Introduction:
The United Kingdom Occupational Therapy Research Foundation provides profession-specific funding for research, but what is its impact? An exploratory study was undertaken to gather intelligence on the impact of completed projects.
Method:
Eleven grant holders were invited to complete a research impact assessment form based on the multidimensional Becker Medical Library Model. Four domains of impact were included: research outputs and advancement of knowledge, clinical implementation, community and public benefit, and economic benefit.
Results:
Eight impact assessment forms were returned (73%); these reflected grants awarded across the four funding streams, although there were no returns from grant holders receiving over £50,000. Clearly evident was that most researchers were seeking publication in a range of journals, and disseminating findings at conferences. Other notable impacts included the extent to which participants were using findings in educational activities; the apparent importance of the collaborative partnerships in terms of the clinical application of findings post project; the active engagement of practitioners and service users; and the opportunities arising for follow-on funding or projects.
Conclusion:
Capturing research impact is complex, but vital. The project provided a strong argument to adopt a prospective approach to impact reporting throughout, and beyond, the life of a grant.
Health and wellbeing outcomes are the new currency of health and social care commissioning. To explore the extent to which community equipment had an impact on the health and wellbeing outcomes of choice and control, quality of life and personal dignity, a postal survey was carried out among a sample of adults who had been prescribed community equipment by social or primary care services to meet mobility, domestic, personal care or sensory needs. A response rate of 52% (251) was achieved. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents reported that they were using all the equipment prescribed. Bathing equipment tended to be either very successful or not used at all. Of those who had used all or some of the equipment prescribed, 91% reported feeling safer and over 80% said that it made a positive difference to their independence, quality of life or ability to do things when they wanted. The provision of equipment had less of an impact on reducing the need for assistance at home, particularly from paid carers. The practice implications highlighted by the findings focus on the need to review the opportunities available for maximising effective use of bathing equipment.
This article summarises a review of the literature on carers, and describes a small qualitative study of eight individuals whose spouses had dementia. The nature of the effect of dementia and caregiving on the marital relationship suggests that carers require not only traditional services and relief care but also interventions such as validation therapy and occupational therapy.
This article is based on a student projectt which sought to investigate whether members of the medical/paramedical profession smoked less than the general public because of their greater comprehension of the risks involved, and whether there was a variation between the physically and psychiatrically based members of the profession. The questionnaire was designed around health risks and social attitudes to smoking. The hypothesis was disproved, and the psychiatrically based group was found to contain a greater percentage of smokers. Despite knowledge of the dangers, people continued to smoke.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.