Efficacy of Occupational Therapy Interventions in Improving Cognitive Function and Daily Living Skills Among Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: A Pilot Study
Occupational Therapy for Cognition and Daily Skills in SUD
Keywords:
Activities of daily living, Cognitive rehabilitation, Functional independence, Occupational therapy, Substance use disorderAbstract
Background: Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a chronic illness impacting cognitive function, activities of daily living, and quality of life. Occupational therapy (OT) interventions aim to improve functional independence and social reintegration, but their contribution to SUD rehabilitation is not well understood.
Methods: This pilot trialassessed the effectiveness of a 4-week, structured OT intervention in enhancing cognitive function and activities of daily living among 12 inpatient SUD subjects. Participants received cognitive training, ADL and IADL instruction, psychoeducation, and exercise sessions. Pre-and post-intervention scores were taken on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), Barthel Index (BI)and Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) Scale.
Results: The findings revealed significant improvements in the MoCA scores (p=0.015), reflecting improved cognitive function. Also, the performance of IADL was significantly better (p=0.001), reflecting an improvement in performing complex daily tasksindependently. Statistically significant improvements were not found in BI scores (p=0.08), reflecting the stability of basic ADLs.
Conclusion: OT interventions significantly improve cognitive function and instrumental activities of daily living in SUD-recovering individuals. The results underscore the necessity of integrating OT into SUD rehabilitation programs to enhance long-term functional independence and social reintegration. Large-scale studies are advised to confirm these initial findings.
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