Arafah Alaa M, Altherwy Samar, Alzahrani Seham, Alghamdi Ghadeer, Alghamdi Roaa, Haddad Mannar
Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Occup Ther Int. 2025 Jul 15;2025:5192064. doi: 10.1155/oti/5192064. eCollection 2025.
The role of occupational therapy is to provide management for various conditions including neurological, musculoskeletal, and psychological disorders, with the aim of maximizing function and independency in daily occupations. According to the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. In Saudi Arabia, there are escalating rates of chronic conditions, which create an increasing demand for occupational therapy services. Yet, occupational therapy practice frameworks, as well as areas of assessment and intervention, are not well explored within the context of Saudi Arabia. The aim of this research is to identify the most common disorders that occupational therapists work with within Saudi Arabia and the approaches used for managing these disorders. This was a cross-sectional study. An electronic survey was distributed to 230 occupational therapists working in Saudi Arabia. The survey consisted of two sections; the first was on educational backgrounds, and the second section was about the common conditions encountered in a clinical setting and the treatment approaches applied. The interventions nominated by participants were mapped to the person-environment-occupation model and to the occupational therapy practice framework. The overall response rate was 57%. Analysis of data of 131 participants revealed that neurological diseases (e.g., stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease) were the most common conditions managed by occupational therapists (64.3%), while respiratory diseases had the lowest percentage (4.7%). With regard to intervention approaches, "therapeutic exercise" was the most commonly applied approach as was reported by 77.1% of the therapists, while "functional electrical stimulation" was the lowest chosen approach as it was applied by 19.8% of the therapists. Occupational therapists in Saudi Arabia manage a variety of conditions and apply a wide range of rehabilitation approaches, yet gaps still exist in providing a holistic approach. The study emphasizes the importance of redirecting the focus of occupational therapists to core concepts of maximizing functioning and occupational performance and using occupation as a mean and as an outcome of rehabilitation.
职业治疗的作用是针对包括神经、肌肉骨骼和心理障碍在内的各种病症提供管理，目的是在日常活动中最大限度地提高功能和独立性。根据世界职业治疗师联合会（WFOT）的定义，职业治疗是以客户为中心的健康专业，关注通过活动促进健康和幸福。在沙特阿拉伯，慢性病发病率不断上升，这使得对职业治疗服务的需求日益增加。然而，在沙特阿拉伯的背景下，职业治疗实践框架以及评估和干预领域尚未得到充分探索。本研究的目的是确定沙特阿拉伯职业治疗师所处理的最常见病症以及管理这些病症所采用的方法。这是一项横断面研究。向在沙特阿拉伯工作的230名职业治疗师发放了电子调查问卷。该问卷包括两个部分；第一部分是关于教育背景，第二部分是关于临床环境中遇到的常见病症以及所应用的治疗方法。参与者提名的干预措施被映射到人与环境 - 活动模型和职业治疗实践框架。总体回复率为57%。对131名参与者的数据进行分析后发现，职业治疗师处理的最常见病症是神经疾病（如中风、多发性硬化症和帕金森病）（64.3%），而呼吸系统疾病的比例最低（4.7%）。关于干预方法，“治疗性锻炼”是最常用的方法，77.1%的治疗师报告使用了该方法，而“功能性电刺激”是选择最少的方法，只有19.8%的治疗师使用。沙特阿拉伯的职业治疗师处理各种病症并应用广泛的康复方法，但在提供整体方法方面仍存在差距。该研究强调了将职业治疗师的重点重新转向最大限度提高功能和职业表现的核心概念，并将活动用作康复手段和结果的重要性。
