Exploring Interoceptive Awareness With Adults: Occupational Therapy Practitioner Knowledge, Perception, and Practice...

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Health and wellness
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Interoception, the sense of the internal bodily state, is crucial for overall health and well-being.
• Disruptions in interoceptive processing are linked to negative impacts on occupational performance.
• Understanding how occupational therapy practitioners address interoceptive awareness is vital for improving client outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe how occupational therapy practitioners working with adults acquire knowledge about interoception.
• To explore current practice patterns in assessing and intervening for interoceptive awareness.
• To identify perceived effectiveness of interoceptive interventions in occupational therapy.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study design was employed.
• A researcher-developed survey was administered to occupational therapy practitioners (N = 44).
• Data collected included knowledge acquisition, assessment methods, intervention strategies, and outcome perceptions.

Main Results:

• Practitioners most commonly acquired interoception knowledge via professional websites, databases, and continuing education.
• Client self-report and clinical observation were the primary assessment methods used (56.8% and 54.5%, respectively).
• A majority of participants (63.89%) perceived interoceptive awareness interventions as effective, though formal assessments were rarely used by rehabilitation specialists (n = 8).

Conclusions:

• Occupational therapy practitioners recognize the importance of interoception and utilize various methods for knowledge acquisition.
• Current assessment and intervention practices for interoceptive awareness show variability, with a need for standardized approaches.
• Further research is essential to establish best practices for interoception assessment and intervention to enhance occupational performance.