Abstract
OTPs are positioned to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly in the hospital setting. A phenomenology helps determine whether acute care OTPs feel competent and confident to work with the postpartum population.
Primary Author and Speaker: Sarah S. Sidar
Contributing Authors: Alysha Skuthan
The need for more comprehensive support during the postpartum stages in the U.S. is evident by the rising rates of life-threatening complications after childbirth (Aziz et al., 2019), a poor maternal mortality rate (Hoyert, 2022), racial disparities in maternal health outcomes (Aziz et al., 2019), and an elevated rate of attempted maternal suicide (Hamilton, 2018). A thorough review of literature reveals that no research exists describing occupational therapy practitioners’ perspectives of the role of occupational therapy (OT) services, how to implement them, or outcomes associated with occupational therapy services for postpartum patients in the acute hospital setting. As such, an exploration of occupational therapy practitioners’ (OTP’s) perceptions and experiences of working with the postpartum population is justified. As a hospital system in Virginia and North Carolina prepared to implement rehabilitation services in their acute postpartum units, the opportunity arose to explore OTP’s perspectives on their sense of competence, self-efficacy, and role in working with the acute postpartum population prior to undergoing training. A phenomenological study design was selected to investigate the subjective experience of those OTP’s electing to become trained. Seven subjects participated in semi-structured interviews via zoom. Transcripts are currently being reviewed, coded, and analyzed for thematic content. Conclusions will be drawn based on triangulation of data between the researchers. This research provides meaningful insight to the lived experiences of occupational therapists who are considering or preparing to work with the postpartum population in the hospital setting, and may inform the practices of future program development for hospital systems and clinicians looking to implement similar service lines.
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