Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. This study provides a foundation for the use of an occupation-based outcome measure in conjunction with a strengths-based approach for use with persons with a diagnosed substance abuse disorder (SUD). Eighteen participants were assessed in a forensic residential treatment facility to explore the utility of the Occupational Circumstances Assessment Interview and Rating Scale. Participants also took the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths to assess character strengths. Primary Author and Speaker: Jeffrey Sargent Additional Authors and Speakers: Kristin Valdes

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this scoping review was to describe the characteristics and features of substance abuse interventions for women in North America and discuss the findings from an occupational perspective. METHOD. A scoping review was conducted to examine North American peer-reviewed literature published between 2001 and 2014. Four databases were searched using terms related to intervention, substance abuse, and women only. Descriptive statistics of categorical groupings were used to describe the data sources and characteristics and features of the interventions. RESULTS. Forty-two articles met the inclusion criteria, with the majority citing a harm-reduction approach and using multifaceted interventions with various targets for change. CONCLUSION. Substance abuse interventions for women are typically multifaceted and follow a harm-reduction philosophy. Further research into the efficacy of interventions that more specifically target occupation beyond substance use is needed.

Many factors contribute to homelessness, including extreme poverty, extended periods of unemployment, shortages of low-income housing, deinstitutionalization, and substance abuse. As a result, the needs of people who are homeless are broad and complex. This needs assessment used literature reviews, review of local documents and reports, participant observation, focus groups, and reflective journals to guide the development of an occupational performance skills program at one homeless shelter in south Florida. Through these methods, the role of occupational therapy was extended beyond direct service to include program and resource development, staff education, advocacy, and staff–resident mediation. The findings of the needs assessment and the actions taken as a result of this work point to the huge potential for occupational therapists and students to work together with staff and residents of homeless shelters.

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether maternal endocrine activation during pregnancy would affect the neurobehavioral state of primate offspring in a manner similar to that observed in human infants from pregnancies involving maternal substance abuse or maternal stress. Method. Twenty-two rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) infants were derived from females administered either adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), which increased the mother’s endocrine activity, or saline solutions for 14 consecutive days during mid-pregnancy. On days 15 and 30 postpartum, infants underwent brief separations from their mothers and were Videotaped for later evaluation of neurobehavioral state. Results. Infants from mothers administered ACTH spent significantly more time in a drowsy state than did controls (p < .04), and the increased drowsiness tended to be most pronounced during the post separation period, when acute stress was highest. In contrast, controls remained in a more active alert state (p < .03), presumably searching for their mother, a species-typical adaptive response to maternal separation. Female infants spent more time in distressed state than did males on day 15, and the proportion of time in distressed state decreased in all infants after administration of. 2 ml of 24% sucrose solution. Conclusion. The results demonstrate that neurobehavioral state alterations are found in infants from mothers with increased endocrine activity during pregnancy. Neurobehavioral state disorganization can have an adverse impact on the human infant’s concurrent and subsequent occupational performance. These findings establish the usefulness of the nonhuman primate model for advancing knowledge on early contributions to the development of human infant occupational behavior.