Development and Content of a School-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention for Promoting Emotional Well-Being in Children

ABSTRACT

The development and content of an occupational therapy intervention promoting emotional well-being, for children with subclinical anxiety, is described. Development and trialing followed a four-step process: (1) reviewing theory, (2) reviewing evidence, (3) incorporating expert opinion, and (4) trialing. The intervention consists of eight group sessions, led by an occupational therapist, over 8 weeks of an academic term. Its proposed outcomes will be achieved by providing children with knowledge about health promoting occupations and how to participate in, balance, and sustain these. This article offers a guideline for the development and description of similar interventions to facilitate more robust evaluation of clinical practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Health promotion
• mental health
• occupational therapy
• school-based
• well-being

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank those involved in the consultation process of the intervention design: children and school personnel who participated in early trials; cultural advisors; and the occupational therapy expert panel: Linda Bowden, Mathijs Luccasen, Ellen Nicholson, Suzanne Patterson, and others who prefer to remain unnamed.

Notes

“Pepeha” refers to a way of introducing one’s self in Māori; in this context the pepeha has been modified to have an occupational focus and was developed in consultation with Māori cultural advisors.