OTalk

This week AbleOTUK are hosting here is what they had to say………….

AbleOTUK founding members have chosen the theme of sex and sexual health to focus on throughout 2023, we thought it might be interesting to explore how comfortable we are talking about sex, and what better day to do this than valentines day.

Firstly let’s be clear with some definations

Sexuality is partly made up of and sometimes used interchangeably with sexual orientation. However, it covers more than just who a person is attracted to. Sexuality is an occupation that embodies the psychological and physical well-being of people that is relevant throughout a lifespan. It refers to someone’s to experience or express sexual feelings, their attitudes and activities relating to sex, including someone’s sexual behaviour, attractions, likes, dislikes and preferences. Sexuality can be understood as sexual expression, sexual activity, sexual decisions for example abstinence, sexual communication skills, and understanding one’s sexual self-concept.

Sex is an activity of daily living that plays an important part in an individual’s life. It is defined by a act means any sexual contact, actual or simulated, by penetration of the penis into the vagina or anus, or by contact between the mouth or tongue and genitals or anus, or by contact between a finger of one person and the genitalia of another person or by use of artificial sexual organs or substituted in contact with the genitals or anus .

Sexuality and participation in sex are areas of practice that are often not addressed with UK occupational therapy. However arguably occupational therapists are particularly qualified to address and treat concerns of sexuality and participation in sex. There is a small evidence base but more research, better assessment tools and intervention development is needed to show the benefits of utilising occupational therapy in this area.

A person’s ability to address their sexuality will be impacted by common reasons a person comes into contact with occupational therapy services. A person’s mental and physical health, illnesses or disability can impact an individual’s quality of life and their motivation and or abilities to participate in sex.

Tonight we want to start a conversation about sex as an occupation, and begin to explore reasons why it’s important we ensure it’s addressed where appropriate. .

Questions for the chat

Question 1: Why might we want to access sexuality in our occupational therapy practice?

Question 2: How do we begin integrating the topic of sexuality into our practice?

Question 3: What is important to keep yourself safe when approaching the topic of sexuality in your practice?

Question 4: How do we write goals and plan interventions in regards to sexuality?

Ref

Haboubi, N. H. J., & Lincoln, N. (2003). Views of health professionals on discussing sexual issues with patients. Disability and Rehabilitation, 25(6), 291-296. https://doi.org/10.1080/0963828021000031188

MacRae, N. (2013). Sexuality and the role of occupational therapy. The American Occupational Therapy Association. https://www.aota.org/About-Occupational Therapy/Professionals/RDP/Sexuality.aspx.Esmail, S., Knox, H., & Scott, H. (2010). Sexuality and the role of the rehabilita- tion professional. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Retrieved fromhttp://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/29/

OTalk

#OTalk Research Tuesday 7th February 2023 -Innovative and Creative Dissemination: Could this impact on knowledge transfer? Hosted by @preston_jenny

February 3, 2023 @OT_rach

This weeks OTalk research chat will be hosted by @preston_jenny supported by @SamOTantha on the account

When considering the research process in its fullest sense the generation of evidence in itself is not sufficient. The process by which new knowledge is translated into policy and practice is complex, variable and frequently slow (Graham et al, 2006). Despite the considerable resources devoted to health sciences research, a consistent finding from the literature is that the transfer of research findings into practice is often a gradual and haphazard process (Graham et al, 2006). Graham et al (2006) argues that this means that patients are denied treatment of proven benefit because the time it takes for research to become incorporated into practice is unacceptably long citing the example that 30% to 45% of patients are not receiving care according to scientific evidence and that 20% to 25% of the care provided is not needed or is potentially harmful (Graham et al, 2006).

Finding and integrating evidence into the existing decision-making process can be challenging and several strategies have been proposed to support staff (Robertson et al, 2013). Dissemination is a key part of the research process and incorporates focussed distribution aimed at increasing awareness and changing attitudes. In their review of what actually informs occupational therapy practice Robertson et al (2013) identified four emergent themes of which informal, quick methods of accessing the evidence were favoured.

Publication within peer reviewed journals is of course a key form of dissemination but increasingly innovative and creative forms of dissemination are emerging. This #OTalk will seek to explore a range of approaches to dissemination incorporating their strengths and limitations and their impact on knowledge translation.

In advance of the chat please consider the following questions:

What forms of evidence do you most frequently access?
How does this meet your needs?
Have you discovered any innovative and creative approaches to dissemination?
What attracted you to these alternative formats?
Are there any limitations?
Do you have any innovative ideas that you would like to develop?

References

Graham ID, Logan J, Harrison MB, et al, (2006) Lost in knowledge translation: time for a map? The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 26: 13-24

Robertson L, Graham F, Anderson J (2013) What actually informs practice: occupational therapists’ views of evidence. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(7), 317-324.DOI: 10.4276/030802213X13729279114979

OTalk

#OTalk Tuesday 31st January 2023 8pm – Underrepresentation, authenticity, career progression. Hosted by @hspenceruk / @CPD_RCOT

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023 @OT_rach

This week Hannah Spencer @hspenceruk is hosting along with @CPD_RCOT – Check out what they have in-store below and join in live on twitter 8pm Tuesday 31st Jan 2023.

All members of our occupational therapy workforce, irrespective of background and/or
characteristics, should feel valued, respected, and supported to develop their talents to the full. Within and beyond our profession, however, there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence shared by individuals, in particular those from underrepresented and historically marginalised groups, which has highlighted inequity and injustice in relation to career development and the impact and implications of this.

The NHS annual Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) consistently evidences
increased prevalence of discrimination experienced by employees from a Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) background, as well as over-representation in junior roles (NHS England, 2022). There are similar narratives relating to those who are LGBTQIA+, live with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions and/or who’s many complex and intersecting identities intertwine which can mean a cumulative experience of inequity and injustice. This can impact safety, belonging, wellbeing, motivation, performance, development, progression, retention…

This #OTalk aligns with ongoing work @CPD_RCOT to improve inclusive engagement and the support offered to increase representation across all levels and scopes of practice. We want to challenge the barriers to career development and progression that can be and have been experienced by those historically underrepresented in our profession. As part of this work, we also want to acknowledge that career progression and development aren’t always linear or hierarchical and that each individual’s narrative within the profession will be
different.

Ultimately, how can we support every member of our workforce to be the best they can be throughout their career and carve out their career pathway?

Question 1: Have you experienced challenges or barriers that have prevented you from
feeling valued, respected, and supported to develop your talents to the full and which you think may have affected your career journey? Or observed challenges or barriers faced by others?

Question 2: Acknowledging the challenges that can be experienced, particularly by those from underrepresented and historically marginalised groups, what do you need (person, environment, occupation) to be your ‘best self’ as an OT?

Question 3: Specifically relating to career development and progression: what helps/has
helped you/your colleagues to develop and progress in your/their roles and careers?

Question 4: What role do you think supervision plays in feeling valued, respected, and
supported to develop your talents to the full? How can this be best facilitated?

Question 5: What else do you think we need to do as a profession or within the organisations in which we work to allow every member of the occupational therapy workforce to feel valued, respected, and supported to develop their talents to the full, regardless of their background or characteristics?

Question 6: Last week’s #OTalk from @FocusOnFairness focussed on #NQOT
#EarlyCareerOT experiences. What would you say to yourself as an #EarlyCareerOT?
What facilitated or what do you wish you’d done differently as part of your career
development journey?

Question 7: Allies/wider community, what action(s) have you been prompted to take as a result of tonight’s conversation?

OTalk

#OTalk Tuesday 24th January 2023 – The Focus On Fairness Observatory hosted by @FocusOnFairness supported by @ElizabethCasso1

January 17, 2023 @OT_rach

This week our host is @FocusOnFairness a project supported by @ElizabethCasso1

The Focus On Fairness Observatory is an arm’s length project of the Elizabeth Casson Trust exploring diversity, inclusion and equity within the profession. For our second Observatory event held on 11^th January 2023, we invited attendees to explore what support minoritised occupational therapy graduates starting their careers. Individuals with varied experiences attended, including newly qualified occupational therapists, representatives from clinical practice, universities, bodies such as RCOT and the HCPC, as well as other professions such as physiotherapy.

We specifically considered the actions that could be taken by Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), how recruitment practices and processes can be equitable, as well as how we support graduates in post and facilitate retention. Eight different ideas for next steps came from the discussions, which were then voted on by attendees who each chose three that should be prioritised by the Trust. The ideas with the most support were:

Co-produced research about what helps OTs to feel supported in transitioning from learner to OT involving academics and the whole community
Review and redesign recruitment processes from outreach to employment and share through a guidebook
Managers to understand their role and responsibility regarding active allyship

We would like to ask some further questions regarding these ideas, and we hope that you can discuss them with us.

What does co-produced research exploring the transition from learner to OT look like for you? How could students and NQOTs work with academics most effectively on this work?

What does an equitable recruitment process look like for you? Are you able to share any positive or negative experiences? What would have improved the recruitment process?

How is it best to engage occupational therapy managers to consider their role and responsibility regarding active allyship? Which forum/ fora should be used? If you are a manager, how would you like to learn more about active allyship?

OTalk

#OTalk 17th January 2023 – Dyslexia and Occupational Therapy – hosted by @SharonOTUClan

January 10, 2023November 30, 2022 @OT_rach

Dyslexia and Occupational Therapy – This chat will be hosted by Sharon Hardman @SharonOTUClan

During my Occupational Therapy (OT) pre-registration training I was diagnosed with specific learning difficulties, more commonly known as dyslexia, 3 days before the UK went into the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. This was a huge shock to me as I had already achieved 10 GCSEs, 3 A levels, BA (Hons) degree and Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and no one has noticed my dyslexia.

According to Dyslexia Association (2022) “dyslexia is a lifelong condition, which has a substantial effect on an individual’s day to day activities and is classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Dyslexia varies from person to person and no two people will have the same set of strengths and weaknesses. Dyslexic individuals often have difficulties processing and remembering information, for example:

a tendency to read inaccurately and without adequate comprehension.
inconsistent spelling.
difficulty with planning and writing essays.
difficulty getting started and completing work.
a tendency to get ‘tied up’ using long words, e.g. preliminary, philosophical.
a tendency to confuse verbal instructions, places, times and dates.
greater difficulty in learning a foreign language.
low self-esteem.
Frustration leading to behavioural or emotional difficulties.
disorganised.
difficulty with map reading.
difficulty filling in forms and writing reports.
tendency to miss and confuse appointment times.
low opinion of capabilities.
constantly loses and forgets items and information.”

I wanted to create an #OTalk that enabled the OT community to share their experiences of dyslexia and promote further discussion in this area.

Dyslexia Association (2022) Available at https://www.dyslexia.uk.net/what-is-dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/

The 5 questions that I would like you to consider are:

Dyslexia requires reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. What are your experiences of reasonable adjustments for dyslexia?

How do you feel about your dyslexia diagnosis today?

Do you use any assistive technology such as speech recognition software, text to speech software eg read and write gold, mind mapping, scanning software and hand reading pens, spellcheckers, apps, computer software, tablets, smart mobile phone, electronic diary, WhatsApp, computer learning programmes and voice assisted devices like Alexia?

What dyslexia strategies do you use for work? Consider clinical assessment and note taking.

What would you like to see the occupational therapy profession do in the future to address dyslexia needs and preferences?

Sharon