Anne W Hunt

University of Toronto | U of T · Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

There is a growing trend in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation, and research, to focus on the processes of adaptation following the injury. Resiliency is an umbrella term describing the range of personal protective factors, environmental supports and resources, as well as self-regulatory processes, engaged in response to adversity. An affe...

Objective: To identify key ingredients in a six-week active rehabilitation intervention from the perspectives of youth recovering from concussion and their parents. Methods: Surveys with open- and closed-ended questions were administered to youth (N = 38) ages 10–18 years (average = 14.5 years) and their parents (n = 36) immediately post interventi...

Objective: We determined the feasibility and effects of the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) ApproachTM on activity performance and satisfaction, symptoms, and mood of adolescents with persistent postconcussion symptoms. Method: In a prospective case series, 3 participants with persistent symptoms 3 mo after concus...

Primary objective The purpose of this study is to explore changes in mood in youth with persistent post-concussion symptoms following participation in a six-week active rehabilitation program. Research design A pre-post test design was used. Methods and procedures Participants (N = 40 children and adolescents with concussion symptoms >2 weeks pos...

Background: Occupational therapy clinical education was disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This introduced both challenges and opportunities in clinical fieldwork education and created a naturalistic opportunity to study the innovations that occurred. Purpose: To identify and describe fieldwork education innovations that occurred during th...

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children and can lead to lasting cognitive, physical, and psychosocial outcomes that affect school performance. Students with an ABI experience challenges returning to school due in part to lack of educator support and ABI awareness. A lack of knowledge and train...

Background Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children, yet educators report a lack of knowledge about ABI and supporting students with ABI. With no formal learning about ABI, education professionals may turn to the internet for information. Objectives To find online resources about supporting students with...

Research Objectives To explore how the environment or context influences the financial capability and financial well-being of adults who live with acquired brain injury (ABI). Design Researchers completed a PhotoVoice study between December 2020 and December 2021. Setting Researchers collected data online or in-person to account for varying level...

BACKGROUND Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children and can lead to lasting cognitive, physical, and psychosocial outcomes that affect school performance. Students with an ABI experience challenges returning to school due in part to lack of educator support and ABI awareness. A lack of knowledge and trainin...

Introduction Stroke rehabilitation teams’ skills and knowledge in treating persons with cognitive impairment (CI) contribute to their reduced access to inpatient rehabilitation. This study examined stroke inpatient rehabilitation referral acceptance rates for persons with CI before and after the implementation of a multi-faceted integrated knowledg...

Purpose To explore the experiences of adolescents with concussion and their parents who participated in a novel remotely delivered Tele-Active Rehabilitation (Tele-AR) intervention involving sub-symptom threshold exercise, education, and support. Specifically, we aimed to elicit perspectives regarding the remote delivery approach, valued aspects of...

Background: Active rehabilitation involving subsymptom threshold exercise combined with education and support promotes recovery in youth with concussion but is typically delivered in person, which may limit accessibility for families because of a lack of services in their communities or logistical challenges to attending in-person sessions. Objec...

Aim: To estimate the impact of a multifaceted knowledge translation intervention on patient rehabilitation outcomes in an inpatient stroke setting. Methods: Interprofessional stroke rehabilitation teams were trained in Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance as part of the larger knowledge translation study. This study describes...

Objectives Active rehabilitation involving subsymptom threshold exercise and education/support promotes recovery among adolescents with concussion, but is typically delivered in-person, which limits accessibility. This study explored the feasibility of a remotely delivered Tele-Active Rehabilitation (Tele-AR) intervention for adolescents with concu...

Purpose The purpose was to synthesize qualitative literature and identify indicators of life success (positive life outcomes and experiences) that can help in understanding resiliency in the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods This scoping review involved searching nine online databases for population (TBI) and context (qualitative li...

This article describes the impact on the learners and health care institution of the OnTRACK-Concussion program, an innovative student-led clinic at a children’s rehabilitation hospital. The clinic, developed and operated by occupational therapists, serves the community full-time year-round. Interprofessional health care learners work together to p...

BACKGROUND Active rehabilitation involving subsymptom threshold exercise combined with education and support promotes recovery in youth with concussion but is typically delivered in person, which may limit accessibility for families because of a lack of services in their communities or logistical challenges to attending in-person sessions. OBJECTI...

Objective(s) To investigate and synthesize the state of literature surrounding the psychosocial and physical health issues experienced by dance athletes in retirement. Data Sources Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review method, grey and peer-reviewed literature were systematically searched using a protocol following PRISMA guidelines. The data...

Introduction The objective of this research study was to explore site and clinician specific experiences, successes and challenges in implementing a complex intervention (cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance approach) to enhance stroke team's ability to address cognitive impairments as part of comprehensive stroke rehabilitation....

Background: When a child sustains an acquired brain injury (ABI), the impact extends to significant environments in their life, including school. Educator knowledge of ABI can influence a child's success with academic and social reintegration. An assessment of educator ABI knowledge was conducted to determine what information they require to suppo...

Aim: To summarize existing interventions and their outcomes in Rett syndrome (RTT) rehabilitation and identify gaps in the literature. Method: Five databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase Classic, Ovid PsycINFO, EBSCO CINAHL Plus, and ProQuest ERIC) were systematically searched up to 23rd July 2018 for studies describing rehabilitation intervention...

Context: Current international consensus endorses a multimodal approach to concussion assessment. However, the psychometric evaluation of clinical measures used to identify postconcussion performance deficits once an athlete is asymptomatic remains limited, particularly in the pediatric population. Objective: To describe and compare the sensitiv...

The aim of this study was to employ knowledge user perspectives to develop recommendations that facilitate implementation of a complex, shared decision‐making (SDM)‐based intervention in an interprofessional setting. This study was part of a larger knowledge translation (KT) study in which interprofessional teams from five freestanding, academicall...

Introduction Concussion is a common injury in youth. Studies report that active rehabilitation interventions reduce symptoms in these youth. There is no literature that addresses its impact on occupational performance. The purpose of this study was to identify: (a) occupational performance issues experienced by these youth; (b) changes in occupatio...

Background The Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach is a complex rehabilitation intervention in which clients are taught to use problem-solving cognitive strategies to acquire personally-meaningful functional skills, and health care providers are required to shift control regarding treatment goals and interventio...

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Objective This paper reports on a funded summit, which convened a multidisciplinary group of experts to provide consensus on the research priorities necessary for improving long-term community integration of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their caregivers. Methods The 2-day summit was directed using the World Café Methodology, t...

Toong, T, Wilson, KE, Urban, K, Paniccia, M, Hunt, AW, Keightley, M, and Reed, N. Grip strength in youth ice hockey players: Normative values and predictors of performance. J Strength Cond Res 32(12): 3503-3511, 2018-Grip strength is a simple, valid, and reliable tool for estimating overall muscular strength, a key component of health-related fitne...

Purpose: To broadly examine the literature to identify vision interventions following mild traumatic brain injury. Objectives are to identify: (1) evidence-informed interventions for individuals with visual dysfunction after mild traumatic brain injury; (2) professions providing these interventions; (3) gaps in the literature and areas for further...

Background: Postural stability plays a key role in sport performance, especially after concussion. Specific to healthy child and youth athletes, little is known about the influence development and sex may have on postural stability while considering other subjective clinical measures used in baseline/preinjury concussion assessment. This study aim...

Increasingly, occupational therapists are returning to graduate research studies, as more health-care, academic, and research careers are requiring master’s or doctoral degrees (Canadian Institutes for Health Research, 2002). Further, practitioners have been recognizing the need for evidence creation and knowledge translation to advance occupationa...

Context: After a concussion, guidelines emphasize that an athlete should be asymptomatic before starting a return-to-play protocol. However, many concussion symptoms are nonspecific and may be present in individuals without concussion. Limited evidence exists regarding the presence of "typical" or preinjury (baseline) symptoms in child and youth a...

Background Concussion is a considerable public health problem in youth. However, identifying, understanding and implementing best evidence informed recovery guidelines may be challenging for families given the vast amount of information available in the public domains (e.g. Internet). The objective of this study was to develop, implement and evalua...

Background Patients with cognitive impairments following a stroke are often denied access to inpatient rehabilitation. The few patients with cognitive impairment admitted to rehabilitation generally receive services based on outdated impairment-reduction models, rather than recommended function-based approaches. Both reduced access to rehabilitatio...

The purpose of this article is to synthesize and appraise the evidence regarding the use of oculomotor-based vision assessment to identify and monitor recovery from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Specific objectives are to (1) identify changes in oculomotor-based vision following mTBI; (2) distinguish methods of assessment; (3) appraise the le...

Introduction: Setting goals with individuals with acquired brain injury may be challenging due to impairments in cognition and communication. The purpose of this study was to explore how occupational therapists’ communication behaviours during goal-setting with individuals with traumatic brain injury facilitated and hindered this process. Method: T...

For individuals with brain injury, active participation in goal setting is associated with better rehabilitation outcomes. However, clinicians report difficulty engaging these clients in goal setting due to perceived or real deficits (e.g., lack of awareness). We conducted a study using grounded theory methods to understand how clinicians from occu...

Introduction: Current management of concussion consists of early education, rest until symptom free, with gradual return to school and physical activity protocols. Although this management strategy is effective for most youth who sustain a concussion, it is not an appropriate strategy for youth with persistent postconcussion symptoms. Prolonged re...

For individuals with brain injury, active participation in goal setting is associated with better rehabilitation outcomes. However, clinicians report difficulty engaging these clients in goal setting due to perceived or real deficits (e.g., lack of awareness). We conducted a study using grounded theory methods to understand how clinicians from occu...

Background: We have been investigating an ecologically valid strategy-training approach to enable adults with executive dysfunction to attain everyday life goals. Here, we report the protocol of a randomized controlled trial of the effects of this training compared to conventional therapy in a sample of community-dwelling adults with acquired brai...

Impairments in executive function, self-regulation and attribution individually have been implicated in impairment in goal-directed behaviour, resulting in reduced participation in daily activities by individuals with brain injury. There is minimal literature that explicitly addresses the relationships among these constructs, how these may be affec...

Objective: To determine the feasibility of recruitment and retention of healthy older adults and the effectiveness of an intervention designed to manage age-related executive changes. Design: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Setting: Research centre and participants' homes. Participants: Nineteen healthy, community dwelling older adults...

To evaluate, prior to undertaking a larger trial, feasibility of the study processes to determine effectiveness of occupation-based strategy training for producing changes on trained real-world behaviours and to determine whether far transfer of training effects to measures of real-world impact, including participation in everyday life could be ach...

Primary objective: To investigate the feasibility of implementing the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance approach (CO-OP) in a telerehabilitation format and to examine its impact on community integration and executive dysfunction for adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research design: A pilot series of three case stud...

Meta-cognitive strategies have a positive effect on the rehabilitation of executive dysfunction. However, achieving generalization to daily life remains a challenge. We believe that providing rehabilitation in the person's own physical environment and using self-identified tasks will enhance the benefits of meta-cognitive training and promote gener...