Limitations and Recommendations for Advancing the Occupational Therapy Workforce Research Worldwide: Scoping Review and Content Analysis of the Literature

Abstract

Occupational therapy workforce research can help determine whether occupational therapists exist in sufficient supply, are equitably distributed, and meet competency standards. Advancing the value of occupational therapy workforce research requires an understanding of the limitations and recommendations identified by these investigations. This scoping review and content analysis synthesizes the study limitations and recommendations reported by the occupational therapy research worldwide. Two independent reviews included 57 papers from the past 25 years. Stated limitations included: focus on cross-sectional studies with small and convenience samples; participants from single settings or regions; local markets or preferences not specified; focus on self-reported data and intentions (rather than behaviors or occurrences); challenges in aggregating or synthesizing findings from descriptive data; lack of statistical adjustment for testing multiple associations; and the lack of detailed, up-to-date, and accessible workforce data for continuous monitoring and secondary research. Stated recommendations included: strengthening routine workforce data collection; developing longitudinal studies that include interventions (e.g., recruitment or retention packages); developing context-sensitive comparisons; studying the impact on ultimate outcomes; promoting nation-wide, coordinated workforce plans and requirements; and fostering international coalitions for workforce research and developments at scale. These study limitations and recommendations reported by the literature must be considered in the design of a local and global occupational therapy workforce research agenda.

Situational analysis for informing the global strengthening of the occupational therapy workforce

“…1. A recent, multi‐pronged scoping review synthesized the global occupational therapy workforce research: studies, 6 findings, 3 limitations & recommendations 7 …”

“…In the context above, the Strengths and Weaknesses of our SWOT framework were primarily identified from the findings of our recent scoping review of the occupational therapy workforce research. The three‐pronged scoping review addressed: (1) the scope of the literature and its research methods, 6 (2) the types of findings generated, 3 and (3) the self‐reported limitations and recommendations 7 . Data and reports generated by WFOT were also used to inform the Strengths and Weaknesses, for example, data from the WFOT human resources project 3 …”

“…Second, we identified the types of findings that were generated by the occupational therapy workforce research, including trends in topics across nations 3 . Lastly, limitations and future recommendations reported by the included papers were summarized as possible facilitators or barriers for the strengthening of the occupational therapy workforce 7 …”

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis for the strengthening of the occupational therapy workforce

“…In the context above, the Strengths and Weaknesses of our SWOT framework were primarily identified from the findings of our recent scoping review of the occupational therapy workforce research. The three-pronged scoping review addressed: 1) the scope of the literature and its research methods, 17 2) the types of findings generated, 18 and 3) the self-reported limitations and recommendations. 19 Data and reports generated by WFOT were also used to inform the Strengths and Weaknesses, e.g., data from the WFOT human resources project, and secondary analyses using this information that is internal to the occupational therapy workforce research ecosystem 3,5,8,26 .…”

“…17 Second, we identified the types of findings that were generated by the occupational therapy workforce research worldwide, including trends in topics across nations. 18 Lastly, limitations and future recommendations reported by the included papers were summarized and identified as possible facilitators or barriers for the strengthening of the occupational therapy workforce. 19 In this short communication , we aim to build on this acquired knowledge, as well as on findings of an external environmental scan and feedback provided by experts, to perform a situational assessment of the development of occupational therapy workforce and its research -toward informing a global human resources strategy for strengthening the profession.…”