Occupation-focused intervention for in-patient mental health settings: Pilot study of effectiveness

Lena Lipskaya-Velikovsky; Terry Krupa; Ilana Silvan-Kosovich; Moshe Kotler

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.03.004

Occupation-focused intervention for in-patient mental health settings: Pilot study of effectiveness

J Psychiatr Res. 2020 Jun:125:45-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.03.004. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Authors

Lena Lipskaya-Velikovsky¹, Terry Krupa², Ilana Silvan-Kosovich³, Moshe Kotler⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Health Profession, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv, 6139001, Israel. Electronic address: elenalip@post.tau.ac.il.
² School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Louise D Acton Building, 31 George St, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada. Electronic address: terry.krupa@queensu.ca.
³ Beer Yaakov- Ness Ziona Mental Health Center, Derech Haim 1, P.O.B. 1, Beer Yaakov, 7035001, Israel. Electronic address: ilana.silvan@gmail.com.
⁴ Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv, 6139001, Israel. Electronic address: moshe.kotler@beerness.health.gov.il.

PMID: 32203739
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.03.004

Abstract

Purpose: Participation in meaningful occupation is associated with recovery in serious mental illnesses, however, few evidence-based, occupation-focused interventions for hospital settings exist. This study investigated the effectiveness of "Occupational Connections" (OC), a manualized, short-term, group intervention, addressing issues in daily-life occupations' participation and functioning of people with serious mental illness as early as during hospitalization.

Methods: Thirty-three inpatients with schizophrenia completed single-blind, pre-post study procedures (up to 10 weeks) in two groups: OC group intervention and open leisure activity group (control condition), in addition to treatment as usual. They were assessed for occupation and participation dimensions, perceptions of services as recovery-oriented, comprehensive cognitive functioning and schizophrenia symptoms. The sampling was convenience with sequential group allocation.

Results: Improvements were found in the study group in the following measurements: intention to participate in daily activities (t(15) = -2.62, p < .05), participation diversity (t(15) = -2.11, p < .05), experience the recovery orientation of the service (t(15) = -3.15, p < .01), functional capacity (t(15) = -3.44, p < .01), cognitive abilities of language understanding, memory and shifting (-4.5<t(15)<3.3, p < .05), and schizophrenia symptoms (positive, negative and general: 8.47<t(15)<9.12, p < .01). The control group has improved on attention (t(16) = -2.89, p < .05), visual-motor organization (t(16) = 2.14, p < .05) and schizophrenia symptoms (4.4<t(16)<6.6, p < .01) only.

Conclusions: The study provides initial evidence for the effectiveness of OC. The results suggest that interventions with a focus on personal, meaningful daily life occupations such as the OC, may be a useful tool contributing to a positive experience of the in-patient staying and successful community reintegration after acute psychiatric hospitalization.

Keywords: In-patient settings; Intervention effectiveness; Mental illness; Participation; Recovery.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Mental Health*
Occupations
Pilot Projects
Schizophrenia* / therapy
Single-Blind Method