Addressing societal trends impacting occupational therapy : technology integration and cultural diversity

Short, Nathan (2020) Addressing societal trends impacting occupational therapy : technology integration and cultural diversity. (PhD thesis), Kingston University, .

Abstract

This commentary presents a critical analysis of prior published work by the PhD candidate within the field of occupational therapy. Occupational therapy is a discipline which promotes participation in daily life activities (occupations) across the lifespan, from children with developmental delay to older adults managing the functional impact of chronic disease. The integration of technology and increased cultural diversity among patient populations are two major trends impacting teaching and practice, representing the themes of this commentary. The studies regarding technology highlight effectiveness of specific technologies, perceptions of specialty clinicians regarding technology-based clinical resources, as well as the physical impact of mobile technology use. The studies regarding cultural diversity focus specifically on international service learning (ISL) as pedagogy for the development of cultural competence for future occupational therapists. The collective findings of the studies make a novel contribution to the literature, evaluating the efficacy of a specific app-based technology, analyzing the musculoskeletal impact of mobile technology use, exploring clinician’ perceptions of technology integration in clinical settings, as well as providing support for ISL as a pedagogy for culturally-competent practice.

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