Icelandic Occupational Therapists' Attitudes Toward Professionalism

Abstract

Á smundsdóttir EE, Kaplan S. Icelandic occupational therapists' attitudes toward professionalism. Scand J Occup Ther 2000; 7: 67-75.The goal of this study was to capture the main demographics of Icelandic occupational therapists and their attitudes concerning professionalism. The entire population of Icelandic occupational therapists was surveyed. Eighty-seven questionnaires were sent out and 80 (92%) were returned and used for analysis. Results of the study indicated that Icelandic occupational therapists are active in their association, willing to take on duties for the advancement of the profession, and interested in conducting research. The attitudes of Icelandic occupational therapists were generally quite uniform. However t-tests and one-way ANOVAs (analyses of the variance) (pB0.05) revealed significant differences in some attitudes and professional activities according to level of education, length of professional experience and country of education. The findings from this study are valuable for the profession at present, and can also be used to monitor future changes.