Impact of International Collaborative Project on Cultural Competence among Occupational Therapy Students

Abstract

Occupational therapy (OT) educators recognize a need to ensure that OT students are culturally competent. The researchers developed the International Collaborative Project on Cultural Competence (ICPCC) to help students understand the impact of cultural context on client care. Entry-level MOT students from a university in the US (N = 18) collaborated with BOT students (N = 4) and advanced MOT students (N = 9) from two universities in India using an online course management system WebCT. The study explored the impact of the ICPCC on OT students' cultural competence and discusses students' perceptions of culture on the OT process. The Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Health Care Professionals Revised © measured students' cultural competence at baseline and immediately after participation in the ICPCC. Qualitative data was collected using a Self-Reflection Form. There was an increase in the cultural competence scores among all three groups of students after participating in the ICPCC at p value < .05. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: meaning of the term culture, impact of cultural on client-centered practice, and impact of cultural on OT outcomes. OT students recognized the role that cultural differences play in OT evaluation and intervention.

Course redesign to promote local and global experiential learning about human occupation: Description and evaluation of a pilot effort

“…Although student feedback mechanisms did not lend themselves to a specific focus on what students learned about human occupation, they did indicate that experiential learning helped students solidify and apply understandings related to culture. This pilot project affirms recent findings from other universities that local and global experiential learning can increase occupational therapy students' perceived understanding of culture and its impact on occupation and occupational therapy practice 21 . Jeffery argued that "... the educational aspect of [experiential learning] is dependent on the level of processing involved during and after the experience" 10:6 and that a crucial part of experiential education occurs when "... the teacher actively encourages or enables critical reflection on the experience" 10:8 .…”

“…The limited occupational therapy scholarship on teaching and learning [15][16][17] offered little guidance for this aspect of the course redesign, but it did suggest that new instructional designs 18 related to online technologies 13,19 and synchronous student collaborations 20 showed promise, especially when coupled with structured reflection 20 . (More recent examples of technology-based international occupational therapy educational collaborations 21 were not published when I undertook the course redesign.) After reviewing existing literature, I worked with a campus instructional designer through the end of 2012 to investigate how the Learning Studio could support international interactions in OCS 372.…”

The Impact of Classroom Instruction on Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity in Occupational Therapy Students

“…Cultural awareness and competency becomes relevant when utilized to address the needs of culturally diverse client populations (Sood et al, 2014). Research has indicated that occupational therapy practitioners acknowledge the need to understand and develop cultural awareness and competency as a part of education and clinical practice (Cheung et al, 2002;Kale & Hong, 2007;Mu et al, 2010;Munoz, 2007;Murden et al, 2008;Rasmussen et al, 2005;Whiteford & St-Clair, 2002).…”

“…The development of cultural competency helps ensure that students and therapists are prepared to recognize a client's personal experience within the cultural context (Sood et al, 2014). Occupational therapists must be aware and sensitive to cultural differences and must be able to consider cultural influences when selecting assessments and occupational interventions to meet the needs of their clients to improve quality of care and avoid any adverse impact (Cheung et al, 2002;Kale & Hong, 2007;Murden et al, 2008;Sood et al, 2014).…”

“…Occupational therapists must be aware and sensitive to cultural differences and must be able to consider cultural influences when selecting assessments and occupational interventions to meet the needs of their clients to improve quality of care and avoid any adverse impact (Cheung et al, 2002;Kale & Hong, 2007;Murden et al, 2008;Sood et al, 2014). The inclusion of the concept of culture and the development of cultural awareness in the occupational therapy curriculum is necessary to prepare students for globalization and respond to the demands of today's culturally diverse work settings (Kale & Hong, 2007;Mu et al, 2010).…”