Occupational Therapists’ Perspectives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic. Hospitals, nursing homes, and communities worldwide were flooded with patients diagnosed with COVID-19, resulting in the increased need for medical care and treatment by health care professionals, such as occupational therapists. This study analyzes output from a quantitative online survey design, which was created on SurveyMonkey and included 43 questions. Data from the survey were collected, categorized, and measured through the SurveyMonkey computer system and included information gathered from 204 occupational therapists from October 2020 to February 2020. Based on the survey results, occupational therapists believe that their profession has an ethical duty to provide skilled interventions to patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The majority of the occupational therapists were worried about their health and their family’s health as a result of COVID-19. In addition, many of the. therapists reported a close contact and subsequent positive test for COVID-19. Health care administrators and leaders should use the common perspectives among health care workers to guide them as they provide additional support and implement changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions that could be implemented by health care administrators include self-care training, psychological support, and safe opportunities to engage in meaningful activities.

Keywords

• occupational therapy
• pandemic
• health care professional
• mental health
• coronavirus