Supportive Programming during a Worldwide Pandemic and Beyond

In the United States, approximately 2.4 million grandparents are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren (Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center, 2024). Relative caregivers provide an important opportunity to keep families together and avoid foster home placement when children are unable to safely be cared for by parents. “Parenting again” comes with its own unique set of challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic significantly highlighted and exacerbated these difficulties. There are many organizations nationwide that work within the field of relative caregiving, providing diverse programming designed to address the needs of this unique population. Core principles include strategies to equip caregivers to meet the needs of the children in their home, to combat loneliness and isolation, and to provide individualized services to meet the needs of each relative-caregiving family. The pandemic required organizations to make significant changes to how they delivered services, but the core program principles remain the same

Art, Nature, and Occupational Therapy in the Arctic Circle

Even Edvardsen, a Norwegian occupational therapist and artist, provided the cover art for the Winter 2025 issue of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “Loppa 1” is a 60 x 80 oil on canvas that shares a glimpse into living in the Arctic Circle. It is the first in a series of 10 variations of the island of Loppa, a small island off the coast of Norway, further north of Tromsø. Even’s paintings are what he calls meditations on nature and everyday moments; he invites viewers to slow down and reconnect with the world around them. In today’s fast-paced world, Even believes art can help restore perspective and mindfulness. He aims to encourage others to find their inner artist and connect with the environment around them with a sense of stillness and wonder

Personal Narrative as Pedagogy: A Model for Socially Responsive Narrative-based Education in Occupational Therapy

The practice of occupational therapy relies on the collection and analysis of life narratives to provide responsive client-centered care. As developing holistic practitioners, occupational therapy students are taught to consider these shared stories within a larger context of historical and societal systems by acknowledging such factors as social determinants of health. Case studies are a frequently used tool to teach these skills; however, evidence supports that the identities of these educational stories’ authors can influence which perspectives are shared and, ultimately, impact developing occupational therapists’ perpetuation of or opposition to existing systems of oppression. Critical Race Theory and qualitative methodology suggest the praxis of infusing counter-narratives to promote more diverse perspectives in the classroom, and narrative medicine techniques offer well-evidenced effectiveness of learning through narratives, across health care settings. Theatre-based education, which enacts narratives using first-person and relevant body language, evokes learners’ mirror neurons and increases empathetic learning encounters, suggesting its promise as an effective teaching tool for occupational therapists. Combining these educational approaches, this paper urges an intentional focus on personal narrative as pedagogy and illustrates a model for centering personal narrative in occupational therapy education through a narrative theatre-based educational intervention that was used to prepare students to address local community needs of marginalized populations who are most greatly impacted by lead exposure and toxicity in Marion County, Indiana

D.A.D.S. Club: Pilot Study Outcomes of a 5-Week Parenting Program for Fathers in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder

Background: Over 44 million adults have a substance use disorder, with approximately two million children living with a parent with this disorder. Approximately 40% to 60% of men who receive treatment have a child under 18 years of age. However, most parenting programs are developed and implemented for mothers with addiction, leaving fathers without this fundamental knowledge and skills. Method: A pilot study using a longitudinal interventional study was conducted to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of an occupational therapy-developed program for fathers in recovery. Pre and post surveys, including the Parenting Sense of Competence, were collected from the participants to measure D.A.D.S Club, a 5-week parenting program. Results: D.A.D.S Club was offered three times, and 43 participated in the program, with 13 completing it in its entirety. On completion, the participants’ overall parental self-efficacy showed a statistically significant improvement, and the mean for parental knowledge, skills, self-efficacy in each session, and overall parental satisfaction stayed the same or improved. Conclusion: Further study of D.A.D.S Club with a larger sample and long-term follow-up with study participants is important to understand its true impact on fathers in recovery. Addressing the intersection of substance use disorder and fatherhood through occupational therapy like the D.A.D.S Club can contribute to improved outcomes for fathers in recovery

Introduction to the 10-Year Anniversary Issue: Reflecting on The Past, Present and Future of the Grandfamilies Journal as a Catalyst for Quality Innovative Research, Policy and Program Development

This special issue celebrates the 10-year anniversary of GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy. The launch of this journal a decade ago marked a significant milestone in the study of kinship families, sparking a surge of scholarly work in the field. As is evident in the 12 articles included in this special issue, the journal has kept true to its original objective to be an important “forum for quality, evidence-based research with sound scholarship, knowledge, skills and best practices from the field for scholars, clinicians, policymakers, educators, program administrators and family advocates.

The Lived Experience of Therapists During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study Using Photovoice Methodology

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A qualitative phenomenological design using photovoice methodology for collecting data was used (Wang & Burris, 1997). The study participants included twelve therapists. Using photovoice methodology, the participants used a picture to represent their experience and wrote an accompanying narrative to address the question, “How has COVID-19 impacted your life?” Thematic analysis was used to code and develop themes for the participant photovoices and the virtual focus group transcripts (Braun & Clark, 2006). Zoom was used as the virtual platform for the virtual focus groups and member checking was used to verify themes. Results: Four themes were identified: (a) work and life were characterized by disruption and change, (b) adaptations were necessary to manage this new reality, (c) hope and optimism were juxtaposed with continued uncertainty and fear, and (d) with the change came new opportunities, growth, renewed strength, and resilience. Conclusion: The difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic were more apparent in the focus groups than in the initial photovoice project. The participants reported they felt the COVID-19 pandemic was more traumatic than their photovoices demonstrated. It was the therapists working on the COVID-19 units who expressed experiencing substantial stress and trauma

Addressing the Needs of Jewish Clients and Students through a Trauma-Informed Approach

The worldwide Jewish community is notoriously nomadic because of persecution and displacement through several millennia. The diasporic experience of global Jewish communities led to traumatic events such as historical expulsion and genocide. These experiences embody all five components of occupational injustice. The recent rise in antisemitism has triggered intergenerational trauma among individuals, families, and communities. This paper, grounded in trauma-based research, aims to guide occupational therapists treating Jewish clients and/or teaching Jewish students. The paper outlines trauma-informed implications for therapist-client collaboration in the context of supporting occupational justice for diverse populations. The distinct role of occupational therapists in effectively serving individuals of Jewish religion/ethnicity/culture is illustrated by connecting four vignettes of Jewish intergenerational trauma with trauma-informed care principles. The discussion expands on the application of effective approaches to serving individuals from all backgrounds exposed to trauma or intergenerational trauma by employing trauma-informed care principles

Comfort with Technology and Its Association with Depression of Custodial Grandparents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, custodial grandparents faced heightened risks of depression due to increased social isolation and caregiving responsibilities. This study examines the association between comfort with technology and depression among custodial grandparents. Cross-sectional data were collected from 287 custodial grandparents across the United States between May 2021 and February 2022. Logistic regression analysis revealed that custodial grandparents’ higher comfort with technology was significantly associated with lower odds of depression (OR = 0.68, p \u3c .001). Additionally, those who had reliable access to the internet had significantly lower odds of experiencing depression (OR = 0.78, p = .039). Furthermore, the need for telemental health services was associated with increased odds of depression (OR = 3.18, p = .003). These findings highlight the importance of enhancing custodial grandparents’ ease of use with technology to reduce depression. Implications for improving custodial grandparents’ ease of use with technology are discussed

Sustaining Critical Support Services for Relative Caregivers Through the Covid-19 Pandemic and BEYOND

This practice brief outlines model practice strategies for building and sustaining critical support services for kinship caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. While the long-term impacts of COVID-19 were still unfolding, research increasingly showed the profound effect the pandemic had on family well-being worldwide. Already managing the trauma that necessitated the placement of most children, kinship families faced additional challenges, including the fear and uncertainty surrounding health risks and the complete upheaval of community resources as schools, state offices, and social service agencies limited or closed their operations. This led to unprecedented levels of economic, housing, transportation, and food insecurities. The article highlights the critical role of marketing, engagement, and supportive service strategies providers might employ to promote the well-being of kinship families. The authors also acknowledge that outreach efforts may vary across the country due to factors such as geographic location (rural vs. urban), community culture, and economic conditions