Occupational Therapists in Patient Navigation: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

This review seeks to understand the literature on patient navigator programs (PNPs) that employ occupational therapists (OTs), including the role (conceptualization), functions (operationalization) of OTs who work as patient navigators (PNs) and the settings and populations they serve. This review also mapped the role of PNs to the 2021 Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada. Scoping review methodology by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) was employed. Data were analyzed thematically and numerically to identify frequent patterns. Ten articles were included. Within PNPs, OTs worked in hospitals and communities, but their role was rarely well-defined. Five competency domains (i.e., communication and collaboration, culture, equity and justice, excellence in practice, professional responsibility, and engagement with the profession) were evident in existing PNPs that included OTs. This review supports the increasing interest in OTs as PNs by demonstrating the alignment between the OT competencies and roles and functions of OTs working within PNPs.

A scoping review of resilience among transition-age youth with serious mental illness: tensions, knowledge gaps, and future directions.

INTRODUCTION: The study of resilience among transition-age youth (aged 16-29 years) living with serious mental illness (SMI) has provided a promising new direction for research with the capacity to explore individuals' strengths and resources. However, variability in how resilience is defined and measured has led to a lack of conceptual clarity. A comprehensive synthesis is needed to understand current trends and gaps in resilience research among this population. The purpose of the current study was to map how resilience has been conceptualized and operationalized among transition-age youth with SMI, explore resilience factors and outcomes that have been studied, and recommend areas for future research. METHODS: A six-stage scoping review methodology was used to systematically identify relevant empirical literature across multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, Scopus), addressing transition-age youth diagnosed with SMI and resilience. Topic consultation and reaction meetings were conducted to gather feedback from transition-age youth with SMI, researchers, and clinicians during the review process to enhance the applicability of the review findings. A meta-narrative approach was used to organize included studies into research traditions (i.e., paradigms of inquiry with similar storylines, theoretical and methodological orientations). Resilience factors and outcomes, and the consultative meetings, were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies met inclusion criteria (14 quantitative, 9 qualitative, 1 mixed-method). Four research traditions were identified, each contributing a unique storyline which conceptualized and operationalized resilience in slightly different ways: Stress Adaptation, Person-Environment Interactions, Recovery-Focused, and Critical and Cultural Perspectives. Resilience factors and outcomes were most commonly evaluated at the individual-level or within the immediate environment (e.g., personal characteristics, social support networks). Limited research has explored the influence of macro-level systems and health inequalities on resilience processes. Results from the consultative meetings further demonstrated the importance of health services and sociocultural factors in shaping processes of resilience among youth. CONCLUSION: The present results may be used to inform future work, as well as the development of age-appropriate, strengths-based, and resilience-oriented approaches to service delivery. Interdisciplinary and intersectional research that prioritizes community and youth engagement is needed to advance current understandings of resilience among transition-age youth with SMI.

Understanding resilience among transition-age youth with serious mental illness: protocol for a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Transition-age youth (16-29 years old) are disproportionately affected by the onset, impact and burden of serious mental illness (SMI; for example, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorders). Emerging evidence has increasingly highlighted the concept of resilience in mental health promotion and treatment approaches for this population. A comprehensive synthesis of existing evidence is needed to enhance conceptual clarity in this area, identify knowledge gaps, and inform future research and practice. As such, the present scoping review is guided by the following questions: How has resilience been conceptualised and operationalised in the transition-age youth mental health literature? What factors influence resilience among transition-age youth with SMI, and what outcomes have been studied within the context of transition-age youth's mental health recovery? METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The present protocol will follow six key stages, in accordance with Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) established scoping review methodology and recent iterations of this framework, and has been registered with Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/rzfc5). The protocol and review process will be carried out by a multidisciplinary team in consultation with community stakeholders. A comprehensive search strategy will be conducted across multiple electronic databases to identify relevant empirical literature. Included sources will address the population of transition-age youth (16-29 years) diagnosed with SMI, the concept of resilience (in any context) and will report original research written in English. Data screening and extraction will be completed by at least two independent reviewers. Following meta-narrative review and qualitative content analyses, findings will be synthesised as a descriptive overview with tabular and graphical summaries. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: University of Toronto Health Sciences Research Ethics Board approval was obtained to complete the community stakeholder consultation stage of this review. Results will be disseminated through conference presentations, publications, and user-friendly reports and graphics.

Occupational Outcomes of a Physical Activity Intervention for Post-Secondary Student Mental Health.

BACKGROUND.: Physical activity (PA) is a therapeutic approach to address post-secondary student mental health, yet the effect of PA on occupational outcomes has been understudied among students. PURPOSE.: This study (1) identified and described occupational performance issues (OPIs) among post-secondary students seeking mental health support and (2) assessed pre- and post-intervention differences in occupational performance and performance satisfaction. METHOD.: Using a single group pre-test post-test pilot study design, participants (N = 20) completed a 6-week, 1-hour PA intervention. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was administered pre- and post-intervention. FINDINGS.: The most commonly reported OPIs included academics, PA, and sleep hygiene. There were significant improvements in participants' occupational performance (mean change: 2.7, p < .001; dz = 2.28) and performance satisfaction (mean change: 3.7, p < .001; dz = 3.04). IMPLICATIONS.: Results provide an initial demonstration of the benefits of PA for occupational outcomes within a post-secondary mental health context.

Body-related self-conscious emotions and reasons for exercise: A latent class analysis.

Body-related self-conscious emotions are important predictors of exercise motivation, yet the association between body-related self-conscious emotions and reasons for exercise has not been explored. Researchers have typically examined body-related emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, pride, embarrassment, envy) in isolation, but they may interact in unique ways to predict reasons for exercise. The present study examined how patterns of body-related emotions were associated with exercise reasons. In an online survey, participants (N = 520; Mage = 35.43 ± 10.09; 57.5 % men) reported their experience of body-related self-conscious emotions and exercise reasons over the past week. Latent class analysis revealed a three-class model of emotions, resulting in a High Emotionality class (i.e., experiencing positive and negative emotions), a Negative Emotions class, and a Pride class. Individuals who experienced negative emotions about their bodies engaged in exercise for appearance reasons, while individuals who felt proud about their bodies and did not report the negatively valenced emotions reported exercising for health reasons. These findings underscore the importance of investigating how multiple body-related self-conscious emotions influence reasons for exercising. Understanding how patterns of body-related self-conscious emotions are experienced could inform future research on factors that may precede exercise motivation and increase exercise behavior.

Internalized weight stigma and the relationship between weight perception and negative body-related self-conscious emotions.

Individuals who perceive themselves as "overweight" experience higher negative body-related self-conscious emotions than those who do not. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests internalized weight stigma may be an important mediator of the relationship between weight perception and self-conscious emotions. Overcoming common measurement limitations and sampling limitations, the present study investigated whether gender moderates the associations among weight perceptions, internalized weight stigma, and negative body-related self-conscious emotions in 104 young adults (64 % women). Individuals who perceived themselves as too heavy (52 %) experienced higher body-related shame and guilt compared to those who perceived themselves as about right. Internalized weight stigma mediated these associations in women but not men, such that perceiving oneself as too heavy was associated with higher internalized weight stigma, which was associated with higher body-related shame and guilt in women. Results underscore the importance of internalized weight stigma as a potential target for intervention among women of diverse weight statuses who are prone to experiencing body-related shame and guilt.