Publication Date
Fall 2025
Degree Type
Doctoral Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Department
Occupational Therapy
First Advisor
Graham Teaford
Second Advisor
Caitlin Greene
Third Advisor
Courtney Boitano
Keywords
Advocacy, Occupational Therapy, High School Students, Hands-on Workshop
Abstract
The field of occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare field that is impactful on the lives of many individuals however there is currently a lack of awareness of the field of OT due to a lack of knowledge of and interest in OT among healthcare providers and the public (Richards and Valleé, 2020). The Aim of Research. The purpose of this project is to advocate for the field of OT and assess if an introductory presentation and hands-on lab about OT’s scope can improve the interest in OT among high school students in both rural and urban environments. Methods. The Study included an introductory workshop on the field of OT that was presented to the three high schools of Bret Harte High School (BHHS), Calaveras High School (CHS), and Pioneer High School (PHS). This workshop consisted of a 30-minute presentation followed by a hands-on lab. The hands-on lab did vary in length based on the school and introduced the students to commonly used OT assistive devices (AD). To assess the outcome of the workshop, the students completed a pre- and post-test survey that assessed their interest in and understanding of OT. Results. At the beginning of the workshop, the students had low interest in and knowledge of OT. Following the completion of the workshop, BHHS and PHS had a greater interest in and knowledge of OT with their mean interest score rising 4.79 points (p < 0.05) and 4.28 (p < 0.05), respectively. BHHS and PHS mean knowledge scores rose by 5.79 (p < 0.001) and 4.39 (p < 0.001), respectively. CHS showed a different outcome as the students’ interest in OT did rise by 2.91, but it was not statistically significant as p > 0.05. The mean knowledge score for Calaveras did rise significantly with the mean score rising by 7 (p < 0.001). Conclusion. High School students have a low awareness of and interest in the field of OT, however an introductory OT workshop can effectively increase their knowledge and interest in OT. Based on this, it is assumed that this project was successful at advocating for the field of OT and had shown that it can be a valuable advocacy tool for increasing awareness of OT, to scaffold students’ career interests, and is a plausible option for advocacy.
Recommended Citation
Crabtree, Linda, "Advocating for the Field of Occupational Therapy Among High School Students" (2025). Doctoral Projects. 197.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.c6as-jbfq
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_doctoral/197
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