Little is known about occupational therapy (OT) practitioners’ experiences of harassment, discrimination, and aggression from patients, despite research in other health professions. It is the author’s hypothesis that the prevalence of Harmful Client Behavior (HCB) is significant and has a negative impact. A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of the author’s methods to obtain prevalence and impact data that is representative of practitioners in the United States. The goals of this preliminary study were to increase awareness of the problem of HCB, to determine the need for a future larger-scale descriptive study, and to guide future actions to address this phenomenon. The quantitative arm of the study collected data on the prevalence and impact of HCB using a Qualtrics survey. Sixty-four respondents completed the anonymous survey and results indicate that HCB is common (92% encountered HCB in the last year), is under-addressed in OT degree programs (75% did not receive information about HCB during their OT degree program), is underreported (only 47% did not report), and has negative impacts (67% reported negative impacts). The qualitative arm of the study had three participants who engaged in either a focus group (n=2) or an individual interview (n=1). Results revealed that employer responsiveness appears to moderate the impact of the HCB. The most significant impact reported by qualitative study participants relates to professional role identity and job performance; when an employer was dismissive, this tended to lead to self-doubt of one’s clinical skills, whereas a supportive employer tended to minimize the harm encountered. This study has many implications for the field, especially given AOTA’s Vision 2025: Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The occupational therapy profession is diversifying, thus harmful client behavior needs to be addressed at the national level in order to support and retain a more diverse and inclusive workforce. / 2023-02-28T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/45079 |
| Date | 30 August 2022 |
| Creators | Santos, Audi Q. |
| Contributors | Hutchinson, Dori S. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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