Occupational therapy students' perception on mental health recovery: A descriptive qualitative exploration.

INTRODUCTION

In occupational therapy, emphasis is placed on the complex interplay between the client, the occupation and the environment, providing an opportunity for its practitioners to adopt recovery-oriented outcomes in interventions for people with mental health conditions. In this study, we seek to understand occupational therapy undergraduates' perceptions of recovery for people with mental health conditions.

METHOD

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted at a university in Singapore, which provides a pre-registration occupational therapy programme. Seventeen undergraduates were recruited (year 1,  = 5; year 2,  = 7 and year 3,  = 5). A semi-structured interview guide was used during the interview. Data collection took place from June to August 2022.

RESULTS

Using thematic analysis, two macro themes were discerned: the understanding of mental health conditions and the meanings of recovery. Sub-themes were created under each grouping to describe the data.

CONCLUSIONS

This study explored the perceptions of mental health recovery among occupational therapy undergraduates. Occupational therapy students appeared to be well-aligned with personal and functional recovery perspectives when providing support for people with mental health conditions. However, there seems to be a need to emphasise the more nuanced aspects of delivering care within the culturally diverse setting of Singapore.