A survey to explore the interventions used by occupational therapists and occupational therapy students with refugees and asylum seekers

Abstract

Forced displacement trends have resulted in significant numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. Occupational therapists can contribute to addressing many of the occupational needs of refugees and asylum seekers (WFOT, 2014). Position statement on human displacement revised. Retrieved from http://www.wfot.org/aboutus/positionstatements.aspx]. The objective of this study was to identify interventions occupational therapists and occupational therapy students currently use with this population. An electronic survey was distributed worldwide to identify interventions being used by occupational therapists and occupational therapy students that had worked or volunteered with refugees and asylum seekers. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the data were performed. The analysis of 29 completed surveys found that respondents spent most time on: documentation, education, and leisure integration. Respondents were also engaging in: education, mental health/counselling, research, community development, mentoring, recreation, and non-traditional occupational therapy interventions. Interventions respondents were not using, but which they thought would be useful were: addressing sexuality, forming support groups, driving assessment and practice, home visits, and self-care. Findings from this study shed light on an emerging area of occupational therapy and identifies some of the interventions currently being used with refugees and asylum seekers.