Nurse practitioners' awareness and knowledge of occupational therapy services.

摘要

This study was designed to determine the reasons that clients are referred to occupational therapy, knowledge regarding which areas clients can be referred for occupational therapy services, how nurse practitioners have been educated about occupational therapy, and if they feel they have sufficient knowledge of occupational therapy services for referral. All are considered to be important factors in the nurse practitioner's referral practice. The results of this study indicate that the majority of respondents are aware of occupational therapy services; however the study revealed some gaps in knowledge about the variety of services that occupational therapists can provide. The results indicate that nurse practitioners are largely being exposed to occupational therapy through informal and unstructured methods consequently increasing the probability of missed referrals and inappropriate referrals.