title: Systematic reviews informing occupational therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to identify and describe the number, topics, and publishing trends of systematic reviews relevant to occupational therapy indexed in the OTseeker database.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional survey of the systematic reviews contained in OTseeker in December 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,940 systematic reviews indexed in OTseeker, only 53 (2.7%) were published in occupational therapy journals. The most common diagnostic categories were stroke (n = 195, 10.1%) and affective disorders (n = 204, 10.5%). The most common intervention categories were consumer education (n = 644, 33.2%) and psychosocial techniques (n = 571, 29.4%). Only 390 (20.1%) of the 1,940 systematic reviews specifically involved occupational therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Occupational therapists need to search broadly to locate relevant systematic reviews or, alternatively, to use databases such as OTseeker. Clarity about the involvement of occupational therapy in reports of future research will improve the ability to identify occupational therapy research for all stakeholders. Finally, occupational therapy practitioners need to read systematic reviews critically to determine whether review conclusions are justified.
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Division of Occupational Therapy, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072 Australia. sally.bennett@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McCluskey
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coghlan
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tooth
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D008297:Male; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011793:Queensland; D012196:Review Literature as Topic