Do you have expertise in addressing sexuality and intimacy in occupational therapy as a practitioner, researcher, or educator?

My name is Beth Ann Walker and I am an associate professor from the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Indianapolis, in the United States of America. This past year, I developed the Occupational Therapy Sexual Assessment Framework https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/ojot/vol8/iss2/7/ which is a theoretical framework to guide our profession in assessing and understanding the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy.

I also created the Occupational Performance Inventory of Sexuality and Intimacy (OPISI) https://uindy.edu/health-sciences/ot/opisi/ which serves as the first occupation-focused screen, assessment, and performance measure addressing the sexuality and intimacy needs of our clients. Now that a theoretical foundation exists for the international practice of occupational therapy in addressing the sexuality and intimacy needs of clients, and well-designed theoretical-based screening, assessment, and measurement of outcomes exist, it is time to establish a new direction for education, practice, and research (Walker, 2020).

I am in search of occupational therapists who have established expertise and contributed to the advancement of research, education, and/or practice to participate in a three-step modified Delphi approach to identify research priorities for the INTERNATIONAL practice of occupational therapy in addressing clients’ sexuality and intimacy needs.

Expertise in research is defined as an OT practitioner who has served as the principal investigator and conducted multiple research studies related to sexuality and intimacy and disseminated this work via platform presentation at national conferences and/or peer-reviewed journal articles

Expertise in education is defined as an OT educator who has disseminated knowledge and/or education expertise through avenues such as curriculum development, specialty courses, continuing education, conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications, textbook chapters, and/or trade journals.

Expertise in practice is defined as an OT practitioner who has extensive knowledge and expertise as it relates to addressing sexuality and intimacy in clinical practice and has disseminated this knowledge and/or practice expertise through avenues such as presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications, trade journals, or publicized interviews about expertise.

If you are interested in participating in this study you may follow the link provided below to complete an eligibility survey which includes a questionnaire to establish if potential participants meet the inclusion criteria for continued involvement in the study.

Inclusion criteria: Occupational therapists who have established expertise and contributed to the advancement of research, education, and/or practice of occupational therapy in addressing the sexuality and intimacy needs of clients. Respondents should be able to read and respond in English.
Exclusion criteria: Given the international scope of this project, the goal is to recruit a well-rounded panel of experts across various areas of practice and areas of the world. Some individuals who meet the inclusion criteria may not be selected to participate if it would contribute to national, geographical, or practice area dominance.

Participation
If you meet the criteria for inclusion to participate in this study, you will be involved in 3 rounds of data collection using Qualtrics Survey Software sent via email. Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you would like to participate or have any questions about the study, please email or contact me, Beth Ann Walker, at walkerba@uindy.edu

https://uindy.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eWDKG1e1nmhoMaa
With Admiration,
Beth Ann Walker, PhD, MS, OTR, FAOTA