Uncovering educator perspectives of occupation-centred education in Australia: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Occupation and an occupational perspective of health and wellbeing are required to be taught in accredited occupational therapy programmes internationally. Current research into occupational therapy education has commonly focused on curriculum design and the experience of students and their developing skills for practice. Little research has focused on the perspectives of educators and in particular their own reflections and beliefs on the use of occupation in occupational therapy education. The aim of this study was to uncover Australian educator perspectives of occupation in occupational therapy education. METHOD: This study utilised a qualitative research framework. Eight occupational therapy educators and practice education coordinators completed semi-structured interviews. Educators ranged in experience from two to over 20 years in the university sector. The interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim, forming the data for analysis. Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis was used to analyse the dataset. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data: occupation is our framework; the balance between practice education and occupation-centred education; and educators changing the focus. Overall, educators believed that the 'occupation for health' philosophy and its application are important foundations for education. However, educators provided varied responses on how to teach these concepts to students. CONCLUSION: Gaining educators' opinions on the importance of occupation in education is beneficial for ensuring consistency throughout occupational therapy curricula. Theoretical models were endorsed by educators to foster occupation-based practice. Educators must continue to innovate within the profession for occupation-based approaches in practice and education to be strengthened in the future.

Occupational therapists' perceptions of occupation in practice: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The World Federation of Occupational Therapists' minimum standards state occupation and its relationship with health must be concepts covered in occupational therapy education. Therefore, it is assumed that Australian graduates have sound knowledge of the principles of occupation-based practice. In some practice settings, the link to occupation may not be explicit and graduates could face challenges to being occupation-based. The aims of this pilot study were to explore graduates' perceptions of occupation in their practice and to investigate whether graduates felt sufficiently prepared for occupation-based practice. METHODS: Two focus groups with eight therapists in total were employed to uncover experiences and perceptions of occupation. Themes were synthesised using Braun and Clarke's method of thematic analysis, where line by line coding was employed to inductively build themes. RESULTS: Participants believed that occupation-based practice was important but did not necessarily need to be implemented as a means of intervention. From the participants' perspective, simply striving for occupation as the end goal of therapy was acceptable. A strong focus on impairment-based practice hindered some therapists from exploring the use of occupation-based practice. For recent graduates, workplace culture was pervasive and inhibited the use of occupation. In addition, participants felt university educators did not provide an integrated or consistent approach when teaching how to apply occupation in practice. CONCLUSION: Workplace expectations and limited power to influence practice are impeding graduates from authentically applying occupation in practice. Insights from recently graduated therapists about occupation have the potential to inform future directions of occupation-based practice.

Interprofessional education in practice: Evaluation of a work integrated aged care program.

Health professional clinical education is commonly conducted in single discipline modes, thus limiting student collaboration skills. Aged care residential facilities, due to the chronic and complex health care needs of residents, provide an ideal placement to provide a collaborative experience. Interprofessional education is widely acknowledged as the pedagogical framework through which to facilitate collaboration. The aim of the evaluation was to assess student attitudes towards collaboration after active involvement in an interprofessional education program. Students studying nursing, occupational therapy, and aged care were invited to complete a version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale before and after participating in a three-week pilot interprofessional program. A positive change in student attitudes towards other health professionals and the importance of working in interprofessional teams was reported with significant differences between two statements indicated: Learning with health-care students before qualifications would improve relationships after qualifications; and I learned a lot from the students from the other disciplines. The innovative pilot project was found to enhance student learning in interprofessional teams and the aged care environment. Further development of this and similar interprofessional programs is required to develop sustainable student projects that have health benefits for residents in aged care residential facilities.

Becoming environmentally sustainable in healthcare: an overview.

This paper provides an overview of environmental sustainability in healthcare and highlights the need for a policy framework for action. Examples from overseas demonstrate what has effectively enabled mitigation of and adaptation to the threat of climate change. The need to overcome perceived limits and barriers to health professionals' engagement in sustainable practice is noted. The scientific evidence recommends immediate action.

Conceptual and practical issues in qualitative research: reflections on a life-history study.

Although qualitative research is becoming increasingly popular as a means of understanding not only occupation but also a range of other human health-related phenomena, the complex conceptual underpinnings of the paradigm remain relatively unexplored in the literature. This article addresses such a perceived gap. Context specificity, emic perspectives, its iterative nature, and power relations are four distinct conceptual dimensions of qualitative research that are discussed. The article also includes reflections on conceptual dimensions and practical issues in relation to a qualitative study that adopted a life history approach. These reflections highlight how the conceptual dimensions underpinning qualitative research guide the process in life-history research and shape the experience of life-history researchers. The practical considerations, which focus on participant qualities, effects on the researcher and the participant-researcher relationship, are particularly relevant for potential life-history researchers. The article concludes with a discussion on the value of life-history as a qualitative research approach for occupational therapy and occupational science.