EXPLORING OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS’ PERCEPTION OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY IN THE AREA OF HAND THERAPY (UK PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
Background information: The role of a hand therapist is made up of the occupational therapy
and physiotherapy profession (BAHT 2017). Yet due to a dominating model of practice,
influencing service factors and an uncertain professional identity, it has resulted in
occupational therapists informing their practice with service demands and common practice
as opposed to with their own paradigm and professions values. Evidence-based research in
the last decade has generated findings demonstrating that inclusion of occupation-focused
practice has been shown to increase the outcome of patients’ hand injuries (Guzelkucuk et
al. 2007; Che Daud et al. 2015). Yet knowing this information, it has been reported that
practice has not changed to include occupation-based assessment and intervention (Burley
et al. 2018).
Aim: The aim of this study is to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions of their
professional identity in the area of hand therapy (UK context).
Methods: Potential participants for this study are occupational therapists working in a hand
therapy service in the United Kingdom. 10-20 participants will be recruited from the British
Association of Hand therapists, selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data
will be collected by means of face-to-face, semi-structured style interviews. On the occasion
this is not viable, the researcher will interview participant’s online (virtual interviews). Once
the data has been analysed, the researcher will return to the participants with main
findings/themes to verify the responses/ findings.
Expected outcomes: Research will aim to provide the literature with an insight into how
occupational therapists perceive their professional identity. In becoming aware of recent
evidence-based research involving occupation-based practice, occupational therapists can
build a secure professional identity as they use the power of occupation to provide
evidence-based effective care to hand therapy patients, improving the outcome of their
hand injury.