lilialjara
And how can research help us overcome it? Leave us your thoughts, comments or experiences!
Huget
Being able to present a valuable OT profile in extra-mural settings and build an identity as health care provider that can support patients and other caregivers to bridge the gap between health care and participation (work, communicty acitivities,...)
NDYOWAAWE
Me I can say that we need more research to be done by we ourselves as OTs for the purposes of future use.
Currently I think after school I'll be more into research
Best regards
Ndyowaawe
lilialjara
Hello Huget and Ndyowaawe,
Thank you for joining!
I really appreciate your perspectives. I agree, we need to engage in more occupational therapy- driven research, that can position the profession within the health care settings and beyond, highlighting the unique value of OT! Please feel free to invite others to join this important conversation!
Michelle Kennelly
I am working within an intellectual disability service and the biggest challenge at present is highlighting the broad role of OT within this area and its importance.
ajema
I will prioritize research work in OT should be a concern. But, besides this, more precisely in terms of my country, lack of manpower and provision of training by the OTs from specialized fields who are recognized by internationally are the problems that we are mostly dealing.
lilialjara
Yes! It seems that showcasing the added value of occupational therapy is a global challenge. And one in which research has an important role!
GemmaOTPhD
I think one of our greatest challenges at present is our need to refocus on our core ethos of occupation, including how we define this and how we can ensure this is maintained and promoted in practice. For many years we have fallen in line with the parameters of the services which employ us, even when this encourages us to take a more bottom up approach (not starting with occupation). I am not suggesting that this is an easy task but I do think this would help to strengthen the understanding and value attributed to Occupational Therapy.
Gemma
chichayatf
Decoding the OT language for others/general population to understand our way of thinking & doing things is sometimes difficult. Research along these lines could go a long way in propping the OT profile which i feel is still very low in many settings......
Clarissa Adriel
A big question indeed!
If we're to have allegiance to the occupational needs and rights of people we live amidst, a big challenge is being comfortable with the way things are. We need some restlessness to drive us to step up, stretch, or sustain us to then face the other professional challenges.
Research for specific interventions with specific populations helps to document "what works". Research with a spirit of appreciative enquiry re "how it works" to face professional challenges could be very helpful for practitioners to see a way forward. And to see that addressing these professional challenges is within our reach and responsibility too.
(To re-look at ourselves, our practice, and place in the community, most of us need an opportunity to "see" differently before we can be or do differently. Research can shape how we "see" . . .)
Sincerely,
Clarissa
Micheal Akande
I'd say the present demand to surmount the challenges facing occupational therapy (here in Nigeria especially) is to invest more in research areas that will bolster Evidence-based practice and also create interventions that have strong scientific rationale. Occupational therapy should be practiced with strong scientific backgrounds in fields like kinesiology, psychology, sociology and basic medical sciences.
