Practice guidelines plan an important role in promoting high-quality care. Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Individuals With Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses gives occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and other health care professionals evidence-based guidance to care for workers who become hurt or ill on the job. These guidelines also provide an excellent reference for employers and state workers' compensation divisions in understanding the unique role of occupational therapy in rehabilitation of injured and ill workers. In 2007, American workers experienced 4 million work-related injuries and illnesses. Using concepts from the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, this guideline helps prepare occupational therapy practitioners to assist this large population and details the assessment and treatment of people with work-related injuries, including planning for returning to work. A systematic literature review synthesizes extensive research, distilling the most important parts--treatment recommendations--through reader-friendly tables. Individual evidence tables present and summarize a wide range of literature on the low back; elbow; hand, wrist, and forearm; and shoulder and apply it to occupational therapy clinical practice. Useful appendixes also summarize ICD-9-CM and CPT codes related to occupational therapy injuries and illnesses.

As occupational therapy celebrates its centennial in 2017, attention returns to the profession's founding belief in the value of therapeutic occupations as a way to remediate illness and maintain health. The founders emphasized the importance of establishing a therapeutic relationship with each client and designing an intervention plan based on the knowledge about a client's context and environment, values, goals, and needs. Using today's lexicon, the profession's founders proposed a vision for the profession that was occupation based, client centered, and evidence based--the vision articulated in the third edition of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process. The Framework is a must-have official document from the American Occupational Therapy Association. Intended for occupational therapy practitioners and students, other health care professionals, educators, researchers, payers, and consumers, the Framework summarizes the interrelated constructs that describe occupational therapy practice. In addition to the creation of a new preface to set the tone for the work, this new edition includes the following highlights: a redefinition of the overarching statement describing occupational therapy's domain; a new definition of clients that includes persons, groups, and populations; further delineation of the profession's relationship to organizations; inclusion of activity demands as part of the process; and even more up-to-date analysis and guidance for today's occupational therapy practitioners. Achieving health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in occupation is the overarching statement that describes the domain and process of occupational therapy in the fullest sense. The Framework can provide the structure and guidance that practitioners can use to meet this important goal.

The leading cause of disability in the United States is serious mental illness, which poses political, economic, and social challenges. About 26% of American adults have a mental illness, and 6% have a serious mental illness. This population is the disability group least likely to be employed, with recent unemployment estimates ranging from 35% to 62%. This Practice Guideline provides an overview of the occupational therapy process for adults with serious mental illness, defining the domain and interventions that occur within acceptable practice. It provides evidence for intervention with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, as well as those related to education and supported education, work and supported employment, community living, health and wellness, and cognition.