The COVID-19 pandemic affected international exchange programs due to travel restrictions. There are few reports of online international exchange programs in medical area and no report of interactive activities among students together for several months. To the best of our knowledge, we needed to seek the feasible approach to conduct online exchange program. We experienced online collaboration works to promote internationalization in occupational therapy (OT) undergraduate education. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility and usability of an interactive online international exchange program, and discuss its challenges and advantages. The three-month program was newly developed, and aimed at cultivating an international perspective, understanding OT, and learning basic research skills. Students’ interests and the development of their motivation were considered in the program consisting of synchronous and asynchronous lectures, a collaboration research project, group work, and report assignments. Through the program, students were satisfied with the program contents and had the precious experience to develop international relationships. The online exchange program provided students with the opportunity to experience and learn OT education internationally at an economical cost, and to achieve program goal during the regular semester. In this program, students not only acquired knowledge in their professional field, but also cultivated their international communication skills in English from small group activities and social activities. Considering various communication methods was an important aspect in the virtual environment leading to a successful program. In medical education, an online program can be an effective and practical measure for international exchange.

Background: Community-based occupational therapy (CBOT) extends beyond traditional institutional care to address social, cultural, and environmental factors that influence health and participation. In Thailand, demographic shifts, the rise of non-communicable diseases, and gaps in the healthcare system underscore the potential of CBOT for meeting community needs. However, the extent to which occupational therapy (OT) practice in Thailand is implemented within community settings remains unclear. A clearer understanding of existing practices, key interventions, and emerging trends is therefore needed to guide policy, inform practice, and expand CBOT effectively. Objective: This scoping review aims to map current OT practice in Thai community settings. Specifically, it explores areas of practice, key interventions, and emerging trends, examining how they align with CBOT principles. By identifying gaps and opportunities, this review seeks to inform future research, practice, and policy development toward evidence-based CBOT. Materials and methods: Following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and the Thai-Journal Citation Index Center was conducted. Articles published in English or Thai describing OT in Thai community settings were included, yielding 14 studies. Data extraction followed a structured template, and a content analysis was performed to identify thematic patterns. Results: Two overarching categories emerged: areas of practice and implementation strategies. The areas of practice primarily emphasized physical rehabilitation, particularly for stroke survivors, focusing on functional recovery and activities of daily living. Fewer studies addressed mental health, but those that did underscored the importance of social participation and caregiver education. Implementation strategies included improving functional recovery, collaborating with village health volunteers, integrating technology, and developing CBOT models. Conclusion: Occupational therapy in Thai community settings demonstrates promising practices, such as integrating village health volunteers and employing technology in rehabilitation. However, limited attention to mental health, underutilization of OT-specific skills, and uneven geographical distribution highlight areas for further development. Expanding community-based services to underserved regions and strengthening the evidence base-especially in mental health and policy engagement will be crucial for maximizing CBOT’s impact. Future research should explore diverse populations, assess model sustainability, and align current practices more firmly with evidence-based strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused social restrictions to prevent transmission, which creates limitations on interactions with other people, including family and friends. Smartphones are a tool that can help people to connect with family, friends, and others to conduct some activities to support daily life. By using a smartphone, people can connect and interact with other people without the need to meet in person. Smartphones among the younger generation have certainly become very important objects which they use almost all the time. Of course, this is a different situation and condition for older people. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, all human activities changed massively, including social activities. It would be interesting to study this situation in elderly people. This study aims to explore smartphone usage time and related social life in the elderly population when the COVID- 19 pandemic occurred in Indonesia. Individual interviews were conducted on a targeted group of respondents aged 60–75 years using purposeful sampling, followed by a semi-structured interview using an interview guide. The collected data will be analyzed using thematic analysis of the three roles smartphones have in the lives of elderly people: (1) enriching individual meaningful activities, (2) participation in activities, and (3) energy conservation for individuals. The elderly use smartphones to connect with their families during the COVID 19 pandemic so they do not feel lonely, and to access health services, but some elderly have difficulty adapting to using smartphones to carry out activities during the pandemic. The use of smartphones by the elderly is very helpful during the pandemic to stay connected with family and obtain health assistance. However, sudden changes make it difficult for the elderly to adapt to the use of smartphones; therefore, it is necessary to have a brief and easy-to-understand guide for the elderly to be able to adapt to using smartphones.

Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the effects of the participatory ergonomics (PE) program on reducing the ergonomic risk factors and increasing the work performance among the aging workers who work as ginger peelers in the Wat Puranawas community in Thailand. Material and...

Background: Global health care education that cultivates international orientation is important for providing medical care in consideration of diverse backgrounds and collaboration with foreign medical professionals. Virtual international exchange programs could be a new type of global education in the present postpandemic era. Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a virtual international exchange program in fostering quality academic and professional learning and international orientation from student perspectives across 5 countries. This research is expected to contribute to education for the development of global human resources in the health professions. Methods: This quasi-experimental study used a before-and-after design using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach. In this study, a 5-day interactive virtual program was offered to occupational therapy students from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. The students were asked about their expectations and international orientation before the program, and about their evaluation of the program and international orientation afterward. Numerical data from a questionnaire on program expectations and evaluations were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data on international orientation were subjected to qualitative analysis using steps for coding and theorization. Results: In total, 29 students participated in the program, out of which 12 students (response ratio 41.4%) answered the research questionnaires both before and after the program. Overall, the students’ expectations of the program were met in terms of expertise, scientific learning skills, and group interactions. Comparing before and after the program, mean scores of how the program met expectations increased, and the mean scores after the program in all 12 items asking about program evaluation were from 3.8 (SD 1.19) to 4.9 (SD 0.67; range: score 1 [lowest]-5 [highest]). Even though their motivation for participating in the program was not specific before the program, after the program, they reported having a more concrete image and specific form of what they learned from an international perspective. The participants enjoyed communication with others from diverse backgrounds while recognizing the difficulty of understanding different values. They also expressed satisfaction with their understanding of occupational therapy professionals and diverse societies, including medical systems from other countries. Conclusions: Even though the analyzed sample data were small, these findings suggest that the program in this study may provide the participants with valuable opportunities. The virtual exchange program could foster students to cultivate qualities such as problem-finding or problem-solving and having interactions with groups from diverse backgrounds.

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common condition in the older person and can lead to serious complications. In Thailand, there is currently no standardized dysphagia screening tool for gathering preliminary information about clients for early evaluation and intervention. Objective: This study aimed to develop a dysphagia risk screening tool for older persons and investigate its psychometric properties. This study examined the content validity, criterion validity, and test-retest of the Geriatric Dysphagia Risk Screening Tool (GDRST). Materials and methods: 26 questions were developed from literature review and expert opinion. Five expert occupational therapists examined content validity. The Index of Congruence (IOC) was calculated from five experts, and the items that showed IOC scores of over 0.5 were incorporated into the target screening tool. Thirty older adults who had a risk of dysphagia (Mean±SD, 66.13±4.66 years) participated in the study. The internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to examine the test-retest reliability of the screening tool. The criterion validity of the GDRST was evaluated by investigating the relationships between a score of the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and the Swallowing Quality Assessment Form for Occupational Therapists (SQAOT) using Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Results: Based on the literature review and occupational therapy expert opinions, the screening tool covers three domains, including the cognition domain, oral phase swallowing ability domain, and pharyngeal phase swallowing ability domain. Content validity IOC scores were between 0.6 and 1.0 for all items. The internal consistency of the GDRST was high, with 0.971 Cronbach’s alpha for the test. The screening tool had excellent test-retest reliability on all items (p<0.05). The score of the GDRST was significantly correlated with the score of FOIS (r=-0.468, p=0.009), and SQAOT (r=-0.705, p=0.000). Conclusion: The GDRST demonstrated excellent reliability and validity against the clinical assessment. It was simple to administer and could be beneficial for screening older people in the community for dysphagia.