Helpful List of OT Journals

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:

• BMJ Open
• 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
• Autism Research
• Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease
• BioMed Research International
• BMC Family Practice
• BMC Health Services Research
• BMC Medicine
• Brain
• 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 EducationAll
• 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
• NeuroImage
• Neurologic Clinics
• Neurology
• Neuromuscular Disorders
• Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
• Neurotherapeutics
• Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
• Pain Medicine
• Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
• Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
• Pediatric Neurology
• Pediatrics
• Physical Therapy
• PLoS ONE
• Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Research in Developmental Disabilities
• Reviews in Medical Virology
• Sensors
• Spine
• Stroke
• Supportive Care in Cancer
• The Lancet
• 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.