The Home for Little Wanderers, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Klarman Eating Disorders Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.
Int J Eat Disord. 2024 Oct;57(10):1985-1990. doi: 10.1002/eat.24199. Epub 2024 Mar 15.
Most individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) never receive treatment, and treatment needs far exceed the current capacity of mental health services. Occupational therapy (OT) focuses on enhancing function in daily activities, including eating and feeding. Given OT's rich history in mental health and pediatric feeding disorder treatment, we spotlight the potential role of OT in ARFID treatment, current knowledge, and opportunities for future research. Through a preliminary exploratory inquiry involving a review of current literature and clinical practice, we investigated OT's current involvement, knowledge, and interprofessional collaborative practice gaps in ARFID treatment. While many occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) engage in ARFID treatment, interventions lack rigorous evaluation, and there is limited evidence defining OT's distinct role in interprofessional ARFID treatment. OTPs are uniquely positioned to provide interventions for individuals with ARFID across the lifespan, though research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of OT interventions. Future research suggestions include standardizing OT approaches to ARFID treatment and conducting single-case experiments and randomized controlled trials to compare OT approaches with alternative methods. Recommendations to address practice gaps include enhancing ARFID education for OT students and practitioners and fostering a greater understanding of OT's role on the interprofessional team. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Individuals with ARFID face barriers to eating that impact their health and function. On a multidisciplinary team, OTPs can treat diverse client populations by identifying and addressing barriers to daily participation, such as physical impairments, trauma history, and environmental barriers. More research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of OT practices in ARFID treatment.
大多数患有回避/限制型食物摄入障碍（ARFID）的个体从未接受过治疗，而治疗需求远远超过心理健康服务的现有能力。职业治疗（OT）专注于增强日常活动中的功能，包括饮食和喂养。鉴于 OT 在心理健康和儿童喂养障碍治疗方面的丰富历史，我们重点介绍了 OT 在 ARFID 治疗中的潜在作用、当前知识和未来研究机会。通过初步探索性调查，包括对当前文献和临床实践的审查，我们调查了 OT 在 ARFID 治疗中的当前参与情况、知识和跨专业合作实践差距。虽然许多职业治疗师（OTP）参与 ARFID 治疗，但干预措施缺乏严格评估，并且有限的证据定义了 OT 在跨专业 ARFID 治疗中的独特作用。OTP 处于为跨生命周期的 ARFID 个体提供干预措施的独特位置，尽管需要研究来评估 OT 干预措施的疗效。未来的研究建议包括标准化 OT 治疗 ARFID 的方法，并进行单病例实验和随机对照试验，以比较 OT 方法与替代方法。解决实践差距的建议包括为 OT 学生和从业者加强 ARFID 教育，并增进对 OT 在跨专业团队中的作用的理解。公众意义：患有 ARFID 的个体面临影响其健康和功能的进食障碍。在多学科团队中，OTP 可以通过识别和解决日常参与的障碍（如身体损伤、创伤史和环境障碍）来治疗不同的客户群体。需要更多的研究来评估 OT 在 ARFID 治疗中的实践效果。
