Eva Ejlersen Waehrens

• Dr Med Sci (PhD), MSc.OT
• Professor in Occupational Therapy at Frederiksberg Hospital

Background/Objectives: Age-related dysphagia involves sarcopenia and nervous system changes affecting ingestion. The ACT-ING program, a novel task-based occupational therapy intervention, has been developed to improve strength, endurance, and ingestive skills using real-world eating and drinking tasks for older adults with age-related dysphagia. Th...

Abstract Background The occupational therapy intervention programme ABLE 1.0 was designed to enhance the ability to perform activities of daily living in persons living with chronic conditions. There is a need to determine if content and delivery of the ABLE 1.0 are acceptable among occupational therapists (OTs) and clients after having delivered...

Background The high incidence of knee injuries in football/handball challenges effective prevention. Identifying tangible and modifiable factors associated with a knee injury may innovate preventive actions. Engaging key stakeholders can reveal crucial insights that could improve knee injury prevention in football/handball. Objective To investigat...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive impairments are frequent non-motor symptoms in PD and have a significant impact on everyday life and well-being. Still, rehabilitation services for people with PD predominantly target motor symptoms. Drawing on data from a n...

Background: In Denmark, stroke represents a leading disability cause. While people with difficulties in performing activities of daily living (ADL) due to poststroke cognitive impairments are often referred to occupational therapy, limited knowledge is available on the nature of these services. Aim/objective: To explore how Danish occupational t...

Objective: This study aimed to explore whether phenotypic characteristics of patients with chronic widespread pain (CWP) and fibromyalgia (FM) can be aggregated into definable clusters that may help to tailor treatments. Method: Baseline variables (sex, age, education, marital/employment status, pain duration, prior CWP/FM diagnosis, concomitant...

Background Cognitive impairments are prevalent across mood disorders and psychosis spectrum disorders, but there is a lack of real-life-like cognitive training programmes. Fully immersive virtual reality has the potential to ensure motivating and engaging cognitive training directly relevant to patients’ daily lives. We will examine the effect of a...

Purpose: To examine the reliability of ADL interview (ADL-I) ability measures when administered by different health professionals (HPs). Materials and methods: Older adults with stable ADL ability were invited to participate in three ADL-I interviews, administered by occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs), and nursing staff (NS...

Background Chronic conditions are associated with problems related to performance of activities of daily living (ADL) stressing a need to develop and evaluate intervention programmes addressing such problems. Hence, the ABLE programme was developed, and its feasibility evaluated. Implementing intervention programmes in community-based rehabilitatio...

Objectives: Periodontitis in pregnancy represents a significant, but often overlooked challenge due to its association to adverse pregnancy (preeclampsia and gestational diabetes) and birth related outcomes (preterm birth and low birth weight). The overall study aim was to identify, organize, and prioritize barriers influencing dental visits among...

Objective: The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) is a frequently used measure of illness perception (IP). The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the questionnaire when used in elderly people with knee pain. Method: Based on data from the Frederiksberg Cohort on elderly people reporting knee pain (N = 836...

Background: The ADAPT Program have improved activities of daily living (ADL) in women with fibromyalgia. To understand the functioning of the program, it is relevant to evaluate how program theory components are linked to outcomes (mechanisms) and how the randomised controlled trial (RCT) context, influenced delivery and outcomes. Objective: To...

Background While evidence shows that occupational therapists can play a key role in the care of people with palliative care needs, more knowledge about effective occupational therapy interventions for this group is needed. Aim To identify, organise and prioritise intervention components considered to be effective within occupational therapy for pe...

Background: The the Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire (SAMQ) has been translated into Danish and culturally adapted (D-SAMQ), and aspects of validity and reliability have also been evaluated. However, no knowledge about the clinical utility of the D-SAMQ exists. Aims/objectives: The aims were to investigate the clinical utility of the D-SAM...

Objective Compare the effectiveness of a problem-solving, individualised, home-based occupational therapy intervention (ABLE 2.0), to usual occupational therapy, on activities of daily living (ADL) ability in persons with chronic conditions. Design A single-centre, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial with 10- and 26-week follow-up. Settin...

Background: The demand for employment of standardized evaluations is increasing. In Denmark, approximately 25% of all occupational therapists (OTs) are trained to use the standardized occupational therapy instrument Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). Aims: To investigate the use of AMPS within Danish occupational therapy practice and...

Objective: Patient education is recommended as an integral component of the therapeutic plan for the management of chronic widespread pain (CWP) and fibromyalgia (FM). The key purpose of patient education is to increase the patient's competence to manage his or her own health requirements, encouraging self-management and a return to desired everyd...

Background: The Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire (SAMQ) is developed to help therapists identify their preferred use of modes when interacting with clients in clinical practice. A Danish translation of the SAMQ has been developed (D-SAMQ). To provide a robust instrument for occupational therapy practice and research, evaluation of the psychom...

Background Persons with schizophrenia may experience decreased ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) indicated by need for assistance in everyday life. Others are independent, but their quality of ADL task performance in terms of effort and efficiency may still be impacted. Aims/Objectives The overall purpose of this study was to exp...

Objective: We aim to identify and prioritise rehabilitation interventions to strengthen participation in everyday life for young adult cancer survivors (YACS) between 18 and 39 years, involving the perspectives of YACS and relevant stakeholders. Methods: A group concept mapping study was conducted in Denmark from 2019 to 2020. Online, participants...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire - Revised (FIQR), when used to quantify the severity of disease burden in a Danish population of patients with chronic widespread pain (CWP), including fibromyalgia (FM). Method: A total of 924 participants...

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the working environment, how we think of it and how it stands to develop into the future. Knowledge about how people have continued to work on-site and adjusted to working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown will be vital for planning work arrangements in the post-pandemic period. Our primary objectiv...

Background The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire - Revised (FIQR) is one of the most commonly used self-rating instruments developed to quantify the severity of disease burden and impact of disease on functional ability and social participation in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) [1]. The FIQR consists of 21 individual items categorized within three...

Introduction The association between chronic widespread pain (CWP) and disability is well established. Although research support large interindividual differences in functional outcomes, limited studies are available on the socio-economic consequences of offering stratified treatment based on prognostic factors. Identification of predictors of long...

Introduction The need to develop and evaluate interventions, addressing problems performing activities of daily living (ADL) among persons with chronic conditions, is evident. Guided by the British Medical Research Council’s guidance on how to develop and evaluate complex interventions, the occupational therapy programme (A Better everyday LifE (AB...

Background Since the number of persons diagnosed with multi-morbidity is increasing, there is a need for generic instruments to be able to assess, measure and compare ADL ability across diagnoses. Accordingly, the ADL-Interview (ADL-I) was developed to be used in rehabilitation research and clinical practice. The aim of this study was to investigat...

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between self-reported and performance-based measures of functioning in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), knee osteoarthritis (OA), and fibromyalgia (FM), and the influence of pain and fatigue. Method: Self-reported functioning was assessed by the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, Fibromyalgia Impact Question...

Further consolidation and clarity regarding occupation as a means to foster change in interventions are needed. The study aimed to utilize the knowledge of occupational scholars to systematically determine what is required to use occupation as means to foster change within occupation-based interventions and to generate a conceptual model from those...

Background The Clinical Assessment of Modes questionnaires (CAMQs) determine clients' preferential modes for therapy (CAM-C1), clients’ perception of modes used by the occupational therapist (OTs) during therapy (CAM-C2), or modes the OTs believed to have used (CAM-T). Access to valid CAMQs for Danish OTs and clients required a rigorous translation...

Background The ABLE intervention was developed to enhance the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) tasks among persons living with chronic conditions. ABLE is a generic, home-based, individualised, 8-week occupational therapy intervention program, developed to be delivered in Danish municipalities. In a previous study, the feasibilit...

Background/aims To design intervention programmes addressing activities of daily living task performance problems in individuals with chronic conditions, more knowledge about the types of challenges these individuals experience is needed. The aim of this study was to examine the types of activities of daily living tasks, as well as the types of pro...

Purpose To describe the extent of participation and engagement in family activities and explore variables potentially impacting on these factors in family activities among girls and young women with Rett syndrome (RTT) under the age of 21. Materials and methods The Child Participation in Family Activities (Child-PFA) questionnaire was sent to pare...

Background The “A Better everyday LifE” (ABLE) intervention was developed to accommodate the need of a program addressing ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) in persons with chronic conditions living at home. During intervention development, it is necessary to evaluate relevant aspects of the feasibility of a program. Thus, the aim...

Background Weight loss is critical for preventing and managing obesity-related diseases. There is a notable lack of valid and reliable means to manage patients with overweight/obesity and knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Objective To determine the efficacy and safety of liraglutide in a 30 mg/d dosing in patients with overweight/obesity and KOA. Method...

Objectives The overall study aim was to synthesise understandings and experiences regarding the concept of spiritual care (SC). More specifically, to identify, organise and prioritise experiences with the way SC is conceived and practised by professionals in research and the clinic. Design Group concept mapping (GCM). Setting The study was conduc...

Background The Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire (SAMQ) was developed for occupational therapists (OTs) to identify their therapeutic style when interacting with clients. To provide Danish Occupational Therapists (OTs) with access to the SAMQ, a rigorous translation, cultural adaptation and validation are required. Aim To describe the process...

Objective This study aimed at exploring everyday activities of people with advanced cancer living at home: which everyday activities they perform; perceived and observed quality of performance of self‐care and household activities; which activities they would like to be able to perform; and determine any gender differences. Methods Outpatients (n...

Objectives The main study aim was to examine the applicability of a novel method to assess the criterion of values and preferences within the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation evidence to decision framework. The group concept mapping (GCM) approach was applied to identify, organise and prioritise values and preferenc...

Background: Occupational therapy and occupational science are founded on the theoretical core assumption that occupation and quality of life (QoL) are closely related. However, such theoretical core assumptions must be supported through empirically based research. Objective: To investigate the association between QoL and occupation, here self-re...

Background: People with hand-related rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience problems performing activities of daily living (ADL). Compensatory strategies to improve ADL ability have shown effective. Similarly, hand exercise has shown effect on pain, grip strength, and self-reported ability. A combination has shown positive effects based on self-repo...

Background Weight loss is recommended as treatment of concomitant knee osteoarthritis (OA) and overweight. The GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide has been shown effective in maintaining or even further reducing weight loss, but the compound has not been tested in a population of patients with overweight and knee OA. Objectives The objective of thi...

Introduction With an increasing prevalence of citizens of older age and with overweight, the health issues related to knee osteoarthritis (OA) will intensify. Weight loss is considered a primary management strategy in patients with concomitant overweight and knee OA. However, there are no widely available and feasible methods to sustain weight loss...

Objective To evaluate the benefit of adding occupational therapy or physiotherapy interventions to a standard rehabilitation programme targeted for chronic widespread pain. Design Randomized active-controlled non-blinded trial. Subjects Women with chronic widespread pain recruited in a tertiary outpatient clinic. Methods Participants were random...

Objective To explore whether people with advanced cancer who had assistive devices had higher or lower ADL ability and/or HRQoL than people with advanced cancer who did not have assistive devices. Methods A cross‐sectional study of 164 participants with advanced cancer. Self‐reported ADL ability and HRQoL were assessed using the ADL—Interview and...

Introduction: Occupational therapy (OT) is based on the core assumption that humans are active beings through engagement in occupations. Within OT, occupation is typically used as primary means and/or ends i.e. occupation-focused and/or occupation-based interventions are employed. Studies evaluating such interventions are limited. Objectives: To sy...

Introduction The provision of healthcare for patients with inflammatory arthritis occurs in the context of somewhat conflicting targets, values and drivers. Therefore, there is a need for introducing ‘value-based healthcare’ defined as the value of patient relevant health outcomes in relation to costs. This term is a central part of tomorrow’s heal...

Introduction The number of persons living with a chronic condition is increasing worldwide. Conditions are considered chronic when lasting 1 year or more and requiring ongoing medical attention and/or limiting activities of daily living (ADL). Besides medical treatment, physical exercise to improve body functions is recommended and prescribed. Howe...

Background: There is a need to develop evidence-based occupational therapy programs aiming at enhancing the ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL) among persons living with chronic conditions. Information from different sources is to be integrated in the development process. Thus, it is necessary to engage both occupational therapists...

Aims: Patients with bipolar disorder often experience disability in terms of cognitive impairments and activity limitations even in remission. However, knowledge is sparse concerning the ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL) during remission. The aim of this study was to (1) investigate the observed and self-reported ability to perfor...

Objectives Weight loss is commonly recommended for gout, but the magnitude of the effect has not been evaluated in a systematic review. The aim of this systematic review was to determine benefits and harms associated with weight loss in overweight and obese patients with gout. Methods We searched six databases for longitudinal studies, reporting t...

Background Decreased strength and range of motion in the hand are often seen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Positive effects on hand function in RA patients after hand exercise and individual education in joint projection including coping strategies (ADL education) is shown (1;2). However, it is unknown if a combination of both will further improve...

Background In 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) the joints of the hand are affected, causing impaired hand function. In general, reduced strength and range of motion of the hand are seen in patients with RA. Studies have shown positive effect on pain and function after exercise intervention for the hand in patients with RA. However, it...

Abstract Background Pain is inherent in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA) and traditionally considered to be of nociceptive origin. Emerging data suggest a potential role of augmented central pain mechanisms in subsets of patients, thus, valid instruments that can identify underlying pain mechanisms ar...

Objective: To explore and compare the outcomes of adaptation and physical activity programmes regarding activities of daily living (ADL) ability following interdisciplinary rehabilitation in women with fibromyalgia. Methods: Participants (n = 85) were quasi-randomized to 16-week adaptation (ADAPT) or physical activity (ACTIVE) programmes followi...

Introduction There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument...

Introduction: Computerized pneumatic cuff pressure algometry (CPA) using the DoloCuff is a new method for pain assessment. Intra- and inter-rater reliability has not yet been established. Our aim was to examine the inter- and intra-rater reliability of DoloCuff measures in healthy subjects. Methods: Twenty healthy subjects (ages 20-29 years) wer...

Background: People with advanced cancer are able to live for extended periods of time. Advanced cancer can cause functional limitations influencing the ability to manage occupations. Although studies have shown that people with advanced cancer experience occupational difficulties, there is only limited research that specifically explores how these...

Date Presented 4/9/2016 The study among 164 persons with advanced cancer showed that the everyday activity problems they prioritized mainly concerned fulfilment of social roles, maintaining everyday life, and enjoying leisure activities. Types of activity problems could not be predicted for subgroups. Primary Author and Speaker: Åse Brandt Contribu...

Date Presented 4/8/2016 Advanced cancer affects the ability to manage occupations. The purpose of this study was to describe how people with advanced cancer manage occupations, using qualitative descriptive design, semistructured interviews with 73 participants, and content analysis. Self-developed strategies enabled independence. Primary Author an...

Date Presented 4/8/2016 This study provides significant knowledge about everyday activity problems and needs of the growing number of people who are living with cancer and provides the basis for developing tailored occupational therapy interventions for this population. Primary Author and Speaker: Åse Brandt Additional Author and Speaker: Karen la...

A large proportion of persons with bipolar disorder (BD) experience cognitive impairments and activity limitations even when in remission (1). While most research concerning functioning has focused on cognitive impairments, the aim of this study is to describe the ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL) among persons with BD reporting c...

Background: Several studies have indicated that persons with chronic diseases perceive problems related to Activities of Daily Living (ADL), including Personal ADL (PADL) and Instrumental ADL (IADL). However, little is known about how persons with chronic diseases perceive the quality of their ADL task performance in terms of effort/fatigue, use of...

Background: People with advanced cancer may experience decreased ability to participate in daily activities. Since ability to perform daily activities is crucial for independent living, information is needed to specify occupational therapy services. The aims were to describe; activities they do perform and would like to perform; and perceived and o...

The purpose of this workshop is to share and discuss educational methods to foster master level education. Rationale Among the challenges of the post graduate master program in Occupational Therapy at University of Southern Denmark is the educational change towards an academic culture required of students to ascertain master level learning compete...

In 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) the joints of the hand are affected causing decreased ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). Occupational therapy focusing on changing the patient’s behavior during ADL task performance by introducing compensatory strategies such as joint protection, assistive devices and alternative m...

The ‘Cancer Home Life Project’ is introduced. Results concerning activity performance and priorities among people with advanced cancer are presented together with results about how they manage activities in everyday life. A protocol for a randomised, controlled trial (RCT) aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed activity-based int...

Background The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) has suggested to asses pain after specific activities consistently in clinical trials on knee OA. The Dynamic weight-bearing Assessment of Pain (DAP) assesses pain during activity (30 s of performing repeated deep knee-bends from a standing position). The purpose of this study is...

Data based on the ADL-Interview (ADL-I) collected among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia to describe the types of ADL tasks that the perceive having problems performing and the kind of problems they experience related to the quality of performance.

Background Functional ability, which includes the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL), is considered a core outcome domain in rheumatology. Recommendations for assessing ADL ability include the use of generic and diseases-specific questionnaires based on self-report and one of the most frequently used instruments is the Health Asses...

The study among 164 persons with advanced cancer showed that everyday activity problems they prioritized mainly concerned fulfilment of social roles, maintaining everyday life and enjoying leisure activities. Types of activity problems could not be predicted for subgroups.

Advanced cancer affects the ability to manage occuparions. The purpose of this study was to describe how people with advanced cancer manage occupations, using qualitative descriptive design, semistructured interviews with 73 participants and content analysis. Self-developed strategies enabled independence.

This study provides significant knowledge about everyday activity problems and needs of the growing number of people who are living with cancer and provides the basis for developing tailored occupational therapy interventions for this population.

From the Cancer Home Life Project

Purpose: was to describe how people with advanced cancer manage their occupations in everyday life at home. Background: Early diagnosis and more effective treatment techniques have enabled people with advanced cancer to live for extended periods of time. Cancer in advanced stages can have a profound impact on the individuals ability to manage occup...

Objective: To investigate predictors of improvement in observed ability to manage activities of daily living as an outcome of rehabilitation in fibromyalgia. Methods: Exploratory analyses used data from the Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation and Evaluation Programme for Patients with Chronic Widespread Pain (the IMPROvE study); a randomized contro...

Descriptive study investigating how adults with schizophrenia perceive the quality of their performance of ADL tasks in terms of effort/fatigue, use of time, safety risks, and need for assistance.

Objective: To investigate whether the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), the physical function subscales of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ PF) and the 36-item Short Form (SF-36 PF) can identify subgroups of women with fibromyalgia with clinically relevant differences in ability to perform activities of daily living. Design...

Background: Subgroups of women with fibromyalgia likely show different activity of daily living (ADL) skill deficits. Identifying ineffective ADL skills of significance in the 'typical' woman with fibromyalgia will promote the planning of targeted occupational therapy interventions aiming at improving ADL ability. Objective: To identify frequent...

Background: Assessment of depression in chronic pain patients by self-rating questionnaires developed and validated for use in normal and/or psychiatric populations is common. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) in a sample of females with chronic widespread pain (CWP). Method:...

To compare data based on computerized and paper versions of health status questionnaires (HSQs) for sampling patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). In addition, to examine associations between patient characteristics (age, education, computer experience) and differences between versions. Finally, to evaluate the accept...

To evaluate the reliability, agreement and smallest detectable change in a measurement instrument for pain and function in knee osteoarthritis; the Dynamic weight-bearing Assessment of Pain (DAP). The sample size was set to 20 persons, recruited from the outpatient osteoarthritis clinic at Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen. Two physiotherapists te...

Background 10-20% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) display features of central sensitization. The numbers are less well documented within psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and other spondyloarthritis (SpA). There is a need for instruments that can be used to identify underlying pain mechanism. The painDETECT Questionnaire (PDQ) was originally dev...

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively identify components of the physical limitation concept in knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to rate the clinical importance of these using perspectives of both patients and health professionals. DESIGN: Concept mapping, a structured group process, was used to identify and organize data in focus groups (patients) an...