# Occupational Sciences

**Source**: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/hls/groups/occupational-science
**Parent**: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/engage-and-innovate/consultancy

Group Leader(s):
[Dr Jackie Parsonage-Harrison](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/profiles/staff/jackie-parsonage-harrison)

Contact:

[jparsonage@brookes.ac.uk](mailto:jparsonage@brookes.ac.uk)

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## About us

We are a multidisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, and lecturers, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and colleagues from allied disciplines. Our work is underpinned by a shared commitment to occupational science, a field concerned with understanding and evidencing the relationships between people’s everyday occupations and their health and wellbeing.

We conduct high-quality, health-related, occupation-centred research that advances the occupational science evidence base, informs theory, and translates knowledge into clinical and practice contexts. Our research explicitly addresses real-world challenges, supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of occupational therapy interventions across diverse health and social care settings.

Our core research activity focuses on:

- Developing and delivering occupational therapy interventions underpinned by occupational science.
- Working in partnership with others, especially clinicians, in clinical practice-related research.
- Occupational science-specific studies to explore and develop knowledge about occupation and its relationship with health.

### Part of

- [School of Sport, Nutrition and Allied Health Professions](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/shssw "School of Sport, Nutrition and Allied Health Professions")
- [Centre for Movement, Occupational and Rehabilitation Sciences (MOReS)](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/hls/centres/mores)

### Related courses

- [Occupational Therapy (Pre-registration) (MSc)](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/occupational-therapy-pre-registration)
- [Occupational Therapy (BSc (Hons))](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/occupational-therapy)

## Leadership

### Dr Jackie Parsonage-Harrison

- [jparsonage@brookes.ac.uk](mailto:jparsonage@brookes.ac.uk)

Elizabeth Casson Research Fellow

[View profile  for Jackie Parsonage-Harrison](https://www.brookes.ac.uk/profiles/staff/jackie-parsonage-harrison)

## Core research activities

As dynamic team, we undertake a variety of healthcare-related qualitative research studies. Examples include:

- A novel application of breadth and depth methodology to explore clinic reports on daily activity, identity, and wellbeing from carers of patients referred to a specialist brain clinic.
- A qualitative evidence synthesis of peer-reviewed published qualitative research exploring perceptions of adolescents and young people aged 11 to 25 years, with and without diagnosis on the factors/ determinants that influence (engagement and participation) physical activity.
- A collaboration with [Lund University](https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/mona-eklund) to increase research capacity in occupational science and intervention development. Including introducing the evidence-based Intervention Balancing Everyday Life in the UK. (adult mental health).
- An exploration of health care students’ experiences, views and attitudes towards environmental sustainability.\
- Views, practices, experiences and priorities of HLS academics in relation to embedding planetary health and environmental sustainability within programme curricula.
- Environmental sustainability.

## Key publications

### 2025

- Knight R, Demkowicz O, Sprecher E, Gomez Bergin A, Marzetti H, Petersen K, et al. Meeting of minds: imagining the future of child and youth mental health research from an early career perspective. BJPsych Bull. 2025:1-7.
- Caravale B, Di Norcia A, Boiani A, Giannini MT, Baldi S, Rava L, et al. Development and psychometric properties of the Italian little developmental coordination disorder questionnaire (LDCDQ-IT). Res Dev Disabil. 2025;158:104923.
- Murray F, Hess KY, Rihtman T. Environmentally sustainable person-centred care: Occupational therapy students' attitudes, perceptions and self-perceived preparedness for practice. Australian occupational therapy journal. 2025;72(1):e12998.

### 2024

- Parsonage-Harrison J, Dawes H. Using intervention mapping to develop an occupational therapy informed intervention for adolescents experiencing mental health difficulties. *British Journal of Occupational Therapy*. 2024;87(12):730-741. doi:[10.1177/03080226241269228](https://doi.org/10.1177/03080226241269228)
- Parsonage-Harrison J, Eklund M, Dawes H, [A Delphi method investigation to prioritise activity-related determinants thought to affect mental health in adolescent populations](https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13512)\
  *Early Intervention in Psychiatry* 18 (9) (2024) pp.720-730 ISSN: 1751-7885 eISSN: 1751-7893 [A Delphi method investigation to prioritise activity-related determinants thought to affect mental health in adolescent populations Open Access version on RADAR](https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/acb4bbc1-0320-4aeb-8ac4-8d30613c52d5/1/)
- Eklund M, Parsonage J, Argentzell E, Occupation- and lifestyle-based mental health interventions – A hallmark for the occupational therapy profession? British Journal of Occupational Therapy [online first] (2024) ISSN: 0308-0226 eISSN: 1477-6006

### 2023

- Collett, J., Brusco, N., Cordell, N., Cockroft, A., Lawrie, S., Coe, S., Reed, A., Dawes, H., (2023). "Lost employment potential and supporting people with Parkinson’s to stay in work: insights from a Pan European cross-sectional survey." Disability and Rehabilitation 45(5): 832-839.
- Ezekiel, L., Veiga, J., Ward, T., Dawes, H., Collett, J. (2023). “Exploring the usability of a smartphone application to monitor fatigue and activity for people with acquired brain injury”. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 0(0).
- Hess K, Rihtman T, (2023) 'Moving from Theory to Practice in Occupational Therapy Education for Planetary Health: A Theoretical View'. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 70 (4) pp 460-470
- Khalafbeigi, M., Yazdani, F., Genis, F., Hess, K.Y. and Kirve, S. (2023), "Invisibility and diagnosis stigma: disabling factors for female adults with myalgia encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in a small-scale qualitative study in England", Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print
- Parsonage-Harrison J, Birken M, Harley D, Dawes H, Eklund M. A scoping review of interventions using occupation to improve mental health or mental wellbeing in adolescent populations. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2023;86(3):236-250.

### 2022

- Dillon, A., Casey, J., Gaskell, H., Drummond, A., Demeyere, N., Dawes, H. (2022). Is there evidence for a relationship between cognitive impairment and fatigue after acquired brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Disability and Rehabilitation: 1-14.
- Fu, C., Tseng, M., Cermak, S., Chung, T., Chen, Y., Lu, L., Shieh, J., Rihtman, T., (2022). Psychometric properties of the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire-Taiwan'. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 76 (2).
- Jover, M., Ray-Kaeser. S., Memoli, N., Bertrand, A., Albaret, J., Rihtman, T. (2022). Psychometric properties of the French European Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ-FE): a pilot study; Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics.43(3) pp287-302
- Magalhaes, L., Moraes, B., Barbosa, V., Cardoso, A., Rihtman, T., (2022).Cross-cultural validation of the Brazilian Little Developmental Coordination Disorder
- Questionnaire (LDCDQ-BR) for preschool children; Research in Developmental Disabilities. 129.
- Parsonage, J., Naylor Lund, K., Dawes, H., Almoajil, H., Eklund, M. (2022). An exploration of occupational choices in adolescence: A constructivist grounded theory study.; Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 29(6): 464-481.
- Yazdani, F. Rassafian,M. Nazi, S. Rezaee,M. (2021) The COVID-19 Pandemic May Force the World to Reflect on the Pre-Pandemic Style of Life. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health.

### 2021

- Ezekiel, L., Field, L., Collett, J., Dawes, H., Boulton, M., (2021). "Experiences of fatigue in daily life of people with acquired brain injury: a qualitative study." Disability and Rehabilitation 43(20): 2866-2874.
- de Mello Monteiro, C., Dawes, H., Mayo, N., Collett, J., Magalhães, F., (2021). "Assistive Technology Innovations in Neurological Conditions." BioMed Research International 2021: 6846120.
- Fitzpatrick, B., Panagamuwa, C., Moss Levy, L., Rihtman T. (2021) 'The impact of hearing loss on speech outcomes in 5-year-old children with cleft palate ± lip: A longitudinal cohort study' International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 149
- Dehghanizadeha, M. Akbarfahimib, M. Zareiyanc, A. Yazdani F, Khalafbeigia,M. Soleimanie, F. (2021) Predictors of interest in doing activities among Iranian adolescents with cerebral palsy. Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation
- Rihtman T, Gadsby N, Porter J, (2021). 'Supporting the social-emotional needs of children and young people with Developmental Coordination Disorder: occupational therapists’ perceptions of practice in England'. British Journal of Occupational Therapy 85 (9) pp.653-661.
- Yazdani, F. Nazi, S. Kavousipour S, Esmaili S. Rezaee M. (submitted) The perceived impact of the COVID 19 pandemic by the public in Iran (2021). Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy.
- Yazdani, F., Bonsaksen, T., Roberts, D., Hess, K.Y. and Karamali Esmaili, S. (2021), "The self-efficacy for therapeutic use of self-questionnaire (SETUS): psychometric properties of the English version", Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy, Vol. 49 No. 1, pp. 21-27.

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