Explicit and implicit disability attitudes of occupational and physical therapy assistants

Reduction of explicit and implicit bias in healthcare providers is a critical issue faced by our society in moving toward more equitable and culturally appropriate health and rehabilitation care. Because resources for OT and PT services are limited and shortages in these professions exist, direct care provision by occupational and physical therapist assistants (OTA/PTA) is on the rise and valued in comprehensive rehabilitation practice. It is important to consider attitudes and biases of OTA/PTA, as they are directly involved in provision of rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.

This study examined the explicit and implicit disability attitudes of a large cross-section of OTA/PTA.

Secondary data analysis was completed using data from 6113 OTA/PTA from the Project Implicit Disability Attitudes Implicit Association Test. Implicit attitudes were calculated and OTA/PTA explicit and implicit disability attitudes were compared. Results were further categorized using an adapted version of Son Hing et al.'s two-dimensional model of prejudice.

Findings revealed the majority of OTA/PTA reported having no explicit preference for people with disabilities or nondisabled people. However, the majority of OTA/PTA were aversive ableists, indicating low explicit and high implicit bias.

Though explicit bias is lower in OTA/PTA, implicit bias is strong, indicating that people with disabilities face bias that may influence clinical interactions, and may be reproduced in professional education, practice, and policy. Concrete action must be taken to recognize and address disability bias to reduce health disparities in people with disabilities.