Occupational therapy has a lot to contribute to sustainable development considering the discipline?s occupational focus and knowledge. This has been recognised by researchers and professional associations, but there is still a scarcity of research explicitly mentioning sustainability. Relevant contributions may be identified by relating education and research to the Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals. The aim of this article was to describe explicit and implicit inclusion of sustainable development and Agenda 2030 goals in occupational therapy education and research at one Swedish university. Current course syllabi and study guides, as well as research over the past five-year period, were examined and related to sustainability. The results showed that although only a few courses and articles were explicitly related to sustainable development, more course and research content became relevant when this content was compared with the sustainable development goals. It can be concluded that sustainability was more extensively addressed than first visible, but further studies including more universities are warranted.

Technology is a fixed feature in today’s world, from smart phones to the everyday technology in our homes. Research is limited regarding perceptions of and attitudes to technology among people of different generations as related to the technological developments they have experienced during their lifetime, as well as their health. It is imperative that researchers focus on this topic in order to better meet the needs of older persons in their utilization of technology. This study is the first step in an ongoing research project concerning healthy ageing and technology from a broader sense, which takes a unique generational perspective. The study aims to develop new knowledge regarding perceptions, acceptance and usage amongst people of different generations as related to the technological developments they have experienced during their lifetimes. Data was collected through several focus group interviews with participants from three age groups (30-39, 50-59 and 70-79 year olds). This exploratory method was used to capture attitudes regarding technology through group discussions and dynamics. Interviews were analysed according to qualitative content analysis and then compared using NVivo software. Preliminary findings indicate that participants do not view non-digitalized items like kitchen appliances as technology. They problematize digital technology and its development, particularly concerning issues with privacy and integrity, as well as its effect on human relationships. However, most continue to use digital technology and even name their smartphone or computer as the most in their everyday life. Explicit desires for parallel pathways and individualized solutions nonetheless pervade. The 70-79ers had less trust in digital technology while the 30-39ers voiced issues regarding social pressures and inclusions; the 50-59ers had to consciously work to keep abreast of new technology. Digital technology engages and has a high usage among different generations; however, the human perspective needs to be further involved to fill basic needs of coming generations.

Background: The occurrence of begging by poor people from other countries in the European Union (EU) is now common in Scandinavia. They have a challenging life, but there is little knowledge about their own perceptions of their stay abroad.

Aim: To explore the experiences of EU citizens begging in Sweden.

Material: A descriptive design was used. Data were gathered through individual interviews conducted in Romanian and translated into Swedish. These were analysed using conventional content analysis. Participants were 20 EU citizens aged 19?64 years with experience of begging in Sweden.

Results: The identified main category, "A hard time abroad to improve one's life", contained four categories - "Endurance is required to make a living"; "Exposed to others' attitudes and kindness"; "Handling being away"; and "A better life is the driving force".

Conclusions and significance: EU citizens who beg face occupational injustice, spending many hours in non-preferred activity of begging and with few leisure activities, although no generalizations can be drawn based on this study. The importance of a friendly attitude and environmental support when abroad was also shown. Since occupational justice is within the scope of occupational therapy, occupational therapists have the skills to contribute in collaboration with others.

Background: Demographic changes combined with costly technological progress put a financial strain on the healthcare sector in the industrialized world. Hence, there is a constant need to develop new cost-effective treatment procedures in order to optimize the use of available resources. As a response, the concept of a Mobile Geriatric Team (MGT) has emerged not only nationally but also internationally during the last decade; however, scientific evaluation of this initiative has been very scarce. Thus, the objective of this study was to perform a mixed methods analysis, including a prospective, controlled and randomized quantitative evaluation, in combination with an interview-based qualitative assessment, to measure the effectiveness and user satisfaction of MGT.

Materials and methods: Community-dwelling, frail elderly people were randomized to an intervention group (n=31, mean age 84) and a control group (n=31, mean age 86). A two-year retrospective quantitative data collection and a prospective one-year follow-up on healthcare utilization were combined with qualitative interviews. Non-parametric statistics and difference-in-difference (DiD) analyses were applied to the quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

Results: No significant group differences in healthcare utilization were found before inclusion. Post intervention, primary care contact (including MGTs) increased for the MGT group. Inpatient care decreased dramatically for both groups. Hence, the increase in primary care contact for MGT patients was not accompanied by a reduction in inpatient care compared to the control group. Utilization of non-primary care was lower (p< 0.01) post-intervention in both groups.

Conclusion: There appears to be a “natural” variation in healthcare needs over time among frail elderly people. Hence, it is vital to perform open, controlled clinical studies in tandem with the implementation of new caregiving strategies. The MGT initiative was clearly appreciated but did not fully achieve the desired reduction in healthcare utilization in this study.

Trial registration: Retrospectively registered 09/10/2018, ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03662945.

The categorizations of occupation commonly used in occupational science and therapy today lack empirical foundations for children and adolescents. Without common definition or conceptualization, the ability to understand and evaluate the impact of occupation on people’s lives is limited. Research in these areas has predominantly been conducted with adults and research about children and adolescents has mainly focused on specific occupations and/or diagnoses. The study aimed to identify experience-based categories of occupation from the perspective of adolescents. Through qualitative interviews with 10 participants aged 12-15, data were collected and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Eight experience-based categories were identified: experiencing change of time perception, experiencing enjoyment and satisfaction, experiencing challenge and competence, experiencing boredom and tediousness, experiencing deeper engagement, experiencing relaxation and recovery, experiencing need, necessity or neutrality, and experiencing self-identification. The categories cover a variety of experiences, and show connections to earlier research. The findings show a possible way of understanding adolescents’ experience of occupation, and contribute to earlier research with an adolescent perspective. Further research is needed to confirm their relevance within other groups and contexts and can be used in further exploration of conceptualization.

Introduction: People from European Union (EU) countries such as Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria who beg on the streets have become a common part of the townscape in Sweden. While demanding situations in their home countries drive them abroad to earn their living, those who turn to begging still face challenges in their everyday lives. Additional knowledge is needed, from their perspective, about the occupational challenges of begging, as well as how they adapt to those challenges.

Aim: To describe the occupational challenges and related adaptations of vulnerable EU citizens begging in Sweden.

Methods: We used a descriptive qualitative design. Individual interviews with 20 Romanian participants were conducted and analysed using qualitative content analysis with a deductive and inductive approach.

Results: Six categories of occupational adaptation responses were identified: Keeping the family tier intact despite distance; Dealing with shame and stress; Managing body and mind when begging despite the monotony; Living as cheaply as possible; Trying to get a night's sleep without drawing attention to oneself; and Seeking alternatives for earning their living.

Conclusion: Everyday life, when begging abroad, is filled with occupational challenges requiring occupational adaptations, for better or for worse, to sustain basic human needs. To further understand the needs of this vulnerable and marginalised group in society, human rights discourses that go beyond the individual level are needed.

Background: Sexual health is an important issue in daily life, but little is known about occupational therapy (OT) students’ views on these matters.

Aim: To explore occupational therapy students’ views on addressing sexual health in their future professional role.

Material and methods: A descriptive qualitative study involving 37 OT students in 5 focus groups was performed and analyzed using content analysis.

Results: Three categories: ‘Sexual health is part of occupational therapy and but not of the OT educational program’; ‘Need for knowledge to identify and intervene related to sexual health problems’; and finally, ‘Communication about sexual health—unknown, untried, but necessary’, formed the theme, ‘Willing to try, wanting to know more, and recognizing not only the difficulties and challenges but also the importance of sexual health in OT practice’.

Conclusions: OT-students consider sexual health as part of OT-practice, but experience lack of knowledge of sexual health related to disease/disability, cultural diversity, and age and sexual orientation. Educational programs need to cover these matters, including how to address sexual health in OT-practice, to enhance OT’s future competence related to promotion of sexual health for clients.

Significance: Knowledge on students’ views are vital to guide education on this important, rather neglected, area.