Michal Avrech Bar

• PhD
• Senior Lecturer at Tel Aviv University

Background Participation in meaningful everyday occupations and life-roles is crucial to the health and wellbeing of older adults. However, little is known regarding meaningful life-roles of older women. Although the maternal-role remains meaningful to women throughout their life, previous literature focused on earlier stages of motherhood. Aims T...

Objective Carriers of Fragile X premutation may have associated medical comorbidities, such as Fragile X-associated tremor and ataxia (FXTAS) and Fragile X-associated premature ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI). We examined the Fragile X premutation effect on cognition, and we assumed that there is a direct correlation between the continuous spectrum o...

Background Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterised by extreme fatigue, as well as physical and cognitive symptoms. CFS is thrice as prevalent in women than in men. Objective To compare women with and without CFS concerning social support and participation in daily routine occupations, and to assess the relationships between the two variabl...

Background A survey showed European occupational scientists cover a broad range in occupational science (OS) research, however, no contemporary overviews of European OS research exists, and current research may provide valuable information for OS and occupational therapy. Aim The aim was to provide an overview of contemporary European OS research....

Giving birth to a preterm infant has significant implications on the mother’s life. The purpose of this study was to compare occupational performance (performance of everyday occupations), social support, perceived health (mental and physical) and life satisfaction between mothers of preterm and term infants and to assess whether occupational perfo...

Motherhood is a meaningful life role among adult women. Occupations within the maternal role of younger mothers have been well documented, but less is known regarding the maternal-role at older age. This review aimed to describe the occupations, activities, and perceptions that older women ascribe to their maternal role. In the future, this informa...

Objective Minimal prior research has examined the impact of inflammatory arthritis (IA) on men’s perspectives on parenting. We aimed to describe fathering roles and experiences, the effect of IA on parenting activities, and strategies used by fathers with IA to fulfill this role. Methods A grounded theory approach guided data gathering and analysi...

Introduction Participation in meaningful occupations within our everyday environments contributes to health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is important to study perceived meaning and its inter‐related factors. The perceived meaning of occupations is the emotional and cognitive qualities people attach to their occupations. However, research on the per...

Study design: An exploratory longitudinal study. Objectives: (a) compare the occupational performance, and life satisfaction of spouses of men with SCI with those of spouses of healthy men, (b) compare the occupational performance, perceived health, and life satisfaction of spouses of men with SCI at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and s...

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) improves communication between healthcare workers and healthcare delivery. This study aimed to explore the reflections of final year health professions students on their preparedness for IPC. Participants were 183 fourth-year nursing, occupational therapy (OT), and physical therapy (PT) students. Data were coll...

Importance: The subjective meaning that people attach to their occupations may explain the association among participation, health, and well-being. To date, the subjective meaning of occupation among children has mostly been studied through qualitative studies. No study has yet quantitatively assessed the perceived meaning of everyday activities a...

Date Presented 04/04/19 The purpose of this study was to compare women with and without Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in social support, participation in occupations, and life satisfaction. The study included 110 women: 41 diagnosed with CFS and 69 healthy controls. Findings demonstrate that women with CFS report lower participation in occupations...

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted by the Occupational Science Europe Research Committee (OSERC), a subsidiary of Occupational Science Europe (OSE). Its aim was to explore perceptions of the relationship between occupational science and occupational therapy in Europe, and the state of the art in European occupational science resea...

A man’s transition to fatherhood is one of the most significant changes in his life. The birth of the baby prematurely makes this transition a difficult experience. Study objectives included a better understanding of the range of experiences of fathers of premature infants and building new work procedures according to our findings. We used a qualit...

Objective: Raising a child with special needs disturbs the balance of family life and affects mothers’ everyday life. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of occupational competence, occupational settings, and role load to the health and life satisfaction of Arab mothers of children with and without ADHD. Method: Participants in...

Background: Ongoing physical activity is important for maintaining the functional level of individuals with chronic stroke. Video games in a group setting might be a cost-effective way for providing mobility and preventing physical inactivity. Purpose: This study explores the experiences and perceptions of individuals with chronic stroke who par...

Background: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) improves communication between healthcare workers and healthcare delivery. Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential in preparing healthcare students for cooperating with other healthcare disciplines in a real work setting. Although higher education settings have a responsibility to provide co...

Purpose: Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational method that fosters self-directed study in small groups. The purpose of this study was to describe the Tel Aviv University's occupational therapy (OT) program and the challenges implementing such program. In addition, the study compared the PBL grades obtained by students who are native Hebre...

Ascribing meaning to occupation is a multifaceted process. Understanding this process is illusive, yet fundamental to theory and practice. The objective is to describe the meaning that mothers ascribe to their occupations. A secondary analysis was conducted with data from a convenience sample of 35 Israeli mothers, ages 25 to 45 years. Data were co...

Objective/Background: The purpose of this study was to assess whether the incorporation of an environmental assessment for accessibility, as part of an “Activity Analysis” course, would enhance new students' knowledge, competence, awareness, and interest in accessibility issues for people with disabilities. Methods: In this research, we included an...

Background. People who undergo a gender transition process experience changes in different everyday occupations. These changes may impact their health and life satisfaction. Purpose. This study examined the difference in the occupational performance history scales (occupational identity, competence, and settings) between male-to-female transgender...

One of the founding assumptions underlying the health professions is the belief that there is a strong relationship between engagement in occupations, health, and wellbeing. The ability to perform everyday occupations (occupational performance) has a positive effect on health and wellbeing. However, there is also conflicting evidence indicating tha...

Objective: Occupational therapy (OT) services have been provided for people with mental health conditions since the foundation of the profession, but OT practices are not clearly outlined. This paper presents the standard OT practices performed in the mental health area. The aim of the study is to quantitatively characterize domains of OT intervent...

Background: The Role Checklist assesses the number of roles a person performs, and the values ascribed to those roles. In this study, a modified version of the Role Checklist was created, which also measures role load. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the discriminant validity and test–retest reliability of the modified version. M...

To developed and validate a form for Documentation of Occupational Therapy Session during Intervention (D.O.T.S.I) based on the OTPF. This form may fill the need for more consistent and detailed documentation of the intervention process. Fifty five pediatric OT's documented 2-3 treatment sessions. A total of 120 treatment sessions were recorded. Co...

מנוחה נתפסה בידי מייסדי מקצוע הריפוי בעיסוק כאחד מתחומי הביצוע של האדם. הם סברו שאיזון אופטימלי בין עבודה, משחק ומנוחה הוא גורם מכריע בהשגת תפקוד ובריאות. עם זאת, מעטים הם התיאורטיקנים מתחום הריפוי בעיסוק שחקרו את נושא המנוחה. מאמר זה סוקר את נושא המנוחה כפי שהוא מתואר בספרות ודרך מחקר איכותני. תוצאות סקירת הספרות מלמדות שיש הבחנה בין מנוחה לבין שי...

The founders of occupational therapy perceived rest as one of the performance areas of the profession. They believed that an optimal balance between work, play and rest was crucial in obtaining maximal function and health. However, few occupational therapy theorists or researchers have explored the phenomenon. The authors explored the phenomenon of...

This article presents both the general concept of postmodernism and its reflection in a wide array of fields of interest. In particular, the paper reviews the postmodernist perspective as it appears in healthcare and medicine. This leads to a postmodernist analysis of the profession of occupational therapy, the main conclusion being that occupation...

Within the profession of occupational therapy there has been a long‐standing tendency to classify a person's occupations according to set and concrete categories. Such perception is typical of the modern era. This article addresses the validity of categorizing occupation according to performance areas, in the world of the elderly. The story of an e...