Profile of occupational therapy practice in rural and remote South Australia.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this report is to discuss the results of a questionnaire conducted with occupational therapists providing services in rural and remote South Australia. It is envisaged that the results will be of interest to health professionals working in country areas of Australia. The questionnaire aimed at capturing descriptive information from these therapists in regards to the type of services they deliver and the strategies they employ to deliver services, including information on human resources and staff retention.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A questionnaire sent to occupational therapy managers and yielded a 44% response rate.

RESULTS

Results provide descriptive information on the services provided, for example, the vast geographical areas covered. Respondents described the challenges they face in service delivery and these include the wide range of services to diverse client groups, high client-therapist ratio and limited human resources. Examples of strategies used are less labour-intensive service delivery models, multi-skilling of staff, networking and use of problem-solving techniques. Most perceived their services to be addressing client needs and they felt supported in their roles by other occupational therapists and their organisations.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational therapists working in rural and remote South Australia are overcoming the challenges identified in this questionnaire by implementing innovative strategies.