What do we do? Examining current occupational therapy practice with people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Duckworth, S; Collins, B

Abstract

Aims: The lack of clarity about what exactly occupational
therapy intervention involves for people with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) leads to variation in practice,
challenges evaluating practice and limited understanding of
occupational therapy in the multidisciplinary team. This study
detailed interventions that occupational therapists in pulmonary
rehabilitation (PR) undertake with patients with COPD. Design
and methods: Grounded theory (Birks and Mills 2015) was used
to create a ‘theory’ of occupational therapy practice. Ethical
approval and agreement from the investigator’s NHS Trust
Research and Development team were gained. Recruitment
was through the occupational therapy respiratory network.
Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with nine
occupational therapists working with people with COPD in PR
services in England. Recorded interviews were transcribed and
themed. Constant comparison (Holloway and Galvin 2016) was
used to compare different participants’ accounts. Results: Three
broad themes about intervention emerged. Firstly, practice is diverse and includes generic clinical interventions. Secondly,
educational strategies are applied to occupations in everyday
life. Thirdly, psychological approaches are used. Clear differences
in practice emerged, despite participants being specifically
selected from out-patient PR teams. Lack of clinical guidelines
was thought to increase diversity of practice. Conclusion:
This research has contributed the first detailed account of
occupational therapy practice for people with COPD in England.
The findings indicate the need for further research and to
develop best practice guidelines for respiratory occupational
therapists, with the aim of reducing inequalities and promoting
the best quality care. There is potential to develop an
occupation-based approach to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Citation

Duckworth, S., & Collins, B. What do we do? Examining current occupational therapy practice with people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Poster presented at RCOT 2018, Belfast Waterfront, Northern Ireland

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: RCOT 2018
• Conference Location: Belfast Waterfront, Northern Ireland
• End Date: Jun 13, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 13, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2020
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022618789846
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022618789846
• Related Public URLs: https://www.rcot.co.uk/
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference