Developing Client Self-Advocacy in Occupational Therapy: Are We Practicing What We Preach?

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Health Sciences
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Client self-advocacy is within the occupational therapy scope of practice.
• Limited understanding exists on how occupational therapists learn and implement self-advocacy interventions.
• Addressing client self-advocacy is vital for overcoming exclusion and discrimination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if and how occupational therapists learn about self-advocacy intervention approaches.
• To identify if and how occupational therapists implement self-advocacy in their clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 138 practicing and licensed occupational therapists in the United States.
• Data were collected via REDCap and analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics (Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square, Pearson's correlation).

Main Results:

• A majority (59.5%) of occupational therapists reported not learning client self-advocacy strategies.
• 21.7% of participants had no prior exposure to client self-advocacy in academic or clinical settings.
• Therapists who did implement self-advocacy often did so indirectly via teaching related skills (76.6%).

Conclusions:

• Occupational therapists must prioritize integrating client self-advocacy into curricula and clinical practice.
• Self-advocacy skills are essential for clients to address societal exclusion and discrimination.
• Enhancing occupational therapy training in self-advocacy is critical for promoting client participation.