Low levels of recruitment and retention of men in the occupational therapy profession have been a long-standing issue. This study examined the recruitment and retention of men in occupational therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand, with the aim to better understand what factors have been influencing this issue. The study employed an interpretive descriptive qualitative methodology. Focus groups were conducted with male occupational therapy students and practitioners. A thematic analysis approach was utilised. Strategies to ensure rigour and address cultural and ethical considerations were used throughout study. Two key themes emerged: Identity and Diversity. The first theme, Identity, highlighted limited public awareness about occupational therapy and its altruistic and pragmatic nature. It also drew attention to its perception as a predominantly female and white profession. These factors were identified as barriers to attracting and retaining men. Participants reflected on the transformative potential of occupational therapy, its hands-on approach to problem-solving, and the need for better promotion of the profession to appeal to men. The second theme, Diversity, addressed the lack of gender, ethnic, and cultural representation within occupational therapy. It also highlighted the advantages that greater diversity brings to practice. Participants emphasised that diverse perspectives are crucial for meeting the needs of Aotearoa New Zealand's population. The wide range of roles and career opportunities within occupational therapy were also identified as factors that could encourage more men into the profession.

This scoping review is aimed at identifying and mapping occupational therapy-related assessments and interventions reported in prospective interventional studies and case reports on distal radius fractures, including studies addressing complications. Additionally, the review sought to summarize the current evidence in this field and identify areas requiring further research. Five studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies primarily emphasized impairment-level outcomes, such as range of motion and grip strength, whereas activity, participation, occupational performance, and psychosocial aspects were addressed less frequently. Only a limited number of studies reported complications, and the included studies generally employed relatively narrow eligibility criteria. These findings suggest that existing evidence may have limited applicability to the broader population of patients with distal radius fractures, particularly those with complications. Future research should include broader patient populations and incorporate occupation-focused approaches to better address activity, participation, and occupational performance in distal radius fracture rehabilitation.

This study investigates the engagement of young persons with disabilities (YPWDs) in agribusiness in Ghana, where participation remains limited despite commitments to inclusive development. Using a mixed-methods design, the research incorporates quantitative survey data from 169 respondents (97 females and 72 males) and qualitative insights from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The findings revealed that 52.8% of currently employed YPWDs were engaged in agribusiness. These were primarily older female youth with limited formal education. Participants identified seven barriers: physical inaccessibility, stigma and discrimination, lack of land, lack of financial support, limited training opportunities, inadequate knowledge, and general disinterest in the sector. Guided by inclusive capability theory (ICT), the analysis shows how social norms, institutional gaps, and environmental factors restrict YPWDs' ability to transform interest into meaningful agricultural participation. While the findings align with global evidence on youth disengagement from agriculture, this study emphasizes the intersection of disability and age-related marginalization. It argues that addressing exclusion in agribusiness requires capability-enhancing approaches, including inclusive infrastructure, disability-responsive financing, adapted extension services, and sustained public awareness. Such measures are vital for promoting social equity and strengthening national agricultural productivity while advancing sustainable development goals.

Learning is the primary occupation of adolescents in high schools, although they engage in a much wider range of occupations at school. Recent systematic and scoping reviews from high-income countries (HICs), classified by the World Bank, with the United States as the most prominent, provide evidence to support the role of occupational therapy in school participation for adolescents with developmental, health, and environmental barriers. However, participation for high school learners in the African context differs from that of learners from an HIC context, due to the unique challenges faced by learners in Africa. These challenges include poverty, educational challenges (e.g., early school dropout and teacher shortfall), infrastructure and resource shortages, cultural expectations and inequalities (e.g., family and gender norms), conflict, and instability. A scoping review was conducted to map interventions that promote participation in schools internationally and to evaluate their suitability for the African context. The Preferred Reporting Items for Scoping Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension guidelines were used to guide this review. Sources about the nature of school-based interventions for adolescents (12-18 years) that indicated a clear link between the intervention and participation in schools, published in English (with no restriction on years) and peer-reviewed, were included. A total of 2689 studies (excluding duplicates) were identified, and 15 were included. Framework analysis was used to evaluate the suitability of interventions, including the characteristics of the evidence, community-based practice, practice approaches, sustainability, cultural norms, and spirituality. Four interventions were identified as suitable for the African context: a recovery program for adolescents with substance use disorders, a social cognitive intervention to promote social skills in adolescents with autism, a transition readiness service to promote work participation, and coping strategies to promote adolescents' mental health in schools. Recommendations were made to include spirituality when delivering interventions for adolescents in African schools.

Occupational therapy (OT) has a defined role in neurological and cognitive rehabilitation, yet empirical data describing how this role is enacted across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are sparse, uneven across countries, and rarely drawn from multicountry samples. In a context of rapidly rising neurological disease burden across the region, the absence of workforce-level evidence directly constrains workforce planning, continuing-education design, and evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation. This exploratory cross-sectional online survey aimed to profile occupational therapists working in neurology and cognitive rehabilitation across 13 MENA countries (using the World Bank MENA + Turkey, or "MENAT", regional grouping). Licensed occupational therapists with at least 1 year of clinical practice were recruited between November 2023 and January 2024 through professional OT associations, networks and social media platforms. The content-validated questionnaire was administered using Google Forms. Analyses were descriptive with Wilson 95% confidence intervals; χ[2]/Fisher exact tests and Mann-Whitney U tests examined bivariate associations; multivariable logistic regression adjusted for key covariates; reporting followed STROBE and CHERRIES. A total of 118 occupational therapists (61.0% female; 56.8% aged 20-29 years; 78.0% bachelor-level preparation; 58.5% in governmental services) from 13 MENA countries were analysed, with Kuwait (37.3%), Saudi Arabia (19.5%) and Jordan (11.9%) providing most responses. Stroke was the dominant clinical focus (92.4%). Neurodevelopmental treatment (71.2%, 95% CI 62.4-78.6), biomechanical (65.3%) and motor-control/motor-learning (63.6%) were the most commonly reported frames of reference; the Functional Independence Measure (65.3%) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (61.9%) were the most commonly reported standardised tools. Perceived EBP challenges were reported by 72.0% of respondents. Stratified analyses revealed that postgraduate-qualified respondents reported more organisational barriers than bachelor-level colleagues (73.1% vs. 45.7%, p = 0.025), private-sector respondents reported more distinct barriers overall (Cohen d = 0.54, p = 0.005), and respondents practising outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) subregion reported substantially higher rates of confidence-related and evidence-quality barriers (all p ≤ 0.008). Conference attendance was independently associated with use of motor-learning approaches (adjusted OR 3.72, 95% CI 1.44-9.58; p = 0.007). Findings identify an evidence-practice gap in the predominance of neurodevelopmental treatment and highlight structural, subregion-linked barriers to EBP across the MENA region. Strengthening organisational support, protecting time for evidence use, expanding postgraduate neuro-OT pathways, and coordinating regional workforce research and assessment-adaptation are priorities aligned with the WHO Rehabilitation 2030 workforce agenda.