Sport as a Leisure Occupation in Occupational Therapy Literature: A Scoping Review

Importance: The focus of occupational therapy is often on personal care, life skills, and daily living. Sport, as a type of leisure activity, can also provide benefits to health and well-being. Occupational therapy practitioners should therefore promote the role of sport in the lives of clients. Objective: To investigate the extent, range, and nature of peer-reviewed occupational therapy literature investigating sport as a leisure occupation. Data Sources: The following databases were searched: Embase, MEDLINE, OTseeker, PsycINFO, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus. Study Selection and Data Collection: We identified published studies investigating competitive sport in occupational therapy research or practice. Included studies investigated adult participants (age >= 18 yr) participating in sport, had a clear occupational therapy input, and were written in the English language. Findings: Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Only 2 of the 6 studies identified through the search strategy were conducted after 2004, diagnosis and outcome measures varied widely, and sport as a leisure occupation was found to have positive individual outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance: Opportunities exist to investigate sport as a leisure occupation and its involvement in occupational therapy practice. Future research may contribute to positive outcomes and experiences for clients who receive occupational therapy. What This Article Adds: This scoping review describes literature about sport as an occupation and highlights the opportunities for practitioners and researchers to incorporate sport as a leisure occupation.