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. 2022 Jun 15;19(12):7327.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127327.

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

Tiago S Jesus  1 , Karthik Mani  2 , Ritchard Ledgerd  3 , Sureshkumar Kamalakannan  4 , Sutanuka Bhattacharjya  5 , Claudia von Zweck  3 , World Federation Of Occupational Therapists
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Limitations and Recommendations for Advancing the Occupational Therapy Workforce Research Worldwide: Scoping Review and Content Analysis of the Literature

Tiago S Jesus et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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.

Keywords: health personnel; health workforce; human resources for health; occupational therapists; rehabilitation; review.

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Conflict of interest statement

C.v.Z. and R.L. work for the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Otherwise, the authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart of the scoping review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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