A Survey of the Assistive Technology Training Needs of Occupational Therapists
Somerville, Nancy J.; Wilson, Dorothy J.; Shanfield, Kathleen J.; Mack, Wendy; Somerville, Nancy J.; Rancho Rehabilitation Engineering Center on Technology Transfer; Wilson, Dorothy J.; Rancho Rehabilitation Engineering Center on Technology Transfer; Shanfield, Kathleen J.; Rancho Rehabilitation Engineering Center on Technology Transfer; Mack, Wendy; Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California
Журнал:
Assistive Technology
Дата:
1990
Аннотация:
There is a critical need for competent rehabilitation professionals in the application of assistive technology. A 5-year federally funded project at the Rancho Rehabilitation Engineering Program is beginning to address this need. The Rancho project has initially focused on identifying and meeting the training needs of occupational therapists with plans to later apply the research results to other disciplines. A needs assessment was conducted in the first year. A survey instrument was developed and sent to a random sample of 2,481 occupational therapists. Of this sample, 965 responded, a return rate of 39%. These therapists were asked to identify their own training needs. An additional sample of 185 occupational therapists perceived as experts in technology services was also surveyed. The return rate for the expert group was 67%. These therapists were asked for their perceptions of the training needs of less-experienced therapists. The results indicated a perceived need for training both in service delivery and in specific types of technologies. Of the service delivery needs, the most frequently identified were information resources, funding, and task analysis. Of the specific technology types, respondents identified training needs most frequently in the high-visibility and high-technology areas of equipment interface, environmental controls, and computers. There was general agreement between the two samples surveyed as to what training is needed. This article describes the methodology used and the results and conclusions from the survey.
760.1Кб