Open AccessChanging practice patterns of school‐based occupational therapists in Israel
Author(s) -
Weintraub Naomi,
Kovshi Moriah
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
occupational therapy international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.414
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1557-0703
pISSN - 0966-7903
DOI - 10.1002/oti.196
Subject(s) - occupational therapy , intervention (counseling) , sample (material) , medical education , work (physics) , perception , psychology , medicine , nursing , physical therapy , engineering , mechanical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , neuroscience
Abstract Following the enactment of the Special Education Law in Israel in 1988, school‐based occupational therapists (OTs) were expected to modify their practice patterns by, providing services within the classroom or other educational settings, increasing collaboration with other team members, and implementing indirect intervention models such as monitoring and consultation. The purpose of this study was to examine the intervention patterns of school‐based OTs in Israel. The study sample included 77 school‐based OTs. The survey was carried out through a questionnaire which included: (1) background information, (2) implementation and perceptions towards intervention models, and (3) team‐work practices of the OTs. The findings indicated that most of the time (76.9%) OTs still implement the ‘direct therapy’ model, working outside the classroom and focusing on improving performance components. These findings imply that school‐based OTs in Israel are still in the process of changing their practice patterns, and are mostly applying the medical model. However, due to the relatively small sample, it is important to repeat this survey using a larger sample of OTs who work in different settings and with various age groups. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.