An international study of the professional resilience strategies used by early career occupational therapists.

There is a paucity of research into the strategies occupational therapists use to maintain career longevity professional resilience. The objective of the study was to identify the strategies used by occupational therapists to maintain their professional resilience. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data from a cross-sectional survey that investigated the professional resilience strategies used by experienced occupational therapists. Valid responses were received from 489 occupational therapists from 29 countries. The most used professional resilience strategies were maintaining a belief in the value of occupational therapy, taking time for reflection on positive outcomes, using personal time management strategies, and engagement in informal and formal professional support networks. A range of professional resilience strategies are used by experienced occupational therapists in health and social care settings. The findings can be used by managers and workplace organizations to support their occupational therapy workforce.

History, Current Practice, and the Future of Wound Care for Occupational and Physical Therapists.

Occupational Therapy Is a Vital Member of the Interprofessional Team-Based Approach for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Applying the 2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Exercise, Rehabilitation, Diet, and Additional Integrative Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Is Occupational Therapy Adequately Meeting the Needs of People With Chronic Pain?

Editorial: How many courses for how many jobs? Enduring questions in need of research-based answers.

Knowledge translation in the context of the Asia Pacific region.

2020 vision: promoting participation, mental health and wellbeing through occupational therapy - what are we doing and where are we heading?

The demand for occupational therapy services in Australia has experienced considerable growth in the last decade. Despite an increase in occupational therapy numbers, there remains a substantial workforce shortage. One reason for this shortage is difficulty with the retention of occupational therapists and subsequent workforce attrition. The literature attributes planning to leave as being influenced by high workloads, insufficient time, a negative workplace culture, and stress impacting well-being. However, much of this research is specific to a practice area, such as mental health, and does not explore the experiences of those who have already left. Knowing why people leave occupational therapy will inform our understanding of how to support and retain our occupational therapy workforce. A qualitative study was undertaken using narrative inquiry in an Australian context. In 2022, stories were gathered from six former occupational therapists who left within the previous 5 years. Data were collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews using Zoom. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed using narrative and thematic analysis. Four themes were developed: "I just want to help this person"; "there was no real understanding"; "Trying to find where occupational therapy fits for me"; and "I'm not able to continue … anymore." Participants experienced dissonance between enacting their occupational therapy values and the expectations of their management. They were challenged by unsupportive workplace cultures and leadership styles that undermined their autonomy. They responded with resilience, and trying new ways to continue being occupational therapists, but became increasingly uncomfortable and stressed until they reached a tipping point where they decided to leave. Increasing leadership development within the profession is essential, along with creative strategies for meeting funding requirements and fulfilling occupational therapy values. Workplaces that provide autonomy and respect the occupational therapy role are likely to support retention.

Background: To advance occupational therapy knowledge and practice in Southeast Asia, it is pivotal that quality master’s degree programs in occupational therapy are in place. Such a program must respond to the needs of the region in terms of occupational therapy education, practice, and scholarship. By recognizing the diversity of the occupational therapy education and training in the region, it has become possible to consider alternatives in establishing a graduate program in occupational therapy through partnerships and consortia. In order to make an informed decision to decide whether co-creating a master’s program in occupational therapy through an international consortium within the region is possible or not, a needs assessment is warranted. Objectives: To describe the profile of occupational therapists living and working in the Southeast Asian region who would like to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy via an international consortium. Materials and methods: An online survey design was used to produce data that would be used to inform the co-creation of an international master’s program in occupational therapy. The survey questionnaire was designed specifically for this study and included three sections: 1) information and consent form; 2) demographic information; and 3) information about the need for and preferences on a master’s program in occupational therapy. Participants were recruited through professional organizations and various social media platforms of national and international occupational therapy groups. Results: Eighty-five final-year occupational therapy students and 143 occupational therapists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries completed the survey. Majority (62%) of the respondents was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in occupational therapy because they perceived that an advanced degree can enable specialization in practice, promote personal and professional development, and help generate new knowledge for the field. The characteristics of the envisaged international master’s program must be: 1) completed ideally in 1.5 to 2 years, 2) taken by part-time students who are also working practicing, 3) delivered via a hybrid arrangement (i.e., online and face-to-face) with a fixed weekly schedule, and 4) matriculated for USD 1,000 per semester. Conclusion: While this cross-sectional survey cannot encapsulate the totality of occupational therapists’ needs in terms of their professional development, the survey provided an empirical basis to inform decisions in the creation of a master’s program in occupational therapy jointly offered by an international consortium of Southeast Asian universities.

Mental health practice can create challenging environments for occupational therapists. This study explores the dynamic processes involved in the development and maintenance of professional resilience of experienced mental health occupational therapy practitioners. It presents the PRIOrity model that summarises the dynamic relationship between professional resilience, professional identity and occupation-based practice. A narrative inquiry methodology with two phases of interviews was used to collect the data from nine experienced mental health practitioners. Narrative thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Professional resilience was linked to: (i) professional identity which tended to be negatively influenced in contexts dominated by biomedical models and psychological theories; (ii) expectations on occupational therapists to work outside their professional domains and use generic knowledge; and (iii) lack of validation of occupation-focussed practice. Professional resilience was sustained by strategies that maintained participants' professional identity. These strategies included seeking 'good' supervision, establishing support networks and finding a job that allowed a match between valued knowledge and opportunities to use it in practice. For occupational therapists professional resilience is sustained and enhanced by a strong professional identity and valuing an occupational perspective of health. Strategies that encourage reflection on the theoretical knowledge underpinning practice can sustain resilience. These include supervision, in-service meetings and informal socialisation. Further research is required into the role discipline-specific theories play in sustaining professional values and identity. The development of strategies to enhance occupational therapists' professional resilience may assist in the retention of occupational therapists in the mental health workforce.

Commemorative Editorial: The Legacy of Franklin Stein, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA.

There is a continued need to build research capacity within the allied health professions (Council for Allied Health Professions Research, 2016). As one of the larger allied health professions, this is also the case for occupational therapy. Each year there are approximately 1,000 graduate occupational therapists entering the health and social care workforce, joining what is a current UK community of 38,183 qualified occupational therapists (HCPC, 2018). One requirement of being a professional occupational therapist is adherence to professional standards, including a commitment to advancement of the evidence base through engagement with research activity (COT, 2015). This study provides in-depth understanding of the research capacity experiences of early career occupational therapists. The study aims to contribute to the UK Occupational Therapy profession’s knowledge about research capacity in practice and to use the research findings to inform the development of local Occupational Therapy undergraduate programme provision. This study used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as the discrete research approach. Through purposive homogenous sampling, eight early career first class (Hons) occupational therapists who graduated from one UK University, participated in this study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a ‘participant profile’, and analysed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis step guide (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). Findings suggest that the early career occupational therapists in this study face professional challenges that have an impact on their current and future contribution to research capacity. These challenges are discussed using three topic areas:- professional identity of early career occupational therapists, professional socialisation of early career occupational therapists, and research capacity and how it is defined. Contributing to research capacity is not fully integrated into the professional identity of early career first class (Honours) occupational therapists. Professional socialisation within the workplace appears to have an impact on the research capacity contribution of early career occupational therapists. Occupational therapy undergraduate students should be better prepared for research utilisation and research production during their undergraduate learning. Strategies to further embed research capacity contribution within the occupational therapy curriculum are identified. This study suggests that acknowledging a continuum of research activities would be helpful to promote a more inclusive perspective on research capacity contribution.

Background Recently, it has been suggested that gender disparity in Occupational Therapy has to do with segregated gendered job norms that position female dominated professions as a ‘step down’ for many males. Interestingly, this suggestion was not underpinned by experiences of males in the profession. Aims and Methods Thirteen male Occupational Therapists with a variety of backgrounds were invited to this Round Table research, focussing on the broader issue of the existing gender imbalance in Occupational Therapy. Results Two themes emerged: ‘The core values of the profession’, and ‘Broadening the scope of the profession’; none of them suggesting that male/female imbalance was necessarily the most pressing issue. Conclusions A gender-unrelated approach to everyday problem-solving was put forward to achieve increased diversity in Occupational Therapists’ backgrounds, better reflecting the people they serve. By broadening the scope and the way the profession is presented, and encouraging innovative and more entrepreneurially driven approaches, diversity in the workforce could be further facilitated. These findings are discussed within the context of ‘The mutual constitution of cultures and selves’ model. Significance Diversity in the Occupational therapy workforce could be further facilitated with a shift in focus away from the male/female perspective to an intersectional approach.

Occupational Therapy Workforce in the United States: Forecasting Nationwide Shortages

More Than Good Intentions: Advancing Adherence to Therapy Recommendations