Strategies to Promote the Quality of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract

Background: Clinical education is a bridge between theory and practice. The purpose of this study was to develop strategies to promote the quality of occupational therapy fieldwork education. Methods: The qualitative content analysis was used to identify the promoting strategies of fieldwork quality in occupational therapy from students' and fieldwork educators’ perspectives during the 2019–2020 academic sessions. Participants were 12 fieldwork educators (mean age=39.33 yr, Male=5, female 7) and 14 students (mean age=23.28 yr, Male=7, female 7) in the code extraction phase and 16 fieldwork educators (12 of them were in code extraction phase too) in actions of strategies scoring phase. Results: Following the content analysis of the data, the prompting strategies categorized into 4 major categories and 10 subcategories: factors related to Fieldwork educators (Improving clinical teaching skills, Enhancing fieldwork management skills, Motivating fieldwork educators, and Fostering coordination between fieldwork educators), related to Educational Planning (Modifying clinical fieldwork planning, Revising curriculums), related to Students (Empowering students, Motivating students) and related to Fieldwork settings ( Improving the social environment, Improving physical environment ). Based on the qualitative content analysis and 3 expert panels. Finally, the 23 promoting actions were identified. Conclusion: Improving the quality of fieldwork education in occupational therapy needs a systematic collaboration between educators, students, and educational planners. Doing the promoting actions on fieldwork education process in occupational therapy may improve the quality of fieldwork education process.