Members are invited to help set the future direction of occupational therapy research as part of a major agenda-setting project, by sharing the unanswered questions you have about occupational therapy.
RCOT is working with the James Lind Alliance, a non-profit-making organisation funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to identify unanswered questions about different health conditions and interventions. Together the organisations will identify the top 10 research priorities for occupational therapy in the UK.
The priorities will create a research agenda for the profession, helping to direct researchers to focus on answering questions that matter most, and support the building of an evidence base that bolsters the profession’s authority and standing.
The Royal College is now seeking views from occupational therapists, people who use occupational therapy services, their carers and families, and others working in the health and care environment.
Dr Jo Watson, RCOT Assistant Director – Education and Research, shared:
“This is agenda-setting work that will help to ensure that future research informing the profession’s practice is based on what matters most to our members, and importantly, to the people who access occupational therapy services. Alongside the RCOT Research and Development Strategy, which is due to be published in the autumn, the outcome of this project will help develop the profession’s evidence base. So ask yourself: what are the unanswered questions you have about occupational therapy and how it helps people to do the activities that matter to them?
“We want to hear from as many members as possible and from as wide a range of settings as we can, as well as from people who access occupational therapy services, their carers and families, and others working in the health and care environment. We invite members to complete the 10-minute survey today and then share it with others to help us identify the future direction of research informing occupational therapy practice.”
The survey runs from 5 August to 5 November 2019 and can be completed online.
You can also complete a print or electronic Word version of the survey and return it by post or email. Other versions of the survey and further information are available on the project webpage.