Abstract
This research aimed to answer the question of how much education about trauma-informed care (TIC) have OTs received or are seeking out, and how are OTs implementing elements of TIC in their daily practice. Survey techniques were used to collect data regarding practices, education, and knowledge of TIC. The intended results and conclusions included uncovering a gap in the knowledge and practice of TIC in OT to advocate for the utilization of these concepts in practice.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kelsie Holman
Additional Authors and Speakers: Lydia Shepherd
Contributing Authors: Caitlin Esposito
This research addressed a gap in practice that exists in the implementation of trauma informed care (TIC) practices in occupational therapy (OT) services. The research aimed to answer the questions; how much education about TIC have practicing OTs received and/or are seeking out, and how and to what degree are occupational therapists implementing elements of trauma informed care in their daily practice? There were 103 practicing occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and occupational therapy students participating in this study (n = 103). Participants were recruited through Facebook groups and OT association’s online forums. Survey techniques were used to collect data regarding practices, education, and knowledge of TIC. Narrative data collected was coded to uncover themes in the attitudes and preferences regarding TIC of survey participants. Empirical survey data was analyzed for central tendencies between survey data and demographic characteristics. The results from this study revealed a majority (54%) of participants favorably identifying TIC to be applicable and important to their current practice. However, (44%) answered ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ when asked if they believe TIC is adequately implemented in practice. Despite the high rate of identifying TIC to be important and applicable to daily practice, there is dissatisfaction with the implementation of TIC. By analyzing the trends in formal/informal education about TIC, the results have shown that there is a lack of knowledge, recognition, and practice of these important practice concepts. This data is important for educators to understand the gap in formal education and training in current practice to support best practice and the holistic methods that OT was founded on. Overall, these results support the need for further advocacy and education of TIC in order to expand the usage of TIC tenets into OT practice.
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