OCCUPATION-BASED INTERVENTION IN STROKE REHABILITATION: PERSPECTIVES OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTITIONERS

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The occupation-based intervention has shown effective recovery in overall disability of stroke survivors, yet the concept is unexplored among Pakistani occupational therapists. Therefore, this study is aimed to explore their perception regarding occupation-based intervention in stroke rehabilitation. METHODOLOGY A self-administered questionnaire designed in Google Docs was distributed online via email and social media applications to record participants' responses regarding occupation-based approaches in post-stroke rehabilitation. RESULTS A total number of 150 occupational therapists were enrolled in the study comprised 135 females and 15 males from 18 to 44 years of age. It was revealed that 53.3% therapists had taken an average of 45 minutes of clinical practice sessions on occupation-based intervention, 64.7 % believed to be well trained in the occupation-based approach. Moreover, 69.3% stated that their professional practice in post-stroke rehabilitation is generally based on the biomedical model, yet 39.3% of therapists have no clarity of this concept. CONCLUSION It was concluded that most occupational therapists understand the concept of occupation-based intervention. However, only a few were trained and implementing the approach in stroke rehabilitation, while the rest were found to have insufficient knowledge regarding this practice.