Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42163059›Full record

ArticleOccupational therapy international2026

Occupational Therapy Neurorehabilitation Practice in Middle East and North Africa (MENA): A Scoping Review.

Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Bin-Juwayr, Jacqueline Wesson, Anne Cusick

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Occupational therapy international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Bin-JuwayrFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, sydney.edu.au.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0196-7870
Jacqueline WessonFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, sydney.edu.au.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4359-2443
Anne CusickFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, sydney.edu.au.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9614-1462

Funding

Council of Australasian University Librarians CAUL Gold CY26University of Sydney
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis scoping review aims to map published research evidence about occupational therapy (OT) neurorehabilitation practice in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. A secondary aim was to identify what, if any, functional cognition assessments were used by occupational therapists (OTs).

methodsFollowing JBI scoping review guidelines, a structured search was conducted across five databases: CINAHL, Embase, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science, concluding in July 2025. Citation chaining expanded the search. Screening and data extraction were managed using Covidence. Descriptive tables and narrative synthesis summarised findings.

resultsSixty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Most (71.6%) were published in the last decade, mostly in high-ranking journals. Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia accounted for 80.5% of studies, and OTs were first or last authors in 47.7%. Services were mainly hospital based (inpatient 47.7%, outpatient 46%), with 59.7% involving multidisciplinary teams. Stroke dominated diagnoses (64.8%), whereas dementia was the least (1.3%). Intervention effectiveness was addressed in 35.8% of studies, including 16.4% randomised controlled trials. Home visits were rarely used. Sixty-nine standardised assessments were reported, most commonly FIM, FM-UE, BI, COPM, MMSE, MoCA and LOTCA. No home safety assessments were identified. Only two functional cognition tools were identified, with limited evidence of translation or cultural adaptation. Narrative synthesis revealed that OT neurorehabilitation research in MENA is growing. This aligns with the expansion of WFOT-accredited OT programmes in MENA, which has increased research output from university-affiliated OTs.

conclusionThis study revealed an emerging and rapidly expanding evidence base about OT neurorehabilitation in MENA. It highlights the need for more research about OT for conditions other than stroke. It shows that most research evidence is generated by university-affiliated OTs, and more practitioner and practice research could be done, for example, home visits. Research about functional cognition is limited, and further investigation about awareness and use is needed.

Indexed as

Neurological RehabilitationOccupational TherapyAfrica, NorthernHumansMiddle EastcognitionMiddle Eastneurological rehabilitationNorthern Africaoccupational therapy

Identifiers

PMID42163059
PMCPMC13191774

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.