An empirical investigation into the role of values in occupational therapy decision-making

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Thomas, Yvonne, Seedhouse, David, Peutherer, Vanessa and Loughlin, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2234-2146 (2019) An empirical investigation into the role of values in occupational therapy decision-making. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82 (6). pp. 357-366. ISSN 0308-0226

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Abstract

The importance of values in occupational therapy is generally agreed, however there is no consensus about their nature or their influence on practice. It is widely assumed that occupational therapists hold and act on a body of shared values, yet there is a lack of evidence to support this.
The research tested the hypothesis that occupational therapists’ responses to ethically challenging situations would reveal common values specific to the occupational therapy profession. 156 occupational therapists were asked to decide what should be done in 5 common-place yet ethically complex situations, presented as scenarios for debate.
The results show that while most occupational therapists share very general values, they frequently disagree about what to do in practice situations, often justifying their choices with different and sometimes conflicting specific values. In some cases, the same respondents espouse contradictory values in similar situations.
The extensive literature about decision-making - together with the study’s results – confirm that when occupational therapists make decisions, they draw on multiple factors, consciously and unconsciously. These factors vary between individuals. Value judgements are one part only of a complex process which includes personal experience, intuition, social influences, culture, psychological influences and relationships with both colleagues and clients.

Item Type: Article
Identifier: 10.1177/0308022619829722
Additional Information: This research project was supported by UKOTRF grant from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
Keywords: Healthcare, values, ethics, education, occupational therapy
Subjects: Education
Medicine and health
Philosophy
Depositing User: Michael Loughlin
Date Deposited: 29 Apr 2019 14:41
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 15:59
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/6022

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