Date of Award
6-2004
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Occupational Therapy
First Advisor
Dr. Diane Dirette
Second Advisor
Dr. Ben Atchison
Third Advisor
Dr. Paula W. Jamison
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine what medical doctors working in the Canadian healthcare system know about occupational therapy, and if this understanding of occupational therapy is deemed valuable by the rate of referrals generated by these practitioners. This study will examine the relationship between physician's knowledge level and referrals to occupational therapy. The study instrument was a survey that consisted of eight questions, seven multiple choice and one open-ended response. The study took approximately five minutes to complete. A total of forty surveys were distributed at three different acute hospital settings. A total of fourteen or thirty-five percent of surveys were completed and returned. Questions were related to how information about occupational therapy was accessed, if the physicians felt they had a good understanding of occupational therapy, and their referral patterns to occupational therapy. Physicians were asked to select occupational interventions from a possible list of sixteen rehabilitative interventions to determine if what they perceived occupational therapy to be was accurate. The results indicate that eighty-six percent or respondents felt that occupational therapy was important or very important to the rehabilitation of their patients, however when asked to select occupational therapy interventions the results show that respondents were not aware of all the areas that occupational therapists are involved in.
Recommended Citation
Jamani, Naina, "The Understanding and Utilization of Occupational Therapy Services by Medical Doctors in Acute Hospital Settings" (2004). Masters Theses. 4678.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4678