findings further the understanding of clinician-researchers through the description of their experience and the empirically based theoretical formulation that explains it.