Occupational Therapy Education in Saudi Arabia: Barriers and Solutions From a Cross-Sectional Survey Study.
health education
higher education
medical education
occupational therapy
saudi arabia
Journal
Cureus
ISSN: 2168-8184
Titre abrégé: Cureus
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101596737
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Mar 2023
Mar 2023
Historique:
accepted:
14
03
2023
entrez:
20
3
2023
pubmed:
21
3
2023
medline:
21
3
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Objective Occupational therapy (OT) is an important healthcare profession in Saudi Arabia (SA). Yet, no studies have explored the status of OT education in SA. The current study aims to investigate the status of OT education in SA, as well as the barriers and solutions. Methods A cross-sectional-based survey was conducted. Institutions that offered OT programs were identified and an electronic survey was sent to OT program directors across SA that agreed to participate. The survey included items that focused on the number of students in programs, current faculty members, and their characteristics, as well as barriers and solutions to advancing the OT profession and education in SA. Results Out of 74 institutions, eight offered OT programs and all responded to the survey. Among all programs, one was inactive, seven (87.5%) were governmental institutions, and none were nationally accredited. There was a total of 538 currently enrolled students and 76 full-time faculty members. There are no current OT postgraduate programs. Staff shortages and ineffective communication between institutions (87.5%), financial barriers, and lack of knowledge/awareness of the OT profession (75%) were the most common barriers reported. Conclusion OT education is growing in SA but is still not well-represented throughout the different regions of the country. Initiatives to advance the profession are urgently needed by establishing new OT programs and departments as well as introducing OT to more diverse scopes of practice and in more clinical settings. Further research exploring OT education including curriculum content, teaching methods, and assessment strategies of OT programs. Addressing the barriers identified in the current study and methods to overcome them is needed.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36937131
doi: 10.7759/cureus.36139
pmc: PMC10014645
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e36139Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2023, Al-Heizan et al.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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