occupational therapy research paper topics

Helpful List of OT Journals

Post date --> September 24, 2024

Occupational therapy is a holistic health profession. Which means the research that supports our care comes from many different disciplines.

In this post, you’ll find a helpful list of occupational therapy journals. These will give you a taste of the breadth of OT research out there. We’ll begin with a list of journals that are specifically focused on OT. Then share our growing list of journals that publish research related to OTs.

The journals with related research were pulled from our lists of the most influential OT research —and then featured in the OT Potential Club . (You’ll see below that this list includes some of the most prestigous peer-reviewed journals in healthcare!)

If you know of any OT journals we missed or would like to see them organized differently, please let us know in the comments!

A quick note on access:

It feels like more and more journal articles are getting moved out from behind paywalls, making them free to the general public.

But, very few journals themselves are completely open access. I’ll highlight the open access journals at the top of each category to make them easy to find for you.

OT-specific journals

Open access OT journals:

Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Additional OT journals:

American Journal of Occupational Therapy
Annals of International Occupational Therapy
Argentine Journal of Occupational Therapy/Revista Argentina de Terapia Ocupational
Asian Journal of Occupational Therapists
Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy/Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional
British Journal of Occupational Therapy
Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy
Chilean Journal of Occupational Therapy/Revista Chilena de Terapia Ocupacional
Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy
Human Occupation Magazine/Revista Ocupación Humana
Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy
Journal of Acute Care for Occupational Therapy
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
Journal of Occupational Science
Journal of Occupational Therapy at the University of Sao Paulo/Revista de Terapia Ocupacional da Universidade de São Paulo
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education
Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, and Early Intervention
Journal of the Occupational Therapy Society/職能治療學會雜誌
Journal of the School of Public Health/Cuadernos de la Escuela de Salud Pública
OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health
Occupational Therapy In Health Care
Occupational Therapy in Mental Health
Occupational Therapy International
Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics
Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics
Revista Ocupación Humana (Colombian Occupational Therapy Journal)
Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy
South African Journal of Occupational Therapy
Translational Science in Occupation
UFSCar Occupational Therapy Journals/Cadernos de Terapia Ocupational de UFSCar

Journals that publish OT-related research

Open access journals:

Jama Network Open

Additional journals publishing OT-related research:

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
American Psychologist
Annals of Internal Medicine
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Arthritis and Rheumatology
Autism Research
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease
BioMed Research International
BMC Family Practice
BMC Health Services Research
BMC Medicine
Brain and Behavior
British Journal of Psychiatry
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Cancer Treatment Reviews
Clinical and Translational Science
Clinical Rehabilitation
Cochrane Database
CONTINUUM Lifelong Learning in Neurology
Critical Care Clinics
Critical Care Medicine
Current Psychiatry Reports
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
Disability and Rehabilitation
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Early Human Development
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
Environmental Research
European Journal of Neurology
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education All
Intensive Care Medicine
Health and Social Care in the Community
International Journal of Nursing Studies
JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association
JAMA Internal Medicine
JAMA Neurology
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Journal of Geriatric Oncology
Journal of Hand Therapy
Journal of Interprofessional Care
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
Journal of Neurotrauma
Journal of Pediatrics
Journal of Physiotherapy
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Medical Care Research and Review
Molecular Genetics and Metabolism
Movement Disorders
Nature Reviews Disease Primers
Nature Reviews Neurology
Neurologic Clinics
Neuromuscular Disorders
Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
Neurotherapeutics
Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
Pain Medicine
Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Pediatric Neurology
Physical Therapy
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Research in Developmental Disabilities
Reviews in Medical Virology
Supportive Care in Cancer
The Lancet Neurology
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

How OT Potential helps you dig into the research

At OT Potential, our mission is to help you make a habit of regularly diving into research to grow your OT practice. One of the best ways to begin your evidence-based practice journey with us is to listen to our evidence reviews and discussions on our OT Potential Podcast Courses . And, ultimately, the best way to stay up to date on new evidence is to join the OT Potential Club.

occupational therapy research paper topics

5 replies on “Helpful List of OT Journals”

Thank you so much for helping to develop young OTs

Thank you for this list! Another helpful resource would be a list of open-access OT or OT-related journals.

There is also the Hand Therapy journal (in addition to the Journal of Hand Therapy). https://journals.sagepub.com/home/hth

Great list! Thank you so much for compiling. I will add Revista Ocupación Humana (Colombian Occupational Therapy Journal), an open-access OT peer-reviewed OT journal. To access, visit: http://www.revistaocupacionhumana.org

Amazing! I had not seen this one! I’m adding it to my list right now!