Current Research
Supporting parents with disability and other challenges through Occupational Therapy: What is needed?
The results of our international survey about supporting parents with disabilities through occupational therapy has been published in the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. Take a look here.
Honey, A., Almomani, F., Chen, Y.-W. R., Codd, Y., Kim, J. A. J., Kunishige, M., Morrison, R., O’Mara, V., Peterson, J., Pituch, E., Rider, J. V., Romli, M. H., Rozen, D., Sabbah, R., Sarsak, H. I., Saunders, E., Sim, S. S., Tan, H. L., Wong, W. T., … McGrath, M. (2025). Supporting parents with disability and other challenges through occupational therapy: What is needed? Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 72(3), e70026. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.70026
Systematic Review
The OT4Parenting research team has complete a systematic mapping review examining how parents access professional support for parenting concerns. This review provides an overview of existing evidence across a wide range of parental experiences and has been published in Health Soc Care Community .
Building on this foundation, the team has now published the first qualitative meta-synthesis, focusing on parents living with chronic conditions, in Disability and Rehabilitation (McGrath, Honey, O’Mara, Pituch & Rider, 2025). This paper highlights the lack of formal support available to parents managing long-term health conditions and calls for more integrated, family-centred approaches.
Further meta-syntheses are currently underway, exploring the experiences of parents with other disabilities and challenge in accessing parenting support.
McGrath, M., Honey, A., O’Mara, V., Pituch, E., & Rider, J. V. (2025). How do parents who live with chronic disease experience accessing formal parenting supports? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2574530
POP Framework.
Planning is underway for a global study that will use Experience Sampling Method to explore the range tasks and activities that parents do as part of parenting. We will use this information to assess the validity of the POP framework, identify any additional parenting occupations, and explore the impact of culture on parenting practices.