Award Date

Spring 5-3-2021

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Department

Brain Health

Advisor 1

Donna Costa, DHS, OTR/L, FAOTA

First Committee Member

Jefferson Kinney, Ph.D

Second Committee Member

Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D

Number of Pages

92

Abstract

The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (2018) standards state that the entry-level occupational therapy curriculum must prepare students to practice in a broad range of practice settings, including new and emerging areas of occupational therapy. Health and wellness remain an emerging and not widely populated area of occupational therapy despite the growing research on its importance. Stancanelli (2020) stated that “with the expected growth of health care in the community and the expected increase in the older adult population, occupational therapy students need to be prepared to practice in the community and address health promotion and wellness needs of community-based older adults” (p. 11). According to Morris (2018), research shows that entry-level educational programs inadequately prepare physical therapy students and occupational therapy students to be health promotion and wellness practitioners as physical therapists and occupational therapists are falling short in providing health and wellness services in practice. This doctoral project explores the use of competency-based education strategies in the implementation of components of an entry-level doctorate occupational therapy course entitled OCT 735: Health and Wellness Interventions with Adults and Older Adults. Health and wellness competencies within occupational therapy education are examined and implemented utilizing current research. The use of student feedback and surveys were explored to prepare students to enter the field of occupational therapy as competent health and wellness practitioners. The implementation of this project aimed to address the gap in occupational therapy health and wellness education through the use of health and wellness competencies with entry-level doctoral students.

Keywords

Entry-level occupational therapy curriculum

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

File Format

pdf

File Size

701 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Download


Share

COinS