Date Presented 04/13/21
In our poster, we describe the experiences and meanings of international pro bono service work for OTs and OTAs, for which no published research exists. Semistructured interviews were done with eight people who had been on at least two trips. The EPP method of data analysis was done, and summaries and themes across participants were generated. As OT expands globally, the results of our study can help increase understanding of how OTs practice as global citizens.
Primary Author and Speaker: Joseph Cipriani
Additional Authors and Speakers: Jessie N. Zimmer, Cherie Graves
PURPOSE: One of the guiding tenets of AOTA's Vision 2025 is ‘all people populations, communities', which expanded the Centennial Vision tenet of ‘globally connected' (Vision 2025, 2018). One of the ways that occupational therapy professionals can support this is by engaging in international pro-bono service trips in regions where occupational therapy services are either under-resourced or non-existent. While there is a limited amount of published research on the experience of occupational therapy students who do pro-bono international service, we were unable to located any studies which focused on the experience of occupational therapy professionals. The limited research that is available focuses on professionals in other areas of health care such as medicine, physical therapy, and nursing. An ideal way of beginning to understand the experience of occupational therapy professionals who engage in international service is to interview them and have them reflect on their experiences. Specifically, the qualitative research paradigm method of phenomenology is therefore appropriate (Humbert, Berket, Deveney & Kennedy, 2012). The aim of our study was to describe the experiences and meaning of occupational therapy professionals who do international pro-bono service work. As occupational therapy expands globally, the results of our study can help increase understanding of how occupational therapists practice as global citizens.
DESIGN: This study used phenomenological methods via the use of semi-structured interviews with eight occupational therapy practitioners (OTs or COTAs) who have been on at least two international service trips. Participants were recruited via word of mouth connections via the senior researcher by email as well as via an email list provided by an organization which provides pro-bono international service by health care professionals.
METHOD: Our study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained from O.T. professionals who showed interest who were then interviewed and audio-recorded via phone calls from a private location. The recordings were then transcribed and the transcriptions were analyzed for themes using the empirical, phenomenological, and psychological (EPP) method (Karlson, 1993). The process included a search for meaning units (key words, phrases, sentences that exhibit a shift in meaning) in the transcript, attaching descriptive labels to each unit, creating a summary for each participants experiences, and then via a means of cross analysis, each summary was compared to the others, and common themes were elicited (Cipriani, Haley, Moravec, & Young, 2010). Multiple methods are and were put into place to help insure rigor, including triangulation during data analysis, member checks, and bias checks.
RESULTS: The themes found included (note if there were sub-themes found within a theme they are placed in parentheses after the name of the main theme): (1) changing perspectives (professional, personal), (2) promoting partnership and building sustainability (partnership, sustainability), (3) roller-coaster of emotions, (4) being resourceful (do more with less; prepare, prepare. prepare), and (5) attuning to culture. There were several commonalities between the themes found in the present study and themes elucidated in previous research.
CONCLUSION: With ever increasing access to technology and improved means of long distance travel, opportunities for OT professionals to have a global impact are unprecedented, and the findings from this study can begin to illustrate what therapists are doing and what meaning is derived from such services.
References
Cipriani, J., Haley, R., Moravec, E., & Young, H. (2010). Experience and meaning of group altruistic activities among long-term care residents. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(6), 269-276. doi.10.4276/030802210X12759925468989
Humbert, T.K., Burket, A., Deveney, R., & Kennedy, K. (2012). Occupational therapy students' perceptions regarding international cross-cultural experiences. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 59(3), 225-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2011.00987.x
Karlson, G. (1993). Psychological qualitative research from a phenomenological perspective. Stockholm, Sweden: Almqvist and Wiksell.
Vision 2025. (2018). OT Practice, 23(1), 18–19.
