Embedding Public Health (PH) in Occupational Therapy (OT) Practice; Utilising Outcomes of aRegion-Wide, Allied Health Professional (AHP) Training Programme

Introduction/background: 150,000 UKAHPs (OTs n=37000) are well placed to influence individual and population health behaviours (RSPH and PHE 2015). Lack of training and awareness of occupational therapists’ public health (PH) role has been identified as a barrier to implementation of PH in practice (Fowler Davis et al. 2016). This workshop will disseminate the findings of a UK region-wide project which developed, implemented and evaluated the impact of training on occupational therapy and AHP PH practice (178 AHPs OTs n=59). Methods/Analysis: The project’s educational approaches and resources were evaluated through interviews, focus groups, surveys and case studies at 3–6 months. This workshop will use presentations, case studies and small group work to disseminate and explore the key findings and resources related to occupational therapy practice. Results/conclusions: Project findings identified that occupational therapists valued training on population approaches and development of core skills, increasing their confidence to engage in PH interventions. Barriers identified: lack of PH theory training, time constraints and lack of confidence to address key PH issues. Impact on service users: Dissemination of project finding and educational resources to the occupational therapy workforce will contribute to PH, with almost 4 million AHP service user contacts in the UK each week. Clear implications for occupational therapy: Workshop based education has been shown to be a useful mechanism to support change in embedding PH in occupational therapy practice.