Knowledge and awareness about occupational therapy among healthcare professionals in Al-Ahsa

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Occupational Therapy (OT) is a health care profession in which assist persons with physical, mental, or cognitive impairments through the therapeutic use of daily activities. In addition, the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (occupations) is aimed to enable the individual or groups to involve them in roles, customs and routines in home, college, place of business, society, and other settings by occupational therapist [1]. OT considers the only health care profession that enables people to do the activities they want and important for them via the therapeutic use of everyday activities [2]. Occupational therapists capacitate people of all ages to assist them by enhancing their health and inhibiting or adjusting with the injury, illness, or disability [3]. The aim of the study is to evaluate the knowledge of Occupational Therapy among healthcare professionals of National Guard Health Affairs in Al-Ahsa. Method: The study is cross-sectional study; the research was conducted in National Guard Health Affairs in Al-Ahsa. The healthcare provider’s knowledge about OT was assessed by the survey. The questionnaire consisted of seventy-five closed statements in five different aspects. The five-point Likert Scale (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree) was used to measure the healthcare provider’s knowledge about OT. Results: The total numbers of participants were 218 participants, and 167 participants completed the survey showing a high response rate of 76.6%. The study found that the total knowledge among healthcare professionals about OT is moderate. Conclusion: The healthcare professionals of National Guard Health Affairs in Al-Ahsa have a moderate to minimal knowledge about OT. Further studies are needed on the importance of developing OT in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general and in Al-Ahsa in particular.