Category: OTalk

Hosted by @SimonRainesOT1 & @AAMNOT_

We are two OT students conducting a research project titled “Factors influencing the lack of Occupational Therapists in the research field. – A comparative study of OT Academics, Clinicians, and Pre- Registration students “.  In light of the barriers and challenges we’ve faced in our research journey in seeking ethical approval, we’ve decided to base this week’s #OTalk topic on gaining ethical approval to undertake research. This blog showcases our first-hand experience with acquiring ethics approval so far and our opinions about how this process can be improved.

Research is a vital aspect of advancing knowledge and improving various fields, but it must be conducted with a strong ethical foundation. In this blog post, we will talk about the significance of ethics in research, focusing on the credibility it lends to studies and the importance of compliance with established standards and guidelines. Additionally, we will explore the barriers researchers may face in obtaining ethical approvals and reflect on the need for improvements in the process.

Ethics serves as the backbone of credible research ensuring the trustworthiness and reliability of findings, strengthening the overall credibility of the research outcomes (CAHPR, nd). Ethically conducted studies are conducted by researchers with integrity who adhere to established guidelines and regulations set by organizations such as the Medical Research Council (MRC, 2023) and World Health Organization (WHO, 2023). These organizations provide comprehensive standards to safeguard the rights and well-being of research participants, including aspects such as confidentiality, anonymity, risk management, dignity, and welfare. Informed consent from participants is also a critical component to ensure ethical research practices.

In our own experience, we found the ethical approval process to be more complex than anticipated, leading to long waiting times. Additionally, we have experienced delays in our quest for ethical approval due to a lack of available members on the ethics board with authority to grant the approval when the chairperson was on annual leave. These experiences highlight the need for flexibility, adaptability, and a need for more people on the ethics board.

Moving forward, it is important to consider ways to improve the ethical approval process. This could involve increasing the availability of experts to streamline the review process, making it less time-consuming, and establishing a prioritization system for lower-risk research projects. By making the process accessible and straightforward, we can encourage occupational therapists and researchers from various disciplines to actively engage in research endeavors.

Despite the barriers researchers may face, it is important to reflect on experiences and work towards improvements. By fostering a collaborative approach and seeking input from individuals who have gone through the ethical approval process, we can create a more accessible and straightforward path for researchers, promoting the advancement of knowledge and the well-being of research participants.

This #OTalk gives you opportunities to tell us about your experiences of gaining ethical approval to undertake research and if you haven’t sought ethical approval previously, we want to hear about your opinion towards the idea of the process. As well as identifying what can be done to help the process become more efficient. 

References

Council for Allied Health Professions Research. (nd). Seeking ethical approval. Council for Allied Health Professions Research.  https://cahpr.csp.org.uk/system/files/documents/2018-10/11_seeking_ethical_approval_1.pdf 

United Kingdom Research and Innovation. (2023). Good research practice policies and guidance. United Kingdom Research and Innovation. https://www.ukri.org/about-us/mrc/our-policies-and-standards/research/ 

World Health Organisation. (2023). Ensuring ethical standards and procedures for research with human beings. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/activities/ensuring-ethical-standards-and-procedures-for-research-with-human-beings 

Questions: 

1. How does the process of obtaining ethical approval for research projects impact your interest and motivation to engage in research, particularly if you are new to the research field?
2. Could you share your previous experience in seeking ethical approval and provide insights into the duration of the process? / If you have not sought ethical approval previously what are your opinions towards the idea of the process?
3. Is there a need for increased representation of occupational therapists on ethics committee boards and why?
4. If you have gained ethical approval for a research project previously what advice and guidance would you give to others who have not and are just beginning their research journey?
5. What are some changes you think can be made in order to improve the process of acquiring ethical approval? 

Coaching is commonly used in sports settings to instruct and motivate the athlete but has emerged as an intervention approach to support children and young people to participate in occupations. There is no consensus on a definition for coaching, but key characteristics emerging from the literature have been identified which include; joint planning, observation, action, reflection and feedback (Rush and Shelden, 2011).

Occupational therapy has increasingly used coaching within child health to:

• Facilitate parental involvement in interventions (Foster et al., 2013)
• Enhance performance and participation (Weinstock-Zlotnick & Hinojosa, 2004)
• Evidence-based approach (Novak and Honan, 2019) Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) is described as an “Intervention for people with goals related to improving occupational performance and social participation in personally valued aspects of life” (Graham Kennedy-Behr and Ziviani, 2021 pg.9).

The basic concepts of this approach are founded on parents being the experts and a process of enablement which looks at the person, environment and occupation. OPC has three domains which are integrated and used by occupational therapists to facilitate parents to find a strategy for a specific goal (Kahjoogh et al.,2020)

I am keen to hear about individual experiences of coaching in paediatric occupational therapy services and identify what can be done to help develop coaching in this area.

Owning a pet is an occupational role adopted by many, with 53% of UK adults who own a pet (PDSA, 2023). Whilst dogs and cats are the most popular pets, there are also many other types of pets too. 

Pet ownership has been said to provide meaning and purpose (Hayden-Evans et al, 2018) and an occupational lens has been used to explore the occupation of pet keeping in various forms (Langfield & James, 2009; Allen et al, 2000).

This #OTalk is an opportunity to explore the occupation of pet keeping in both our personal and professional lives. 

References: 

Allen JM, Kellegrew DH, Jaffee D (2000) The experience of pet ownership as a meaningful occupation. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67(4), 271–78.

Langfield J, James C. Fishy Tales: Experiences of the Occupation of Keeping Fish as Pets. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2009;72(8):349-356. doi:10.1177/030802260907200805

Maya Hayden-Evans, Ben Milbourn & Julie Netto (2018) ‘Pets provide meaning and purpose’: a qualitative study of pet ownership from the perspectives of people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Advances in Mental Health, 16:2, 152-162, DOI: 10.1080/18387357.2018.1485508

PDSA (2023) Available at: https://www.pdsa.org.uk/media/13976/pdsa-paw-report-2023.pdf 

Since its launch in October 2011, OTalk has provided a space for discussing Occupational Therapy practice and research, sharing learning, and professional networking through social media, on a weekly bases, hosting over 500 chats.

A lot can change in a decade, particularly on the Internet, and there is now a wide range of social media platforms for sharing information and building communities in different ways.

As many people choose to leave Twitter for other sites or to step away from social media more generally, we wanted to get the comminiuties thoughts on the next steps for OTalk and what our options might be for moving the chats to a new home?

We hope the questions below will help to get the conversation started and give us some inspiration for our future planning!

Hosts: Dr Kim Stuart (Associate Professor Coventry University) and Dr Nikki Daniels Head of Communities and Connections RCOT

The Coventry University and University of Salford are working together to co-lead a commissioned programme by HEE to develop a curricula framework for Enhanced Clinical Practice. As a team across the two universities, we are working to develop 7 AHP curricula for Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Prosthetists and Orthotists, Diagnostic Radiography and Operating Department Practitioners. 

I this week’s #Otalk, we want to explore your understanding of Enhanced Clinical Practice, and how it can benefit us as a profession.

Background 

The overall aim of the Enhanced Clinical Practitioner curricula framework is to produce proficient and effective occupational therapists who are confident in their profession specific knowledge, skills, and behaviours but at ease in working in complex multi professional teams across health and social care sectors. At an enhanced level of practice, we are developing confident, creative, critical thinkers, agile in their mindset, solution focused leaders who are secure in their professional identity. We are not describing a new level of practice or specific role here but capturing and focusing on the mid-career development of occupational therapists. To provide a structured programme of development that enables occupational therapists to thrive and grow in their roles, responding to the ever-changing challenges and opportunities in practice across all four pillars of our professional life. 

Whilst the curricula framework is centred around the Enhanced Clinical Practitioner Apprenticeship, it is much more than this and aims to capture the level of practice and programme of development we can create for occupational therapists. Thinking about how this level of practice can be described across the variety of roles and sectors that occupational therapists work including both statutory, independent and voluntary sectors is essential to ensure that we all have access to high quality professional development. 

In developing the curricula framework, the ambition is to create an open framework approach that is sustainable and scalable for delivery, inclusive of all allied health professions. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) may be an individual-led or an employer-led activity that meets the requirements of the workplace, supports employers’ aspirations for skilled and productive employees and facilitates personal growth and career progression of the individual. Adopting an open framework curriculum for Enhanced Practice enables the provision to be responsive to the needs of the workforce at a national level whilst being flexible in delivery at a local system level in collaboration with other universities and their sector partners. 

By using an innovative open framework approach we can widen access to high quality professional development that can be tailored to the individual profession as well as supporting collaborative learning across diverse professions and disciplines to meet the needs of the individual and employer. The aim is to provide occupational therapists with a diverse curriculum that is relevant to their profession, speciality, and interests, seeking to celebrate the depth of practice within health and social care, retaining our highly valued and skilled workforce. 

There have been several key reports published by HEE that set out the career framework, you can access them here 

Enhanced practice | Health Education England (hee.nhs.uk)

To do this we need your input, so the focus of the #OTalk is for us as a professional community to come together and explore Enhanced Level Practice, what does it mean to you. What do you recognise as the unique features of occupational therapy practice at this level and how do we support occupational therapist career development across all four pillars of practice at this level.