Awareness and Knowledge of Occupational Therapy among Nigerian Medical and Health Sciences Undergraduates

Abstract

Objective/BackgroundConsequent to the introduction of occupational therapy (OT) training programmes in Nigeria in the past decade, this study sought to assess the awareness and knowledge of Nigerian medical and other health career undergraduates about OT.MethodsThree hundred and eighty-one undergraduates and students of other health disciplines from the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria responded to a validated three section questionnaire assessing their awareness and knowledge about OT. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and percentages and inferential statistics of chi-square test of association.ResultsThe mean age of the respondents was 20.96 ±2.88 years. Over 80% of the respondents were aware of the OT profession, with higher rates among male respondents (83.7%), students in the 2nd year of study (94.7%), and those in the medical rehabilitation programme (99.1%). Amongst the respondents, < 40% had good knowledge of OT while a majority had knowledge ranging from poor to moderate (62.7%). Respondents’ course of study and level of study were significantly associated with awareness and knowledge about OT.ConclusionNigerian medical and health sciences undergraduates had high awareness, but poor to moderate knowledge about the OT profession, roles, and work settings. Level of awareness and knowledge about OT were significantly influenced by the rehabilitation-related course of study and lower level of study. Replication of similar studies in countries with different cultural backgrounds is suggested.

Knowledge About Occupational Therapy in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Where Do Health Care Professionals Stand?

“…This could be because of their lack of knowledge about presence of OTs or about their role in helping patients with occupational performance difficulties. These finding are in line with the previous researches, which found out that most of the physicians and medical students showed lack of knowledge about OTs function and role (13,14,15) . One unexpected finding in the study was that most of HCPs reported that they have heard about OT.…”

“…In addition, a large number of participants in this study were from different countries such as India, Egypt and Philippines, which may have more OT services in their home countries. This finding was consistent with the preceding studies (13,15,16) which found that the majority of HCPs had heard about OT but didn't have suitable scientific knowledge. The study has clearly shown that there is a limited knowledge about OT in SA.…”

“…Additionally, there are very limited educational and awareness programmes about OT in SA. These finding are supported by the other studies as well (13,15) . This study found out that most of physicians never referred patients to OT despite presence of OTs in the hospital.…”

“…More than 21% of HCPs had limited knowledge about the OTs work place and 12% thought that they work in factories whereas a few of them thought they work in hospitals. These findings are conflicting with the study (15) , which found that more than 70% of HCPs reported, that OTs work in rehabilitation centers. A possible explanation for disparities between the studies in this area could be that there are a few number of OTs in hospitals in our area and this field is not as familiar in this part of the world.…”

“…This is consistent with the findings of other studies done worldwide which found that there was a lack of knowledge among HCPs (12,13) . This was an expected finding as OT is a relatively new field in this part of the world and little is known about its goals, role and implications (13,14,15) . We found on further categorization and comparison among health professionals that physicians had more knowledge about OT as compared to the other three groups of HCPs.…”