Introduction: Occupational therapists routinely recommend housing adaptations for community-dwelling adults to overcome environmental barriers. However, little is known about the effectiveness of occupational therapy housing adaptations and the views of adults who receive them and their caregivers. Method: A mixed-methods systematic review of studies completed with adults who received occupational therapy-recommended housing adaptations was completed across Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Ultimate, Ovid Medline and Scopus databases from 2013 to March 2026. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool assessed the quality of each study, and the Joanna Briggs Institute convergent integrated approach was used to synthesise quantitative and qualitative data. Findings: Eight studies were included. Evidence suggests provision of occupational therapy housing adaptations was linked to enhanced independence, quality of life, physical and mental/emotional well-being, safety, freedom, control over the future and valued occupations/roles for community-dwelling adults, as well as ease of caregiving and improved emotional and physical health for the caregivers. Conclusion: Evidence suggests the provision of housing adaptations by occupational therapists improves independence and quality of life for community-dwelling adults and caregivers. This review emphasises the importance of client-centredness and shared decision-making in the provision of housing adaptations.
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McElvaney et al. (2026) studied this question.
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