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ERIC Number: EJ1471702
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2573-1378
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Self-Care: An Occupational Therapy Student Perspective
Isabelle Laposha; Stacy Smallfield
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, v6 n1 Article 5 2022
Health professional students, including occupational therapy students, report increasing rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout while completing their academic programs of study. Self-care is one potential solution to this crisis, as engagement in evidence-based self-care practices has been found to improve the health and well-being of various student populations; however, the self-care practices of occupational therapy students have not been well studied. Therefore, this study explored how occupational therapy students understand and practice self-care, and how self-care correlates to perceived stress. Twenty participants engaged in a focus group and completed a 72-hour time diary. Focus group results indicated that participants highly valued their self-care practices, reporting that self-care improves their well-being, is a skill that must be developed, and plays a critical role in occupational therapy practice. Time diaries revealed that the most frequently recorded self-care occupations were sleeping/napping, meal preparation/eating, and watching television and other streaming services. Total time spent in self-care practices ranged from 9-55 hours, and duration of self-care was not found to correlate with perceived stress or demographic variables. Results demonstrate that the type of self-care activities in which students engage may be more beneficial than duration of self-care alone. Students may benefit from further skill development in self-care to improve their current and future well-being. Occupational therapy educators have the opportunity to assist in developing this skill through intentional programming.
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education. 521 Lancaster Avenue, Richmond, KY 40475. e-mail: jote@eku.edu; Web site: https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A